Matthew - an adult with Down Syndrome - has read like forever. He is 41 and he has been reading well over half his life. His vocabulary is huge. His spelling and writing not so good. He can't seem to recall words but when he sees them he can understand them.
For yet the hundredth time, someone at his group home wanted to put him in a basic reading class. Where is your head people? He reads! He reads the Arts & Leisure section of the NYTimes (Okay - he reads about the movies but he is reading). So I suggested that they deal with Matt using the written word. Encourage the reading and writing in every day events. Help challenge him since he is by far the most advanced special needs person in the house - and he is BORED.
Tonight on 60 minutes they did a program about the iPad and how it has helped autistic children. I think it might help Matt move to the next level. Perhaps there is a secret genius there just bursting to come out :-)