Increasing young children's contact with print during shared reading: longitudinal effects on literacy achievement.

Longitudinal results for a randomized-controlled trial (RCT) assessing the impact of increasing preschoolers' attention to print during reading are reported. Four-year-old children (N = 550) in 85 classrooms experienced a 30-week shared reading program implemented by their teachers. Children in experimental classrooms experienced shared-book readings 2 or 4 times per week during which their teachers verbally and nonverbally referenced print. Children in comparison classrooms experienced their teachers' typical book reading style. Longitudinal results (n = 356, 366) showed that use of print references had significant impacts on children's early literacy skills (reading, spelling, comprehension) for 2 years following the RCT's conclusion. Results indicate a causal relation between early print knowledge and later literacy skills and have important implications concerning the primary prevention of reading difficulties.

Code-related literacy profiles of kindergarten students with autism.

LAY ABSTRACT: Many children and young students with autism have difficulties learning how to read. This study investigated early literacy development in children with autism spectrum disorder during their first year of formal schooling. The study found that children with autism spectrum disorder differ greatly on their early literacy skills, with some showing strengths in their understanding of the alphabet, spelling, and reading words. Other students in the sample had difficulties with these early reading skills. The findings of this study are important to better understand the most effective way to teach early literacy skills to children with autism spectrum disorder.

Predictors of print knowledge in children with specific language impairment: experiential and developmental factors.

PURPOSE: Many children with specific language impairment (SLI) demonstrate delays in print knowledge, yet the reasons for these delays are not well understood. The present study investigates the degree to which developmental risk factors and home literacy experiences predict the print knowledge of children with SLI. METHOD: Direct child measures, maternal reports, and observations from 41 mothers and their preschool-aged children with SLI assessed child language and attentional difficulties, family socioeconomic status, the frequency and quality of home literacy, and children's print knowledge. RESULTS: Hierarchical multiple regression analyses revealed that individual differences in children's oral language abilities did not explain individual variability in print knowledge. The quality of home literacy was the only significant predictor of print knowledge, but its influence was moderated by children's attentional difficulties. CONCLUSIONS: Findings reveal that language difficulty is not an adequate explanation for the print knowledge delays of children with SLI and suggest that literacy experiences may play an important role in the print knowledge attainment of children with SLI. The quality of home literacy appears to foster print knowledge by compensating for attentional difficulties in children with SLI but is not sufficient to promote print knowledge in children with SLI without attentional difficulties.

Emergent name-writing abilities of preschool-age children with language impairment.

PURPOSE: The 2 studies reported in this manuscript collectively address 3 aims: (a) to characterize the name-writing abilities of preschool-age children with language impairment (LI), (b) to identify those emergent literacy skills that are concurrently associated with name-writing abilities, and (c) to compare the name-writing abilities of children with LI to those of their typical language (TL) peers. METHOD: Fifty-nine preschool-age children with LI were administered a battery of emergent literacy and language assessments, including a task in which the children were asked to write their first names. A subset of these children (n=23) was then compared to a TL-matched sample to characterize performance differences. RESULTS: Results showed that the name-writing abilities of preschoolers with LI were associated with skills in alphabet knowledge and print concepts. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis indicated that only alphabet knowledge uniquely contributed to the variance in concurrent name-writing abilities. In the matched comparison, the TL group demonstrated significantly more advanced name-writing representations than the LI group. CONCLUSIONS: Children with LI lag significantly behind their TL peers in name-writing abilities. Speech-language pathologists are encouraged to address the print-related skills of children with LI within their clinical interventions.

Effect of prefrontal cortex damage on resolving lexical ambiguity in text.

The function of suppression of context-inappropriate meanings during lexical ambiguity resolution was examined in 25 adults with prefrontal cortex damage (PFCD) localized to the left (N=8), right (N=6), or bilaterally (N=11); and 21 matched Controls. Results revealed unexpected inverse patterns of suppression between PFCD and Control groups, with measures suggesting decreased interference across time in the PFCD group and increased interference in the Control group. The PFCD group, however, had significantly lower accuracy rates for the context-inappropriate condition. Results suggest a loss of the control aspects of inhibitory processes in lexical ambiguity resolution following PFCD. An aging effect on suppression function is also suggested.

