When students have intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), accessing the general education curriculum can be a major challenge. Educators often try to simplify texts to make them more accessible, but many of the most common strategies, like using AI tools that apply readability formula or adding picture symbols don’t actually help students understand the text. In fact, these methods can sometimes make things harder.
This blog post examines the advantages and disadvantages of current methods for text simplification and introduces a new solution: Minimizing Text Complexity with AI (MTC-AI).
Why Common Text Simplification Strategies Fall Short
Many well-intentioned strategies for adapting general education curriculum content don’t work as expected for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Here’s why:
Readability Formulas Miss the Mark
There are a growing number of online tools that make texts simpler by shortening sentences or using easier words. While this lowers the “readability score,” it doesn’t always make the text easier to understand. For example, shorter sentences can reduce cohesion, making it harder for students to follow the flow of ideas. Replacing nouns with pronouns makes words easier to decode but introduces more inferencing. These tools apply formulas and algorithms that focus on surface features, often impairing rather than supporting comprehension.
Plain Language Isn’t Always Plain Enough
Plain Language Guidelines are designed to make documents easier to read, but they still result in texts that are too complicated for many students with intellectual and developmental disabilities. In fact, these Plain Language Guidelines are intended to reduce the readability to about a 6th grade level – a level that is still far too complex for many students with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Picture Symbols Can Be Confusing
Using picture symbols to represent individual words in text is popular, but it can often backfire. Abstract words like “want” or “like” don’t have clear visual representations, and words like “back” and “turn” have multiple meanings that would have to be represented in different ways depending on their use. Furthermore, symbols do not convey universally understood meanings. Learners must be taught the intended use of at least some symbols in each text. Finally, this approach is problematic because it draws student’s attention away from the words that we eventually want them to learn to read.
The Vocabulary Gap: A Hidden Barrier
The meaning of individual words in a text contributes to its complexity. Understanding the meaning of individual words is essential for reading, listening, and learning, but many students with intellectual and developmental disabilities struggle to understand even with basic words. Most vocabulary lessons and grade level texts feature Tier 2 (i.e., academic terms that appear across various subjects) and Tier 3 (i.e., content specific words that are generally used within particular domains) words. However, students with intellectual and developmental disabilities often lack the foundational Tier 1 vocabulary (common everyday words) necessary to understand the Tier 2 and Tier 3 vocabulary they encounter.
Effective access to materials in the general education curriculum requires careful attention to vocabulary. This includes fostering deep understanding, of words, how they’re used in context, and how they connect to other words. For many students with intellectual and developmental disabilities, this requires careful attention to Tier 1, everyday vocabulary that is related to the Tier 2 and Tier 3 words being taught.
A Better Way: The MTC-AI Project
The MTC-AI project introduces a new approach to text simplification that targets the limitations of existing methods. Here’s how it functions:
- AI-powered clarification: MTC-AI applies research-based guidelines to decrease word, sentence, and text-level complexity while maintaining the original meaning.
- Cohesive and clear: The tool ensures that texts remain connected and understandable from beginning to end.
- Vocabulary support: It organizes words into tiers (basic, academic, and domain-specific), offering student-friendly definitions, and connecting new words to familiar words.
This tool is designed to be accessible to both educators and families, supporting lesson planning, professional development, and IEP development.
What This Means for Teachers and Families
When texts are truly accessible, students with IDD can engage, learn, and show progress. Educators can focus on developing essential skills, and families can better understand and support their children’s learning. The MTC-AI project is a step forward in making literacy instruction more effective, inclusive, and meaningful.