Gaile Houle
U.S. Department of Education
Office of Special and Rehabilitative Services
Literacy development is the most critical academic task of a child's primary years. The importance of pre-reading and reading skills cannot be overstated. Research and demonstration projects, funded through the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) provide families and teachers of young children with language-learning disabilities and young children in general with the tools to enhance their child's literacy development.
The President's America Reads Challenge can provide effective intervention for all children, including children with disabilities. This is best accomplished through research-based models of intervention implemented by knowledgeable, caring adults. For young children with language-learning disabilities and young children at-risk for early reading difficulty, the process begins most effectively at an early age, with refined assessments. Specialized assessments are capable of identifying a child's development of the skills correlated with reading achievement in the primary grades.
From 1988 to 1994, OSEP funded an investigation of strategies for successful transition and inclusion of children with disabilities as they approached early elementary school-age. In one study, Catts (1993) conducted a longitudinal investigation of the relationship between speech-language impairments and reading disabilities. Certain speech-language abilities were related to early reading achievement. Phonological processing abilities, such as sound deletion and blending tasks, proved to be the best predictors of reading outcomes measured through word recognition. This relationship has been documented in studies involving children not identified as disabled (Catts, 1989). As children progress through the primary grades, and reading emphasis moves from word recognition to more complex comprehension tasks, receptive language skills become important for reading success.
Several outstanding OSEP model demonstration projects address the development of reading skills for young children with disabilities. At the Washington Research Institute, Notari, et.al., (1996) have developed and field-tested an emergent literacy curriculum for preschoolers. Ladders to Literacy incorporates metaphonological activities, print-awareness activities, and oral language development. The result is a successful program of phonological and pre-literacy skill development using "child-friendly" activities.
In the progression from sound research to best practice, it is important to note that with any innovative practice, implementation and knowledge utilization are critical steps that lead to children's success. Fuch and Fuch (in press) studied the implementation of new research-based practices. They confirm that teachers are more likely to use methods that enhance learning for most of the children in a classroom, not only children with disabilities. To that end, curricula such as Ladders to Literacy will have the strongest likelihood of completing the research-to-implementation cycle and enhancing reading skills for all young children.
For more information, please contact Gaile Houle at (202) 205-9045.
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