Literacy Activities Handbook - Saskatchewan Association of Rehabilitation Centres

Written materials

Use “high interest, low vocabulary” reading materials that are meaningful to the interests, life experience, and self-identified “needs” of the reader. According to van Kraayenoord (1992), appropriate written materials should

be age appropriate and not pedantic,
provide the opportunity for learning,
be meaningful for the reader,
have simple sentence structure, avoiding complex syntax or abstractions,
follow a logical progression and avoid time displacement (future or past),
use natural, everyday language, and
be presented in a clear, uncluttered format, with illustrations linked to the text.

We found very few people producing written materials intended specifically for adults with developmental disabilities. The Norah Fry Institute in England produces information sheets (called Plain Facts) on a variety of topics (see http://www.bris.ac.uk/Depts/NorahFry/PlainFacts). The Roeher Institute in Toronto is another source for plain language products. And the VRRI also creates plain language materials.

However, the shortage of appropriate materials means that tutors and rehabilitation workers need to be creative. Many tutors recommend using English as a Second Language (ESL) materials, as they are intended for adult learners, use clear language, and include many pictures and illustrations. Others use the Language Experience Approach, in which the students dictate their ideas to the tutors and then learn to read these created texts, first with assistance and then alone. Repetition and the predictable text are helpful to the learner.