Characterization of phonological awareness deficits and intervention strategies for individuals with intellectual disabilities - IALP 2025 Innovation and Inspiration in Communication Sciences and Disorders

This study, structured in two stages, aimed to enhance the comprehension and intervention of metalinguistic skills in individuals with intellectual disabilities (ID). In the first stage, 14 medical records of patients with ID, aged 6 to 16 years, treated at a speech therapy clinic, were analyzed. All participants had difficulties with written language. Phonological awareness (PA) assessment records revealed deficits in skills such as rhyming, segmentation, and sound manipulation, even among those with more schooling. These findings suggest that PA deficits may be linked to impairments in reading and writing, as noted by Leite (2018). In the second stage, an integrative literature review was conducted using Portuguese and English keywords across databases BVS, Lilacs, Scielo, Eric, Pubmed, Medline, and BDTD. The review identified strategies to stimulate PA in individuals with ID, such as phonemic literacy software, adapted pedagogical activities, and curricular adaptations. Specific phonological strategies can be effective in addressing reading and writing difficulties in individuals with ID (Ferreira, Bandini & Bandini, 2021). Phonemic literacy software has shown promise in developing PA and facilitating reading acquisition (Hein et al., 2010). Literacy in alphabetic languages requires word awareness, understanding the alphabetic principle, and mastery of phoneme-grapheme relationships. Based on these requirements, this study emphasizes the need for evidence-based methods to promote PA in individuals with ID. The analysis of records emphasized the need for specific interventions, while the literature review identified adapted practices that can enhance academic performance.

REFERENCES
Ferreira, L. M. dos S., Bandini, C. S. M., & Bandini, H. H. M. (2021). Adaptação de um programa de ensino de consciência fonológica para crianças com paralisia cerebral. Revista Brasileira de Educação Especial, 27, e0115. https://doi.org/10.1590/1980-54702021v27e0115

Hein, J. M., Teixeira, M. C. T. V., Seabra, A. G., & Macedo, E. C. de. (2010). Avaliação da eficácia do software “Alfabetização Fônica” para alunos com deficiência mental. Revista Brasileira de Educação Especial, 16(1), 65–82. https://doi.org/10.1590/S1413-65382010000100006

Leite, R. C. D., Brito, L. R. M. de, Martins-Reis, V. de O., & Pinheiro, A. M. V. (2018). Consciência fonológica e fatores associados em crianças no início da alfabetização. Revista Psicopedagogia, 35(108), 306–317. https://pepsic.bvsalud.org/scielo.php?pid=S0103-84862018000300006&script=sci_arttext