Literacy Learning Outcomes in a Longitudinal Study of a Postschool Literacy Education Program for Young Adults With Intellectual Disabilities

There is limited research about learning outcomes for young people with intellectual disabilities (ID) in postschool education (PSE). This is a significant issue as PSE is a strong predictor of successful employment for individuals with ID. Tertiary education programs have been developed in several countries, including Australia. These programs remain rare and available to only a minority of young people. For several years, service organizations in the broader community in Australia and overseas have been developing educational programs particularly in literacy to meet the needs of this age group. However, many of these programs have been developed by practitioners with limited access to evidence-based practice, leading to difficulties in providing evidence of their effectiveness. This paper reports the findings of a longitudinal study of the effects on literacy learning of an evidence-based 2-year postschool literacy program for individuals with ID. All students (n=191) who completed the program from 1998 to 2013 were assessed for their receptive vocabulary, single word reading, and reading comprehension. These assessments were undertaken at entry to the program, the end of the first year, and on graduation. The quantitative analysis used a growth trajectory model to assess students' progress, accounting for age, disability, gender, maturation, and time. The results provide statistically significant (p<.001) evidence that individual students increased their scores in all of the assessments over time. The authors argue that appropriately designed long-term PSE programs for literacy learning have the potential to enhance the language and literacy development of young adults with intellectual disabilities.