Research Findings: The present study investigates both the proximal processes and contextual influences on children's oral language development in preschool. We examine whether teacher language practices vary across activity settings and program type, which teacher language practices predict children's oral language skills, and potential…

There is not general consensus on best practice for assessment and intervention of phonological awareness (PA) for children who are D/deaf or hard of hearing (D/dhh). The current study surveyed the PA practices of teachers of the deaf and speech-language pathologists to explore perceptions of PA importance, familiarity, and helpfulness related to…

Purpose: The primary aim of the study was to examine the association between early childhood practitioners' use of language facilitation strategies during interactive book reading of informational texts related to science and the language skills of preschool children with developmental language disorder (DLD). Method: Twenty-four practitioners (12…

Despite a marked increase in the volume of research investigating issues about reading interventions for students with ASD (e.g., Bailey and Arciuli, Rev J Autism Dev Disord 7(2):127-150, 2020; Chiang and Lin, Focus Autism Other Dev Disab 22(4):259-267, 2007), very few studies have examined the current reading practices experienced by children…

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often exhibit difficulties with acquisition of language and social skills. In this study, the authors evaluate the effects of Enhanced Milieu Teaching (EMT) combined with book reading to teach vocabulary words to young children with ASD during play. Replicating the study procedures of McLeod, Hardy, and…

Students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often exhibit challenges with reading development. Evidence-based interventions and specialized approaches to reading instruction are currently being implemented across educational contexts for learners with ASD (Machalicek et al., 2008), yet there is limited understanding of how core ASD features may…

Dialogic reading during shared book reading between adults and children is an effective way to promote vocabulary acquisition. However, there is limited research on what strategies parents are spontaneously using during book reading sessions, which are important to understand for optimizing parent training in dialogic reading. The current study…

Many children on the autism spectrum have difficulty developing reading comprehension skills. This multiple phase single case design pilot study examined the impact of a computer-assisted reading tool, Reading Eggspress™, with or without teacher directed instruction on the reading comprehension skills of four children on the autism spectrum (mean…

This study examined how intervention dose frequency affects phonological acquisition and generalization in preschool children with speech sound disorders (SSD). Using a multiple-baseline, single-participants experimental design, eight English-speaking children with SSD (4;0 to 5;6) were split into two dose frequency conditions (4…

Dialogic reading, in which parents engage children in discussion of books, is associated with long-term literacy success. Social media is an emerging platform for promoting behavioral change, but it has yet to be tested as a platform for engaging parents in use of dialogic reading strategies with their young children. This exploratory study was…

Listening comprehension is important for daily communication and at school, yet relatively little is known about the variables contributing to listening comprehension, especially in the upper elementary years. The aim of this study was to explore whether vocabulary, verbal memory, but also self-efficacy and self-reported concentration contribute…

Purpose: The goal was to determine whether interactive book reading outcomes for children with developmental language disorder (DLD) were affected by manipulation of dose (i.e., the number of exposures to the target word during a book reading session) and dose frequency (i.e., the number of repeated book reading sessions) and whether pretreatment…

Children with Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) commonly present with oral language weaknesses which disrupt the development of literacy and impede related academic progress. While there is evidence to support the delivery of manualised Tier 2 interventions with this population, little is known about the effects of Tier 1 interventions. A…

We describe the design and development of a technology-based inference-making intervention system that includes a set of interactive learning modules, each of which engages students to (a) view age-appropriate children's videos, (b) learn vocabulary words that are central to main ideas in each video, (c) respond to inferential questions, (d)…

This study investigated literacy learning in students with specific kinds of language challenges at a specific stage of schooling--transition to high school--when the language requirements of the curriculum can be especially challenging. For this exploratory research, a case study approach was adopted that compared 2 adolescent boys both with…