Effects of a repeated reading intervention on the reading fluency of adolescents with intellectual disability

Abstract Although repeated reading (RR) is highly effective in improving reading fluency, it has not been sufficiently studied in students with intellectual disability. This single-case experimental study with multiple baselines across participants examined the effects of an 8-week adapted RR intervention, on reading automaticity [i.e., correct words per minute (CWPM)] and accuracy [i.e., errors per minute (EPM)], in three adolescents with intellectual disability. Visual and statistical analyses revealed a gain in CWPM and drop in EPM on trained texts during the intervention, with moderate to large effect sizes. After the end of the intervention, the gains in reading automaticity (CWPM) were generalized to untrained texts, with large effect sizes. However, drops in accuracy (EPM) were small or not significant. The social validity of the intervention was rated positively by teachers and students. The findings suggest that adapted, evidence-based repeated reading interventions can be beneficial for students with intellectual disability. Implications for future research are discussed.