Improving the Reading Skills of Students with Mild Intellectual Disabilities through Repeated and Paired Reading Techniques

This study aims to analyze the effectiveness of fluent reading strategies, specifically "paired reading" and "repeated reading," on the development of reading skills of two students with mild intellectual disability. In the study, two fourth-grade students with mild intellectual disabilities participated in an intervention program aimed at improving their reading skills. Two 4th grade students, one girl and one boy, who attended the support education room as well as the regular classes of the primary school, were included in the intervention programme. The AB single-case design was utilized, as this design is the most commonly used for detecting the effects of. The study employed purposeful sampling to select participants based on specific criteria. The criteria for inclusion in the study were having a mild intellectual disability, attending the support class, and experiencing difficulty in reading and comprehension. The processes lasted for 7 weeks, equating to 35 class hours. Data were collected through instruments such as the Error Analysis Inventory, video recordings, narrative, and informative texts, and reading comprehension achievement tests. The results revealed improvements in students' word definitions, reading speeds, reading skills, and comprehension levels. These results suggest that the study recommends employing paired and repeated reading strategies to enhance the reading and comprehension skills of students facing reading and learning difficulties.