The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of an augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) app with transition to literacy (T2L) software features (i.e., dynamic text and speech output upon selection of a graphic symbol within the grid display) on the acquisition of 12 personally relevant single words for individuals with…

Interactive book reading (IBR) has proven effective for increasing children's lexicons with most of the results based on students' learning of nouns. Little is known about the application of IBR to instructional verbs (i.e., words used during the instruction of academic content). To address this gap, 122 prekindergarten children were recruited…

This study explores how child and text clues were related to 31 kindergarteners' word-meaning derivation outcomes for 372 words presented in books read aloud to children. Data were analyzed using a multilevel, cross-classification, ordered logit model. Children showed no word-meaning derivation 40% of the time, indicating a need for instruction.…

Research Findings: Mental state verbs (MSV), a component of literate and academic language, may facilitate vocabulary growth, as they relate to metacognitive and metalinguistic awareness as well as decontextualized talk, all of which have been associated with vocabulary growth. In this study, we examined teacher MSV use in group content…

Combining data from a series of three planned consecutive randomized controlled trials, the present study investigates two literacy interventions for preschool children with autism spectrum disorder. For the first cohort, children were randomized to interactive book reading (IBR; treatment) or business as usual (BAU; control); in Cohort 2,…

The study explored the nature of mother-child conversation during and after a shared book reading (SBR) interaction and how it relates to children's social understanding and prosocial behavior. Participants were 61 mother-child dyads (children's mean age 5 years, 8 months) from low socioeconomic strata (SES). Mother-child SBR and their…

An adapted alternating treatments design was used to compare the expressive use of thematic vocabulary by three preschool children with developmental delays during Dialogic Reading, a shared book reading intervention, and Activity-Based Intervention, a naturalistic play-based teaching method. The design was replicated across two early childhood…

This study examined the dynamic relationships among the components of the Simple View of Reading (SVR) in a transparent orthography (Finnish) and the predictive value of cognitive skills (phonological awareness, letter knowledge, rapid naming, and vocabulary) on the SVR components. Altogether, 1,815 Finnish children were followed from kindergarten…

Novel word learning is reported to be problematic for children with severe language impairments (SLI). In this study, we tested electronic storybooks as a tool to support vocabulary acquisition in SLI children. In Experiment 1, 29 kindergarten SLI children heard four e-books each four times: (a) two stories were presented as video books with…

This study reported a pilot trial of the Hands-On Parent Empowerment (HOPE) program, a 30-session program designed to instruct parents from disadvantaged backgrounds how to teach learning skills to their preschool children. The participants included 13 parents who newly migrated into Hong Kong from mainland China. The parents were required to…

Qualitative and quantitative evaluations were made of the 1967-68 academic period, the sixth year of demonstration classes, conducted by the Institute for Developmental Studies at New York University. Qualitative evaluations were obtained for reading, mathematics, classroom behavior, science, creative dramatics, and use of the Language Master…