Relations between the Levels of Fluent Reading and Reading Comprehension and the Levels of Phonological Awareness of Individuals with Down Syndrome in Turkey

Abstract

This study aims to describe the phonological awareness, reading comprehension, fluent reading levels and types of errors in the reading of individuals with DS who can read and to examine the relationship between these variables. This relational descriptive study consists of 44 individuals with DS aged between 7 and 30 years who can read. 'Early Childhood Phonological Sensitivity Scale (ECPSS)' and the 'Skill of Oral Reading and Reading Comprehension Test (SOBAT-II)' were used for data collection. It was observed that the level of phonological awareness of individuals with DS was moderate, their level of fluent reading and reading comprehension was insufficient, and that the type of reading mistake they did most frequently was letter skipping (80%). It was determined that according to their level of (mild or moderate) intellectual disability, there was a significant difference between phonological awareness, fluent reading, and reading comprehension levels, also, it was found out that there was a statistically significant correlation between these variables.