Abstract
BackgroundThis study evaluates the effects of a language and literacy intervention for children with Down syndrome.MethodsTeaching assistants (TAs) were trained to deliver a reading and language intervention to children in individual daily 40-min sessions. We used a waiting list control design, in which half the sample received the intervention immediately, whereas the remaining children received the treatment after a 20-week delay. Fifty-seven children with Down syndrome in mainstream primary schools in two UK locations (Yorkshire and Hampshire) were randomly allocated to intervention (40 weeks of intervention) and waiting control (20 weeks of intervention) groups. Assessments were conducted at three time points: pre-intervention, after 20 weeks of intervention, and after 40 weeks of intervention.ResultsAfter 20 weeks of intervention, the intervention group showed significantly greater progress than the waiting control group on measures of single word reading, letter-sound knowledge, phoneme blending and taught expressive vocabulary. Effects did not transfer to other skills (nonword reading, spelling, standardised expressive and receptive vocabulary, expressive information and grammar). After 40 weeks of intervention, the intervention group remained numerically ahead of the control group on most key outcome measures; but these differences were not significant. Children who were younger, attended more intervention sessions, and had better initial receptive language skills made greater progress during the course of the intervention.ConclusionsA TA-delivered intervention produced improvements in the reading and language skills of children with Down syndrome. Gains were largest in skills directly taught with little evidence of generalization to skills not directly taught in the intervention.
Highlights
Down syndrome (DS) is the most common genetic cause of learning disability and is associated with particular difficulties with language and communication
Children who received the intervention during the first 20 weeks of the trial made significantly more progress on several key measures than children receiving their typical instruction. All of these skills were directly targeted by the intervention; little generalization was observed to reading-related abilities which rely heavily upon phonological skills, namely nonword reading and spelling
There were no gains in receptive vocabulary or on standardised tests of language
Summary
Down syndrome (DS) is the most common genetic cause of learning disability and is associated with particular difficulties with language and communication. Children with DS show good visual skills (Fidler, Most, & Guiberson, 2005), deficits in phonological awareness (Cossu, Rossini, & Marshall, 1993; Lemons & Fuchs, 2010a) and a profile of stronger word recognition than decoding skills. This profile has led some to advocate the use of ‘whole-. Results: After 20 weeks of intervention, the intervention group showed significantly greater progress than the waiting control group on measures of single word reading, letter-sound knowledge, phoneme blending and taught expressive vocabulary.
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