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We previously conducted a series of conceptual replications to parse out which-and to what degree-adaptations and individualized supports were needed for children to access and learn early reading skills using Headsprout®. Here we developed a systematic decision-making process for providing levels of support to individuals with autism who require additional instruction in order to access and/or advance through Headsprout®. Using a series of single-case AB, ABC, and multiple-baseline designs we examined strategies from our previous research and additional strategies iteratively developed during the study on six students with autism, all of whom demonstrated progression through Headsprout® and increased reading skills. We provide practical implications for teachers and suggestions to research these supports with other computer-based programs., Author(s): Julie L. Thompson [sup.1] , Joshua B. Plavnick [sup.2] , Lori E. Skibbe [sup.3] , M. Y. Savana Bak [sup.4] , Paul Doher [sup.2] Author Affiliations: (1) grid.264756.4, 0000 [...]

Purpose: Prior theoretical and empirical work has referenced several broad stages of narrative development, particularly in terms of young children's understanding of story structure. However, there is considerable variation in how story structure has been defined and assessed across these studies. The aims of the present study were threefold: (a) to test the unidimensionality of items designed to assess story-structure knowledge, (b) to examine story-structure item difficulty levels, and (c) to examine age-related progressions on individual story-structure components across 3-, 4-, 5-, and 6-year-olds. Method: Participants included 386 children (M = 4.8 years, SD = 11.67 months) from the Narrative Assessment Protocol study (http://www.narrativeassessment.com/), which was designed to revise a new narrative assessment tool for children between the ages of 3 and 6 years. Results: Factor analysis indicated that 16 of 21 items reflecting story-structure knowledge constituted a unidimensional construct. Individual story-structure item analyses further revealed that establishing subgoals and tracking the overall goals in the stories were particularly challenging for 3- and 4-year-olds. Conclusion: These findings hold implications for refinement of theoretical models of story-structure emergence in early childhood., A growing body of research has established a link between children's narrative abilities in preschool and their later reading abilities and academic success (Griffin, Hemphill, Camp, & Wolf, 2004; O'Neill, [...]

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. Key Words: shared book reading, specific language impairment (SLI), sequential analysis, mother-child interactions, questions, transactional, Shared book reading is hailed as a key context in relation to young children's language and literacy development (Adams, 1990). One of the better understood connections between early shared book [...]

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. Key Words: emergent literacy, language impairment, intervention, An improved understanding of specific early indicators of reading problems has been a major scientific breakthrough of the last decade. Individual study results (e.g., Badian, 1998; O'Connor & Jenkins, 1999; [...]

Purpose: Letter knowledge is a key aspect of children's language development, yet relatively little research has aimed to understand the nature of lowercase letter knowledge. We considered 4 hypotheses about children's lowercase letter knowledge simultaneously--uppercase familiarity, uppercase-lowercase similarity, own-name advantage, and frequency in printed English--as well as 3 interactions. Method: Participants were 461 children ranging in age from 3 to 5 years, all of whom attended public preschool programs serving primarily children from low-income homes, who completed a letter naming task. Results: Uppercase familiarity was the strongest predictor of children's lowercase alphabet knowledge; children were more than 16 times more likely to know a lowercase letter if they knew the corresponding uppercase letter. Uppercase-lowercase similarity and frequency in printed English also predicted children's lowercase letter knowledge, as did the interaction between uppercase familiarity and own-name advantage and the interaction between uppercase familiarity and uppercase-lowercase similarity. Conclusions: Findings suggest that transference from uppercase letter knowledge may be a primary mechanism for lowercase letter knowledge and that young children's knowledge of the lowercase alphabet letters is multiply determined. KEY WORDS: alphabet, preschool, letter knowledge, Young children's language development includes acquiring knowledge about oral and written language systems (Nation & Snowling, 2004). Although the developmental fields have a long history of generating and testing theories [...]

This study tested the hypotheses that (a) persistent language difficulties during childhood would predict lower school readiness and (b) language difficulties present just prior to school entry would predict lower school readiness beyond any effects of persistence. The study involved examining indicators of school readiness collected at kindergarten for children exhibiting various histories of language ability based on language measures collected at 15, 24, 36, and 54 months by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development's Early Child Care Research Network. Children (N = 1,064) were classified according to whether they exhibited expressive or receptive language difficulties at each time point measured. The relation between persistence and timing of these difficulties to each kindergarten outcome was studied through a common factor approach for categorical outcomes. Persistence of language difficulties was not generally related to kindergarten outcomes. However, a robust effect was found for timing of language difficulties: Children who exhibited language difficulties at 54 months exhibited significantly depressed performance on measures of school readiness. Findings are discussed in terms of current policy and research concerning kindergarten readiness for children exhibiting risk. Keywords: kindergarten readiness, school adjustment, language difficulties, language acquisition