The goal of this study is to examine the impact of a caregiver-implemented shared reading program, Sit Together and Read (STAR), on children ages 4 to 5 with developmental language disorder. The main questions it aims to answer are: * how much STAR impacts children's literacy skills in the short-term and long-term--up to two-years after completing STAR. * how do caregiver supports in the form of small monetary rewards or encouraging texts help caregivers to implement STAR at its intended frequency of sessions per week. Caregiver participants will be assigned to either a control group or one of three STAR groups. Children's skills related to literacy and learning will be assessed before the intervention starts, at the end of the intervention, and every six months post-intervention for two years. Researchers will determine the short term and long term impacts of STAR compared to the control group. Researchers will compare the three STAR conditions to see if the rewards or encouragement helped parents to follow through with completing more STAR sessions.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
TRIPLE
Enrollment
320
Sit Together and Read (STAR) features an explicit, systematic sequence of 15 objectives that target four dimensions of print knowledge: print organization, print meaning, letters, and words. These objectives are explicitly targeted in the context of repeated adult-child shared reading sessions and are systematically cycled over an intervention period so the child has repeated opportunities for acquiring the targeted print objectives. STAR is a manualized 15-week intervention.
Caregiver receives a monetary reward of $0.50 for each session logged (up to 60 sessions) and audio-recording completed (up to 15 audio recordings).
Caregiver receives three tailored encouraging text messages specific to each week of the Sit Together and Read intervention.
Schoenbaum Family Center; Crane Center for Early Childhood Research and Policy
Columbus, Ohio, United States
RECRUITINGNationwide Children's Hospital
Columbus, Ohio, United States
RECRUITINGPreschool Word and Print Awareness (PWPA)
Standardized criterion-referenced measure of children's knowledge of 15 basic print concepts
Time frame: Pretest before intervention and post-test immediately following intervention
Phonological Awareness Literacy Screening (PALS): Alphabet Knowledge and Name Writing
PALS-Preschool is a scientifically-based phonological awareness and literacy screening and progress measure that assesses preschoolers' developing knowledge of important literacy fundamentals. The assessment reflects skills that are predictive of future reading success. We administer two subtests that measures name writing ability and upper-case and lower-case alphabet recognition.
Time frame: Pretest before intervention and post-test immediately following intervention
The Reading House (THR)
A direct screening tool developed for use with pediatricians that allows a variety of providers to identify children who may be at risk for reading difficulties. It is a direct, book-based screener grounded in the concept of emergent literacy. TRH assessment examines 1) print knowledge, 2) alphabet knowledge, 3) letter-sound knowledge, 4) phonological awareness, 5) vocabulary, and 6) emergent writing.
Time frame: Pretest before intervention and post-test immediately following intervention
Woodcock Johnson Test of Achievement- IV (WJ-IV): Word Attack and Letter-Word Identification
We administer two subtests of the norm referenced, standardized WJ-IV, Word Attack and Letter-Word Identification. Measure of child literacy and reading skill. We will explore avenues for data reduction, including use of a latent-variable modeling strategy.
Time frame: Completed at all assessing timepoints. Pretest, immediate post-test, 6 month follow-up, 12 month follow-up, 18 month follow-up, 24 month follow up.
Woodcock Johnson Test of Achievement- IV (WJ-IV): Spelling, Passage Comprehension
We administer two subtests of the norm referenced, standardized WJ-IV, Spelling and Passage Comprehension. Measure of child literacy and reading skill
Time frame: 6 month follow-up, 12 month follow-up, 18 month follow-up, 24 month follow up.
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