Adaptation of a phonological awareness teaching program for children with cerebral palsy

Abstract

In this work, it was proposed to adapt an instrument to teach phonological awareness (PA) to children with Cerebral Palsy (CP). CP consists of a group of movement and posture disorders, which may be associated with cognitive, interaction and language deficits, compromising the individual’s functional independence, both in oral and written form. Literature states that vocabulary, phonological memory and PA are considered predictive and necessary skills for acquisition and performance in reading and writing. Three children diagnosed with CP and two expert judges participated in the study. The study was divided into four stages: a) analysis and adaptation of the Literacy: Phonic Method; b) analysis carried out by expert judges; c) pilot study with pre and post CP test and reading; and d) final version of the instrument. Sixty-three activities were adapted, taking into account the population profile, the analysis carried out by the judges and the application to a clinical group. Participants were able to understand and execute the training in 26 of the 33 activities. All showed improvement in scores, when pre and post tests were compared. Therefore, the instrument proved to be suitable for the population after adaptation and was faithful to the teaching proposed by the original instrument.