Literacy Intervention: A Case Study of a Child Who Uses Augmentative and Alternative Communication

Date of Graduation

Spring 2007

Degree

Master of Science in Communication Sciences and Disorders

Department

Communication Sciences and Disorders

Committee Chair

Lisa Wood

Abstract

The current study implemented a single-subject design to investigate the effectiveness of a direct, tailored literacy intervention for a child with Down syndrome who used augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). Instruction targeted improving phonemic awareness skills to facilitate acquisition of spelling and decoding consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC) words. Specifically, goals included initial phoneme identification, short vowel discrimination, and combining graphemes to form words. The participant's progress across 12 treatment sessions was measured using the Assessment of Phonemic Awareness and Reading (APAR) (Iacono & Cupples, 2000-2002), assessment probes, and informal observations. Results revealed increases between pre- and post- intervention scores on blending real words, phoneme analysis, and real word recognition. In addition, the participant demonstrated an increase in points earned between the first and second set of assessment probes. Implications for future research include: studying literacy acquisition within subpopulations of AAC, developing appropriate assessment tools, identifying engaging activities, and integrating language and literacy intervention.

Keywords

Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC), Down syndrome, spelling, decoding, intervention

Subject Categories

Communication Sciences and Disorders

Copyright

© Selena M. Lawson

Citation-only

Dissertation/Thesis

Share

COinS