Reading for comprehension: the contribution of decoding, linguistic and cognitive skills

The current work is aimed at reporting the existing literature on the ability of individuals with Down syndrome (DS) to read for comprehension and the role of linguistic and cognitive abilities in determining individual differences in this ability. For this purpose, 46 papers published between 2002 and 2016 on text comprehension in individuals with DS were analysed and reported. It emerged that, although most people with DS learn to read, text comprehension represents an area of particular weakness. Failure in text comprehension is determined by poor oral linguistic skills (vocabulary, morphosyntax) and difficulties in cognitive abilities (inference making) as well as in verbal memory. On the other hand, text comprehension is supported by some general cognitive abilities such as the ability to learn from a context and the knowledge of the story structure. The results are discussed in relation to their theoretical account and the practical relevance for literacy teaching and intervention.