RESUMEN
Purpose This study investigated the use of a new software feature, namely, dynamic text with speech output, on the acquisition of single-word reading skills by six children with developmental disabilities during shared e-book reading experiences with six typically developing peers. Method A single-subject, multiple-probe design across participants was used to evaluate the effects of the software intervention. Six children with developmental delays were the primary focus for intervention, while six children with typical development participated as peer partners in intervention activities. e-Books were created with the new software feature, in which a child selects a picture from the e-book and the written word is presented dynamically and then spoken out. These e-books were then used in shared reading activities with dyads including a child with a disability and a peer with typical development. Participants engaged in the shared reading activity for an average of 13 sessions over a 6-week time period, an average of 65 min of intervention for each dyad. Results Participants with disabilities acquired an average of 73% of the words to which they were exposed, a gain of 4.3 words above the baseline average of 1.7 correct responses. The average effect size (Tau-U) was .94, evidence of a very large effect. Conclusion The results provide evidence that the use of e-books with the dynamic text and speech output feature during inclusive shared reading activities can be an effective and socially valid method to develop the single-word reading skills of young children with developmental disabilities.
Asunto(s)
Libros , Lenguaje Infantil , Discapacidades del Desarrollo/psicología , Educación de las Personas con Discapacidad Intelectual/métodos , Educación a Distancia/métodos , Lectura , Programas Informáticos , Preescolar , Femenino , Humanos , Masculino , HablaRESUMEN
PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of the Transition to Literacy (T2L) feature within video visual scene displays (VSDs) on the single-word reading of academic vocabulary concepts (i.e., weather concepts) by a pre-literate adolescent with cerebral palsy and minimal speech. METHOD: A single-subject, multiple probe, across word sets design was used to evaluate the effects of the intervention. The intervention used an AAC app programmed with video VSDs embedded with hotspots with the T2L feature to teach the adolescent 12 academic vocabulary words. RESULTS: The adolescent acquired all target words successfully with only minimal exposure to the written words through the app and was able to generalize her learning to two novel tasks. Using Tau-U to evaluate the size of the observed effects, there were very large effects across all word sets. CONCLUSION: The findings from this study demonstrate the effectiveness of the T2L feature to improve single-word reading in pre-literate individuals with minimal speech. The use of video VSDs and T2L technology together may offer professionals a unique way to complement current AAC devices and literacy instruction for adolescents with minimal speech who are pre-literate.