Writing readiness and children with Down Syndrome in an Irish context

There is a dearth of studies investigating writing readiness in children with Down Syndrome (DS) and limited information on appropriate interventions. This article reports on a study conducted in the Republic of Ireland. An uncontrolled pretest-posttest design was implemented using writing readiness measures specifically adapted/developed from the literature to collect data on the writing readiness skills of 28 school-aged children with DS attending mainstream schools in the Republic of Ireland. Teacher/parent perspectives were also gathered during focus groups. The children presented with complex needs in relation to posture, pencil grasp, copying basic shapes, name/letter copying. Teacher and parent reports highlighted the need for collaborative intervention with occupational therapy. Findings from the study supports the need for targeted early collaborative syndrome-specific intervention to support the development of writing readiness in children with DS as an important part of school readiness. Intervention should include adopting a broader emergent literacy approach, teacher education regarding writing readiness and parental involvement in intervention