Shared-reading dynamics: mothers' question use and the verbal participation of children with specific language impairment.

PURPOSE: In this study, the authors used sequential analysis to explore bidirectional and dynamic dependencies between mothers' question use and children's verbal participation during shared reading. METHOD: The sample was composed of mothers and their preschool-age children with specific language impairment (SLI; n = 14). Each mother and child extratextual utterance was transcribed and coded. Mother utterances were coded as "questions" or "other"; in turn, questions were coded for cognitive challenge and topic directiveness. Child utterances were coded as "verbal participation" (related to the book) or "other"; utterances designated as verbal participation were also coded for level of production (minimal, low, high) on the basis of their mean length of utterance. RESULTS: Descriptive data show variability in mothers' question use and some variability in the level of children's verbal participation during shared reading. However, mothers' question use did not facilitate higher levels of verbal participation by children. Furthermore, the level of children's verbal participation did not influence the cognitive challenge and topic directiveness of mothers' question use. CONCLUSIONS: The findings were contrary to hypotheses and collectively suggest potentially unique and challenging verbal dynamics between mothers and their young children with SLI during shared-reading experiences. Future directions for research are discussed.

Feasibility, efficacy, and social validity of home-based storybook reading intervention for children with language impairment.

PURPOSE: This study evaluated the feasibility, efficacy, and social validity of a parent-implemented intervention for promoting print knowledge in preschoolers with language impairment. METHOD: This trial involved 62 children and their parents. Each dyad completed a 12-week intervention program. Parents in the treatment group implemented print-focused reading sessions; parents in two comparison groups implemented sessions focused on either storybook pictures (picture-focused condition) or phonological concepts (sound-focused condition). RESULTS: Many parents completed the program successfully, but attrition was high; 23% of families dropped out of the program. Children who remained in the treatment group demonstrated significantly greater gains on 1 of 2 measures of print knowledge compared with those in the picture-focused condition but not the sound-focused condition. Parents generally reported favorable impressions of the program, although several aspects of the program received higher ratings from parents in the print-focused group. CONCLUSION: Study results raise questions about the feasibility of home-based intervention for some families; future research that examines the characteristics of families that may affect completion are needed. The causal effects of print-focused reading sessions are promising for addressing children's print-concept knowledge but not alphabet knowledge. Home-based reading intervention has considerable social validity as a therapeutic approach.

Emergent literacy profiles of preschool-age children with specific language impairment.

The primary aim of the present study was to explore the heterogeneity of emergent literacy skills among preschool-age children with specific language impairment (SLI) through examination of profiles of performance. Fifty-nine children with SLI were assessed on a battery of emergent literacy skills (i.e., alphabet knowledge, print concepts, emergent writing, rhyme awareness) and oral language skills (i.e., receptive/expressive vocabulary and grammar). Cluster analysis techniques identified three emergent literacy profiles: (1) Highest Emergent Literacy, Strength in Alphabet Knowledge; (2) Average Emergent Literacy, Strength in Print Concepts; and (3) Lowest Emergent Literacy across Skills. After taking into account the contribution of child age, receptive and expressive language skills made a small contribution to the prediction of profile membership. The present findings, which may be characterized as exploratory given the relatively modest sample size, suggest that preschool-age children with SLI display substantial individual differences with regard to their emergent literacy skills and that these differences cannot be fully determined by children's age or oral language performance. Replication of the present findings with a larger sample of children is needed.

Language and literacy curriculum supplement for preschoolers who are academically at risk: a feasibility study.

