Literacy Activities Handbook - Saskatchewan Association of Rehabilitation Centres

Here is some advice on teaching persons with mental retardation, courtesy of the National Information Center for Children and Youth with Disabilities (NICHCY).

Use concrete materials that are interesting, age-appropriate, and relevant to learners.
Present information and instructions to learners in small, sequential steps and review each step frequently.
Provide learners with prompt and consistent feedback.
Teach these learners, whenever possible, in the same learning environments they would attend if they did not have mental retardation.
Teach tasks or skills that learners will use frequently in such a way that learners can apply the tasks or skills in settings outside of the learning environment.
Remember that the tasks many people learn without instruction may need to be structured, or broken down into small steps or segments, with each step being carefully taught.

Adapted from:
General Information about MENTAL RETARDATION. Fact Sheet Number 8 (FS8). Washington, D.C.: National Information Center for Children and Youth with Disabilities (NICHCY), January 2001. [http://www.nichcy.org/pubs/factshe/fs8.pdf]