effects of joint book reading emphasizing print focus on print awareness in preschool children with Down syndrome: A preliminary investigation

Most typically developing children experience a wide variety of literary experiences before they ever learn to read. Young children with intellectual impairments may not be as fortunate due to multiple developmental delays and therapeutic needs. Research has supported joint book reading as an effective intervention technique for children with language impairments and other risks for developmental delays. Two research questions were explored in this preliminary investigation. First, to what extent does a specific joint book reading training program, emphasizing a print focus, increase verbal and nonverbal print referencing behaviors in parents during joint book reading? Secondly, to what extent does the same joint book reading program, emphasizing a print focus, affect the print awareness skills in children with Down syndrome? Five mothers and their preschoolers with Down syndrome participated in this study. Two of the mother/child pairs were randomly assigned as controls. The mothers were taught to engage in joint book reading using verbal and nonverbal print references. The effects of this joint book reading technique on the development of print awareness skills in the children were then measured. Results indicated that all three mothers who received training increased their verbal and nonverbal print referencing behaviors. In addition, all three children whose mothers received training made some gains in print awareness skills, in particular in print knowledge. Two of the three children also made gains in alphabet knowledge and sound awareness. The results of this study support the benefit of literacy stimulation (luring joint book reading for young children with Down syndrome.