PRAGMATIC ABILITIES OF PUPILS WITH MILD INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES

Mateja SHILC1
Majda SHMIDT2
Stane KOSHIR3

1Elementary school Gustava Shiliha, Maribor,
Slovenia
2Faculty of Education UM, Maribor, Slovenia
3Faculty of Education UL, Maribor, Slovenia

Recived: 16.01.2017
Accepted: 19.02.2017
Original article

Citation: Shilc M, Shmidt M, Koshir S. Pragmatic abilities of pupils with mild intellectual disabilities. J Spec Educ Rehab 2017; 18(1-2):55-73.
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.19057/jser.2017.19

Abstract

The research analyses characteristics of pragmatic abilities of storytelling of pupils with mild intellectual disabilities (MID), in the light of vocabulary characteristics, grammar structure and substantive structure of a story, considering their age and gender. The sample consists of 60 pupils with MID, aged 7 to 9, who attend special school. Child’s pragmatic abilities are assessed with The Storytelling Test. The research results reveal considerable progress of the older group in vocabulary, whereas the progress in grammatical and substantive structure was less substantial. When comparing achievements of pupils with MID according to the vocabulary, grammatical and substantive story structure, no gender differences are determined. A comparison of pragmatic abilities of younger and older groups of pupils with MID with the norms for peers with typical development shows minor deviation of the younger group.

The research results reveal characteristics of pragmatic abilities of pupils with MID and can provide insights to speech therapists, teachers, special education teachers and counsellors when considering profiles of individuals that are taken as a basis for designing intervention programs. By implementing such program, we would encourage development of pragmatic abilities of pupils, thus affecting their academic achievements, communication competency and social skills.

Keywords: pragmatic abilities, mild intellectual disabilities, language, speech

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