| Abstract: | This review surveys published and unpublished reports of the use of the Initial Teaching Alphabet (i.t.a.) with several types of sensory handicaps. The evidence is slighter than in other areas of learning disability, but the subjective reports from teachers who have used i.t.a. with cerebral palsied children and partially‐sighted pupils is interesting and encourages further research on the use of this tool of reading improvement. The effectiveness of i.t.a. depends chiefly on its simplification of the relationships between spoken and printed language. This may facilitate the child's understanding of the learning task. This may help children with sensory handicaps by reducing their total burden of difficulties enough to allow them to cope with the learning situation. |
