Inclusive Comprehension Strategy Instruction: Reciprocal Teaching and Adolescents With Intellectual Disability

Adolescents and young adults with intellectual disabilities typically exhibit reading comprehension abilities several grade levels below their same age peers. For students with intellectual disabilities, even minimal reading comprehension skills lead to greater inclusion in the general classroom and expand employment opportunities after high school (Burgoyne, Baxter, & Buckley, 2014; Boudreau, 2002). Instruction in strategies that improve comprehension can be implemented across content areas to facilitate student independence and inclusion. One evidence-based intervention shown to increase reading comprehension skills in secondary students with intellectual disabilities is reciprocal teaching. Reciprocal teaching uses cooperative learning groups to develop students’ abilities to apply reading comprehension strategies in order to understand written passages. Effective instructional approaches and tools are provided for middle and high school teachers to implement reciprocal teaching strategies in mixed-ability classes that include students with mild and moderate intellectual disabilities.