The present study firstly aimed to identify children with delayed reading who were missing the component skills of decoding fluency and who also displayed antisocial behaviour in the classroom. It also aimed to replicate with them an intervention designed by Church, Nixon, Zintl and Williams (2005). The study finally aimed to explore the question of whether children who have both a reading delay and a disruptive behaviour disorder require a reinforcement scheme to maintain their engagement in learning activities. Six participants worked with same-age peer tutors on specially-designed practice activities for approximately 20 minutes a day, four times a week, for 8-18 sessions. Improvement in decoding fluency and prose reading fluency was tracked for each child throughout the intervention. Results showed that the six participants gained, on average, sixteen months on their age-equivalent score for reading rate. Decoding fluency scores increased from a pre-test average of 16 correct graphemes per minute to 32 correct graphemes per minute at the post-test measure. Reading accuracy improved by an average of five months and reading comprehension by an average of six months. The gains in reading rate are most likely due to the practice opportunities afforded by the testing procedures as decoding fluency scores did not improve enough to have had a direct impact on the learners’ prose reading ability. Implications for remedial reading interventions with children with behaviour problems are discussed.

Very little research has occurred about students with severe disabilities and verbal difficulties and their ability to learn phonics, decoding, and other early literacy skills(Ainsworth et al., 2016 and Johnston et al., 2009b). Ainsworth et al. (2016) used the Accessible Literacy Learning curriculum to teach phonics and decoding. Johnston et al. (2009b) used a three-step instructional strategy, step one - increased opportunities for adult-directed teaching and active teacher child interaction, step two- use of time delay to teach, step three-consequences, to teach phonics and decoding. While both studies utilized time delay in some fashion, they were not entirely based upon the evidence-based practice. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to determine whether constant time delay is effective in teaching phonics and decoding to students with severe disabilities and verbal difficulties and if students can generalize the skill to words that have not been explicitly taught. Results indicated a functional relation between the use of constant time delay and decoding of CVC words. Additionally, students were able to maintain and generalize learning. Students with severe disabilities and verbal difficulties can effectively learn decoding of CVC words through constant time delay and can maintain and generalize the skill. Results were similar to other studies which implemented constant time delay to promote emergent literacy skills (e.g., Browder et al., 2012; Dessemont et al., 2019; Spooner et al., 2015; Tucker Cohen et al., 2008). Practitioners can use constant time delay to teach decoding to students with severe disabilities and verbal difficulties and to promote early reading skills. Future research should replicate the study with students from different age groups as well as examining the effects of this strategy on the acquisition of CCVC and CVCC words.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of constant time delay on decoding letter sounds within consonant-vowel-consonant words and to read constant-vowel-constant words skills for students with severe disabilities and verbal difficulties. This study used a multiple probe across participants design with four students with severe intellectual and/or development disabilities. Results indicated a functional relation between the use of constant time delay and decoding of CVC words. Additionally, students were able to maintain and generalize learning. Results were similar to other studies which implemented constant time delay to promote emergent literacy skills. Practitioners can use constant time delay to teach decoding to students with severe disabilities and verbal difficulties and to promote early reading skills. Future research should replicate the study with students from different age groups as well as examine the effects of this strategy on the acquisition of CCVC and CVCC words.

Background: Research suggests that most South African learners are not achieving the expected literacy outcomes of their grades. Compounding the literacy crisis is the paucity of South African research related to information and communication technology (ICT)-based reading intervention, which may have potential for population-based service delivery. Aims and Objectives The aim of the study was to determine the effectiveness of the Virtual Reading Gym (VRG) online intervention for grade 3 to 6 learners with reading difficulties. The objective was to describe changes in learners’ reading skills (accuracy, rate, vocabulary and comprehension) after VRG intervention. Design Two studies were carried out: (1) A retrospective analysis used data from a previous study conducted in mainstream schools which used peer reading mentors; (2) A prospective study in a school for learners with special educational needs that had speech-language therapist led intervention. Both studies used matched subject pre/ post intervention designs. Methods and Procedures In Study 1, matched pairs were retrospectively created to form a sample (n=20, 8 males and 12 females, 10 intervention group and 10 control group) of grade 3 to 6 learners. In Study 2, the prospective study, participants (n=20, 14 males and 6 females, 10 intervention group and 10 control group) were grade 3 to 6 learners from a school for learners with special educational needs in Cape Town. For both studies, the intervention group received VRG intervention 3 times per week (30 minutes per session) for 10 weeks. The control group continued with regular school activities. Independent samples t-tests for gain scores were used to analyse results. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with intervention participants from the prospective study. Thematic analysis was used to interpret the transcribed interview data. 5 Results For the retrospective analysis there were no statistically significant differences between the intervention and control groups’ reading accuracy, rate, vocabulary and comprehension improvements at the completion of the VRG intervention. Similarly, the prospective study found no statistically significant differences between the reading accuracy, vocabulary or comprehension gains of learners in the intervention and control groups. However, there was a statistically significant difference between the groups’ gains on one measure of reading rate. The thematic analysis findings were that learners expressed enjoyment of the VRG and intervention experiences, valued the role of the reading partners, believed they had made literacy skill gains, described self-competency improvements, expressed the belief that the VRG could result in reading improvements, and portrayed positive attitudinal and behavioural changes related to reading. Discussion The study contributes by investigating the potential of one practical solution to South African learners’ reading difficulties and adding to the limited local evidence base on ICT reading intervention. Although an intervention effect could not be demonstrated in this study, the changes noted in reading rate and qualitative findings suggest the potential for impact. The discussion considers some explanations for the findings, suggestions for improving interventions such as the VRG, and lines of future research that could be developed to support South African children in their struggles with reading.

