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Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between oral language, literacy skills, age, and dialect density (DD) of African American children residing in two different geographical regions of the United States (East Coast and Midwest). Method: Data were obtained from 64 African American school-age children between the ages of 7 and 12 years from two geographic regions. Children were assessed using a combination of standardized tests and narrative samples elicited from wordless picture books. Bivariate correlation and multiple regression analyses were used to determine relationships to and relative contributions of oral language, literacy, age, and geographic region to DD. Results: Results of correlation analyses demonstrated a negative relationship between DD measures and children's literacy skills. Age-related findings between geographic regions indicated that the younger sample from the Midwest outscored the East Coast sample in reading comprehension and sentence complexity. Multiple regression analyses identified five variables (i.e., geographic region, age, mean length of utterance in morphemes, reading fluency, and phonological awareness) that accounted for 31% of the variance of children's DD--with geographic region emerging as the strongest predictor. Conclusions: As in previous studies, the current study found an inverse relationship between DD and several literacy measures. Importantly, geographic region emerged as a strong predictor of DD. This finding highlights the need for a further study that goes beyond the mere description of relationships to comparing geographic regions and specifically focusing on racial composition, poverty, and school success measures through direct data collection.

Response to intervention (RTI) provides an opportunity to avoid long-term and sometimes costly intervention. The best models of the tiered approach to intervention are still under investigation. In this study, 23 first-grade students were identified as having below average reading abilities and/ or poor phonemic awareness through classroom-based and standardized assessments and then randomly divided into two groups. One group received explicit phonemic awareness training with the speech-language pathologists (SLP) and multi-sensory reading instruction from a special educator in conjunction with classroom instruction. The remaining group received exclusively classroom reading instruction. No significant differences were found when comparing results of classroom-based intervention to students receiving classroom intervention plus 16 hours of additional intensive instruction. Both groups demonstrated overall improvements in reading efficiency, including segmenting and blending. Implications are discussed comparing Tier 1 and Tier 2 approaches with children scoring below expectations using formal and informal reading measures. (Contains 4 tables.)

This study examined the effects of systematic instruction emphasizing phonological awareness using three groups of readers (single deficit, double deficit and no deficit) aged 6:6 to 9:3. Twenty nine subjects identified with language-based learning deficits were assigned to a group based on assessment of phonological core deficit areas. After nine months of instruction using Phono-Graphix[R] subjects were posttested. Analyses revealed significant main effects for phonological awareness composites and rapid naming composites. Despite group membership, all children improved in their phonological awareness skills. Group interactions were observed for blending tasks, phonological awareness scores and rapid naming scores. Implications reveal systematic instruction using consistent encoding and decoding of the phonetic system yield significant results despite the number of phonological core deficits originally identified. (Contains 1 table and 3 figures.)

This paper presents results from a study initiated by a consortium of non-public special education facilities to respond to issues of accountability. Research questions were (a) How do students from the most restrictive therapeutic non-public special education facilities compare with other nationally published studies?; and (b) How do positive and negative discharge students differ in transition experiences after leaving a restrictive therapeutic nonpublic special education facility? Three cohorts of EBD students discharged 1994-1997 from seven non-public special education facilities in Maryland were tracked for three years using a longitudinal panel design with telephone interview surveys. Descriptive results are presented, which indicated that students who received intensive and specialized services in non-public education centers completed/graduated (positive discharges) at a much higher rate than national and regional averages and had lower arrest rates at the end of three years. This sample was most independent at Year 2 (employment, living situation, and related outcomes), but by Year 3, level of independence was lower than Year 1. Limitations and implications of findings are discussed. (Contains 8 tables.)

Twelve Spanish-speaking school-aged children participated in an 8-week pretest/posttest design investigation targeting improvement of their communicative competence through a narrative intervention program. Also examined the efficacy of providing an intervention in the children's native language. Findings revealed that use of a narrative intervention in the native language yields greater success compared with intervention presented in English. (Author/VWL)

The notion of understanding and working to develop supervisory skills that demonstrate understanding of generational differences is identified in the new Knowledge and Skills document for clinical supervision (ASHA, 2008). This article discusses the definition and delineation of the various generations and investigates the perceived differences between the generations. Specifically, the present study will explore how the clinical supervisor's demographics, characteristics, and perceptions may impact how a student's success is measured. Suggestions are offered by the authors on how to communicate supervision goals to students who belong to the Millennial Generation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]