Abilities Necessary for the Severely, Multiply Handicapped to Learn Hiragana

Abstract

We investigated what kind and how much ability is required to master hiragana, by examining 15 severely, multiply handicapped patients' ability to read and express a 2-syllable hiragana word and to use hiragana.
The results were as follows: (1) To read and express a 2-syllable hiragana word, the ability to match a syllable to a hiragana letter and the ability to extract a syllable from a word are important. (2) In addition, these two abilities must be high. We also suggest that spoken language does not always promote the mastery of hiragana, and that the severely, multiply handicapped need a higher mental age than normal children to master hiragana.