This study investigated the validity of measures that were hypothesized to account for significant variance in English reading ability. During kindergarten, 63 bilingual Hispanic children completed letter identification, English and Spanish phonological awareness, rapid automatized naming, and sentence repetition static assessment tasks. They also completed a dynamic assessment nonsense-word decoding task that yielded pretest to posttest gain score, response to decoding strategy, and temporally related working memory information. One week prior to kindergarten, information was gathered regarding socioeconomic status, preschool attendance, English and Spanish language dominance, and language ability. At the end of first grade, the same children completed word identification, decoding, and reading fluency tasks designed to represent the narrow view of reading. Reliability, content relevancy, construct validity, and predictive evidence of validity were examined. The letter identification task, the English-only and Spanish-only tasks, and a composite of the participants' best English and Spanish scores accounted for significant variance in first-grade word-level reading. However, the Spanish and BLS static measures did not account for significant, unique variance over and above English-only static measures, and the English-only static measures did not account for significant, unique variance over and above the letter identification static measure. The dynamic assessment measure pertaining to the response to reading strategy instruction accounted for equivalent variance in first-grade word-level reading when compared to a combination of letter identification and BLS static measures. The dynamic assessment measure yielded the highest classification accuracy, with sensitivity and specificity at or above 80% for all three formative criterion reading measures, including 100% sensitivity for two out of the three first-grade measures. The dynamic assessment of reading strategy surfaced as a parsimonious, valid means of predicting first-grade word-level reading ability for Hispanic, bilingual children. When compared to multiple English, Spanish, and BLS static measures, the dynamic measure accounted for equivalent variance in the majority of first-grade reading measures and had superior classification accuracy.

In schools, didactic training is a common method for promoting intervention fidelity. Despite its prevalence, however, a number of literature reviews suggest that didactic training alone is not an effective way to promote intervention fidelity. Training seems to be more effective when coupled with daily or weekly performance feedback in applied settings. However, given the level of resources in typical public schools, this amount of performance feedback for all teachers and paraprofessionals may not be feasible. Therefore, there is a need to explore additional means of promoting intervention fidelity. The current study examines the effects of fluency training on intervention fidelity by paraprofessionals in an applied setting. Results suggest that systematic fluency training can improve intervention fidelity, even when the interventions are complex and are being conducted by paraprofessionals with limited formal education. The study's findings also suggest that ongoing monitoring of implementation fidelity is necessary, because maintenance of these effects is idiosyncratic.

With high stakes testing in public schools, pressure for success prompts schools to implement intervention programs for reading and mathematics, often at the expense of extra-curricular and elective activities. Previous literature indicated a correlation between reading comprehension and mathematical understanding. This study examined the specific intervention programs being utilized by two rural Texas school districts and the impact these programs had on student mathematic scores as measured by the State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness (STAAR). STAAR scores and student Response to Intervention (RtI) status were collected and identified over a five-year period for students Grades 3-7. Difference in scores for RtI and non-RtI and growth over time were examined using independent sample t-tests and one-way ANOVAs, respectively. Contrary to previous research, no significant impact was found on student math scores as a result of the reading enrichment programs utilized by the districts in the study. Results suggest current reading enrichment programs may not be the most effective for closing the achievement gap in mathematics and emphasized a need for further research to identify specific reading enrichment programs that could impact both reading and mathematics scores to increase both efficacy and efficiency of district intervention programs.

Students at risk for reading difficulties often display skills deficits in basic reading skills (e.g., phonological awareness or PA, fluency, and comprehension). Phonological awareness instruction (PAI) and scaffolded instruction have been effective in improving reading skills for all students (National Reading Council, 1998). In relation, Reading to Read (RTR), a remedial reading program based on the methods of applied behavior analysis, direct instruction, and curriculum-based assessment, has been found to improve oral reading fluency and comprehension (e.g., Edwards, Tingstrom, & Cottingham, 1993; Tingstrom, Edwards, & Olmi, 1995). Despite the effectiveness of PAI and RTR in isolation, little research has been conducted to determine effectiveness of PAI and scaffolding combined with the RTR intervention. The purpose of this study was to investigate effectiveness of using PAI in combination with RTR as another instructional method for increasing reading fluency and comprehension. Participants included 5 elementary-aged students who have a special education diagnosis and are from rural southeastern region of the U.S. Data were collected using a single-subject research methodology and included correct words per minute (CWPM), errors per minute (EPM), and percent correct comprehension in all phases for all intervention conditions: (a) PAI, (b) RTR, and (c) PAI + RTR. Data were analyzed using visual inspection or graphical representation assessed by level, trend, and variability around level and trend between the different interventions as it relates to CWPM, EPM, and percent correct comprehension. When examining reading fluency, 1 of the 5 students who received the PAI + RTR interventions improved in reading fluency from baseline to intervention. When examining reading comprehension, all students demonstrated little to no change in percent correct comprehension questions across all conditions and phases. Implications, limitations, and future research relating to the results of this study are also discussed.

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