Literacy and Cerebral Palsy: Factors Influencing Literacy Learning in a Self-Contained Setting

Abstract

This study was conducted as an ethnography of one self-contained classroom at a school for children with cerebral palsy. The five students were severely multiply disabled, exhibiting differing degrees and combinations of physical, visual, speech, hearing, and perceptual impairments. All were diagnosed as having severe reading disabilities. The purpose of the study was to describe and explain those factors that impacted on literacy learning within this setting. Data collection involved nonparticipant observation, interviews with teachers and administrators, videotape analysis and examination of student records. Factors identified as facilitating literacy learning were (a) the room as a text-rich environment, (b) the latitude often given students to govern their own literate behavior, (c) the regularly conducted storyreading sessions, and (d) the constructive use of computers. Factors identified as hindering literacy learning were (a) restriction of instructional time, (b) overreliance on individual instruction, and (c) lack of student literate interaction.

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