This article summarizes norm-referenced and criterion-referenced measures of narration and introduces a new criterion-referenced narrative scoring system called the Index of Narrative Complexity (INC). The INC was designed to be used as a progress-monitoring tool. A preliminary study of the use of this scoring system is reported that yielded evidence suggesting that the INC can be scored consistently, yields similar scores across five elicitation formats, is sensitive to change after intervention, and correlates highly with the Test of Narrative Language (Gillam & Pearson, 2004). These results support the use of the INC as a clinical tool for evaluating the outcomes of narrative intervention.
This systematic review focuses on research articles published since 1980 that assess outcomes of narrative-based language intervention for preschool and school-age children with language impairment. The author conducted a comprehensive search of electronic databases and hand searches of other sources for studies using all research designs except nonexperimental case studies. The results of the studies were converted to a common metric using effect sizes. The review yielded nine studies that met inclusion criteria. The majority of studies reported moderate to large effect sizes for narrative macrostructure and microstructure. Although the results of the studies were generally positive, each of the studies had a limited number of participants, limited experimental control, and considerable variation in the procedures and materials used. Clinicians should be cautious when interpreting the results of these studies. Narrative intervention is at an emerging stage of evidence and needs further investigation.
The results of this study suggest that literate narrative intervention may be useful for improving children's functional use of narrative macrostructure and microstructure, including literate language.
Narrative skills that are important for preschoolers include retelling stories, telling personal stories, and answering questions about stories. Narrative abilities form the foundation of reading comprehension. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of an individually delivered language intervention on the narrative skills of preschoolers with developmental disabilities. Five preschoolers attending Head Start and participating in special education received 24 sessions of intervention each lasting 10 to 15 min. a multiple baseline, multiple probe experimental design was used to investigate the effects of the intervention, which incorporated visual supports (e.g., icons and pictures) and retell and personal storytelling practice, on story retells, personal stories, and story comprehension. Improvements on all three measures were related to the intervention. Parents and teachers reported that the storytelling activities were engaging, enjoyable, and produced improvements in the children's language skills.
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