PURPOSE: The potential benefit that a low-cost scripted language and literacy supplemental curriculum titled Read It Again! (RIA; L. M. Justice, A. S. McGinty, A. R. Beckman, & C. R. Kilday, 2006) may have on preschool-age children's skills was explored. RIA was developed to meet the needs of preschool educators who may not have access to current commercially available high-cost language and literacy curricula, which often require ongoing intensive professional development. RIA involves implementing 60 large-group lessons over a 30-week period that feature repeated use of 15 commercial storybooks. METHOD: Using a quasi-experimental pre-post research design, 11 preschool teachers implemented RIA in their classrooms for an academic year, and 9 teachers working in comparable preschool programs served as comparisons. Language and literacy measures were collected in the fall and spring of the year. RESULTS: Children whose teachers implemented RIA had higher scores in the spring on measures of language (i.e., grammar and vocabulary) and measures of literacy (i.e., rhyme, alliteration, and print). Effect-size estimates were consistent with medium- to large-size effects. CONCLUSIONS: RIA may be a viable means of enhancing the language and literacy instruction that is delivered within preschool classrooms and, therefore, a means of enhancing children's language and literacy learning. Future directions for continued evaluation of RIA are discussed.

Print-focused read-alouds in preschool classrooms: intervention effectiveness and moderators of child outcomes.

PURPOSE: This study was conducted to determine the effectiveness of teachers' use of a print-referencing style during whole-class read-alouds with respect to accelerating 4- and 5-year-old children's print-knowledge development. It also examined 8 specific child- and setting-level moderators to determine whether these influenced the relation between teachers' use of a print-referencing style and children's print-knowledge development. METHOD: In this randomized controlled trial, 59 teachers were randomly assigned to 2 conditions. Teachers in the experimental group (n = 31) integrated explicit references to specified print targets within each of 120 read-aloud sessions conducted in their classrooms over a 30-week period; comparison teachers (n = 28) read the same set of book titles along the same schedule but read using their business-as-usual reading style. Children's gains over the 30-week period on a composite measure of print knowledge were compared for a subset of children who were randomly selected from the experimental (n = 201) and comparison (n = 178) classrooms. RESULTS: When controlling for fall print knowledge, child age, and classroom quality, children who experienced a print-referencing style of reading had significantly higher print knowledge scores in the spring than did children in the comparison classroom. None of the child-level (age, initial literacy skills, language ability) or setting-level characteristics (program type, instructional quality, average level of classroom socioeconomic status, teachers' education level, teachers' experience) significantly moderated intervention effects. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: Considered in tandem with prior study findings concerning this approach to emergent literacy intervention, print-focused read-alouds appear to constitute an evidence-based practice with net positive impacts on children's literacy development.

Implementation of responsiveness to intervention in early education settings.

This article provides an overview of how response to intervention (RTI) may be used effectively within early childhood settings. Discussion is organized to address such issues regarding RTI implementation as (1) how to design and implement a high-quality Tier 1 learning environment that systematically improves children's language and literacy outcomes, (2) how to design and implement a high-quality Tier 2 supplemental learning intervention that systematically improves the language and literacy outcomes of children who are unresponsive to Tier 1, and (3) how to design and implement a comprehensive and cohesive assessment system that appropriately identifies children who show inadequate response to the Tier 1 and Tier 2 learning opportunities. A model for implementing RTI using the supplemental curriculum by Justice and McGinty, READ IT AGAIN-PREK! (2008), is presented. This tool was developed to meet the needs of early childhood programs as they seek to implement RIA in a cost-effective and scalable manner.

Targets, techniques, and treatment contexts in emergent literacy intervention.

This article provides an overview of three important considerations when delivering evidence-based emergent literacy interventions: (1) treatment targets, (2) treatment techniques, and (3) treatment contexts. Treatment targets refer to the specific aspects of emergent literacy that clinicians address within their interventions and are organized into two broad areas: code-related skills and meaning-related skills. Specific targets within each skill area are identified. Treatment techniques refer to the specific clinical approaches used to address these targets. Using the scaffolding metaphor, we differentiate between use of high-support and low-support techniques for moving children along a continuum from dependence to independence. Treatment contexts refer to the location in which intervention is provided; prevalent contexts for provision of emergent literacy intervention include classroom-based, pull-out, and home-based (parent-implemented) interventions.