Verbal communication in students with mild intellectual disabilities at an early elementary school age

Abstract

Developing communication skills is one of the main rehabilitation aims in special school (Królowa & Malendowicz, 1976). Educational situations require constant communication with teachers and peers from students (Głodkowska, 2012). Studying students’ verbal communication provides information on how well they have mastered inflection, if they structure their sentences correctly, their passive and active vocabulary, and their listening comprehension. Also, assessing their communication skills gives insight into students’ need for verbal communication as well as into the form and complexity of their utterances. The study discussed presents the level of verbal communication in students with mild intellectual disabilities at an early elementary school age. Thanks to this exploration, it is possible to develop practical solutions to improve the communication skills of the group under study. The Speech and Verbal Communication Development Test by Joanna Głodkowska (ibid.) was used in the study. Sixty-three students with mild intellectual disabilities participated in the study. It was conducted in seven special schools in Małopolskie Province. Three criteria were adopted for dividing students into groups: age, gender, and place of residence. Participants were 35 boys and 28 girls. They were divided into two subgroups in terms of their place of residence: those living in a town (31 students) and those living in the country (32 students). The results of the study were analyzed with the use of the easiness coefficient developed by Joanna Głodkowska (1999). This article aims to provide practical guidance on how to work with students with mild intellectual disabilities so that their need for verbal communication and verbal communication skills are developing. The final part presents the findings and recommendations for educational practice.