Abstract:

The starting point for the realization of an instructional activity is the knowledge and skill of reading and writing, which is itself acquired through instruction. Reading, within the scope of; for mental, sensory and psychomotor development areas; It is a complex skill in which a series of activities such as seeing (recognition of writing), making sense, expressing aloud, remembering and evaluating is performed. This skill varies depending on the person performing it. When considering the importance of individuals with intellectual disabilities having reading and writing skills, special education teachers who are primarily responsible for teaching these skills to them are the first to come to mind. Based on this, the purpose of this research is to determine the views of special education teachers regarding the learning of reading and writing skills by individuals with intellectual disabilities. The research, conducted according to the case study approach of qualitative research, had 20 special education teachers as participants. From participants identified through criterion sampling method, it was expected that they have the following criteria: a) currently working as a special education teacher at the time of data collection, and b) having students with intellectual disabilities in their class. The data of the research were analyzed by content analysis and the themes, codes and frequencies of the statements were presented in the findings. The results of the research showed that learning to read and write is important for individuals with intellectual disabilities to continue their daily and social lives. Additionally, most of the participating teachers believe that these skills are important in the workplace as well. Furthermore, the study found that teachers conducted various preparatory activities to improve finger, hand and arm muscles, used the sound-based first reading-writing method and syllable method the most, frequently used reading-writing activities based on play, benefited from resources obtained from the internet during the reading-writing teaching process, encountered some problems related to themselves and their students from families and needed a lot of family support.

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