Evaluation of Home Literacy Environment: An Illustration With Preschool Children With Down Syndrome

Fitzgerald, Jill; Roberts, Jason M.; Pierce, Patsy L.; Schuele, Melanie C.

doi:10.1080/1057356950110401

Cited by 25 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…Traditionally, however, therapeutic interventions for children with Down syndrome focused on functional communication and skills with little or no emphasis on pre-literacy and literacy development (Singh & Singh, 1986). Furthermore, these children are likely to start school with less than half the literacy exposure of their typically developing peers (Fitzgerald et al, 1995). It is therefore imperative that early intervention programmes for children with Down syndrome promote the development of preliteracy and literacy skills alongside interventions to enhance the child's spoken language development.…”

Section: Implications For Future Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Parents of children with language impairment participated in these behaviours on fewer occasions, did not paraphrase or invite their child to retell the story, and used less complex language in their interactions. In an evaluation of the home literacy environment of three preschool children with Down syndrome, Fitzgerald, Roberts, Pierce, and Schuele (1995) found that while all three homes contained books and literacy items, only a small number of literacy interactions occurred in the context of everyday events; and those were almost exclusively confined to story reading with few non-story reading literacy events observed.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

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Enhancing Phonological Awareness and Letter Knowledge in Preschool Children with Down Syndrome

Bysterveldt

Gillon

Moran

2006

International Journal of Disability, Development and Education

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This study investigated the effectiveness of a phonological awareness intervention for 4-year-old children with Down syndrome. Seven children with Down syndrome who attended an early intervention centre participated in the intervention. Their performance on measures of phonological awareness (initial phoneme identity), letter name and sound knowledge, and print concepts preintervention and post-intervention, was compared with that of a randomly selected group of agematched peers with typical development. The intervention involved print referencing techniques whereby the children's parents were instructed to bring the children's attention to targeted letters and sounds within words and to draw their attention to the initial phonemes in words during daily shared book reading activities. The intervention was presented for a 6-week period. The results indicated a significant treatment effect on phonological awareness and letter knowledge for the children with Down syndrome. Additionally, above-chance performance on the initial phoneme identity task was contingent on letter knowledge of the particular phoneme. Individual profiles of the children with Down syndrome pre-intervention and post-intervention are presented, and implications for the management of preschool children approaching the age of integration into mainstream primary schools are discussed.

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Section: Implications For Future Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Enhancing Phonological Awareness and Letter Knowledge in Preschool Children with Down Syndrome

Bysterveldt

Gillon

Moran

2006

International Journal of Disability, Development and Education

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“…Over a decade ago, Fitzgerald and her colleagues (1995) observed the home literacy environment of three preschoolers with Down Syndrome (DS). Unlike participants in prior studies who were mostly from low to middle-socioeconomic backgrounds, all the parents in the Fitzgerald study were professionals who had some college education; one had a master's degree and another was training to be a doctor.…”

Section: Home Literacy Environments and Emergent Literacy Experiencesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Home Literacy Environments of Young Children With Down Syndrome

Otaiba

Lewis

Whalon

et al. 2008

Remedial and Special Education

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Early home literacy experiences, including parent-child book reading, account for a significant amount of childrens' later reading achievement. Yet, there is a very limited research base about the home literacy environments and experiences of children with cognitive disabilities. The purpose of this study is to describe findings from a web-based survey of home literacy environments of young children with Down syndrome. Respondents (n = 107) were mostly mothers; a majority were well-educated. Findings suggest that respondents gave literacy a higher priority than reported in prior research on children with disabilities. Over 70% of respondents had 50 or more childrens' books and also had literacy materials including flashcards, magnetic letters, and educational videos or computer games. Most parents read to their children and used these literacy materials 10–30 minutes per day. Respondents reported that their children had reached many important early literacy milestones and they also described having relatively ambitious life-long literacy goals for their children. Important implications for research and practice are discussed.

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“…However, almost nothing is known about the relationship between home and community literacy environments and literacy ability in individuals with Down syndrome. The exception is a study that specifically examined the home literacy experiences of three preschool children with Down syndrome through an in-depth analysis of permanent products, tape recorded parent-child interactions, and observations (Fitzgerald et al, 1995). The authors concluded that: (a) although the home environments of the children were print-rich, there were only a modest number of actual literacy events, consisting primarily of storybook reading; (b) during storybook reading, two of the three mothers used a highly interactive style that was conducive to literacy development; and (c) the third mother appeared to have lower expectations for her child with Down syndrome than for her other, typically developing child.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Home and community literacy experiences of individuals with Down syndrome

Trenholm¹,

Mirenda²

2006

Downs Syndr. Res. Pract.

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-This exploratory survey was conducted to gain a detailed understanding of the home and community literacy experiences of children, adolescents and adults with Down syndrome. The data were collected from 224 parents/guardians across Canada who were asked to indicate literacy goals and priorities for their children with Down syndrome, the literacy resources they and their children utilised at home and in the community, perceived barriers to their children's literacy attainment, and solutions for alleviating the barriers. The results were analysed according to age when appropriate, in order to better understand the course of literacy development. Overall, the number of respondents who indicated their children with Down syndrome could read and write appeared to be consistent with previously published estimates, including the number reporting advanced reading levels. The wide range of reading and writing materials observed in use at home appeared to be greater than the range of materials actually used by children with Down syndrome. Relatively few of the parents who read storybooks to their children reported asking higher-level questions, suggesting that some parents might benefit from support in this activity. Many respondents reported using the library, and many expressed concerns about the quality and scarcity of literacy programs. The results are discussed with regard to their implications for how parents, caregivers, teachers, and program providers can encourage literacy development in persons with Down syndrome, and suggestions for future research.

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Evaluation of Home Literacy Environment: An Illustration With Preschool Children With Down Syndrome

Cited by 25 publications

References 16 publications

Enhancing Phonological Awareness and Letter Knowledge in Preschool Children with Down Syndrome

Enhancing Phonological Awareness and Letter Knowledge in Preschool Children with Down Syndrome

Home Literacy Environments of Young Children With Down Syndrome

Home and community literacy experiences of individuals with Down syndrome

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