title: Towards text simplification for poor readers with intellectual disability: when do connectives enhance text cohesion?
abstract: Cohesive elements of texts such as connectives (e.g., but, in contrast) are expected to facilitate inferential comprehension in poor readers. Two experiments tested this prediction in poor readers with intellectual disability (ID) by: (a) comparing literal and inferential text comprehension of texts with and without connectives and/or high frequency content words (Experiment 1) and (b) exploring the effects of type and familiarity of connectives on two-clause text comprehension by means of a cloze task (Experiment 2). Neither the addition of high frequency content words nor connectives in general produced inferential comprehension improvements. However, although readers with ID were less likely to select the target connective in the cloze task than chronologically age-matched readers (mean age=21 years) in general, their performance was affected by the type of connective and its familiarity. Familiarity had a facilitative effect for additive and contrastive connectives, but interfered in the case of temporal and causal connectives. The average performance of a reading level-matched control group (typically developing children) was similar to the group of readers with ID although the pattern of interaction between familiarity and type of connectives varied between groups. The implications of these findings for the adaptation of texts in special education contexts are discussed.
authors: ERI Lectura, Department of Developmental and Educational Psychology, University of Valencia, Avda. Blasco Ibáñez, 21, 46010 Valencia, Spain. INFABRA@UV.ES
authors: Inmaculada
authors: I
authors: Fajardo
authors: Gema
authors: G
authors: Tavares
authors: Vicenta
authors: V
authors: Ávila
authors: Antonio
authors: A
authors: Ferrer
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D032882:Comprehension; D004410:Dyslexia / Q000150:complications / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D004495:Education of Persons with Intellectual Disabilities / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008607:Intellectual Disability / Q000150:complications / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D008297:Male; D021641:Recognition, Psychology; D055815:Young Adult