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Abstract
Poor comprehenders have difficulty with reading comprehension despite adequate word reading accuracy and fluency. Weaknesses have been identified with lower level vocabulary and grammar skills and higher level language skills such as inference making. It is important that speech-language pathologists (SLPs) tailor intervention to meet the specific needs of individuals; however, there is a lack of research on intervention for poor comprehenders, who comprise a heterogenous group. This case study aimed to explore whether a pilot 8-week novel vocabulary intervention was (a) effective in improving word knowledge and (b) if gains generalised to reading comprehension. Following intervention, significant improvements were found on the semantic subtasks and in word knowledge for treated words on the Word Knowledge Profile measure; improvement was also seen for untreated words at 6-month follow-up. There were also gains on the standardised word and reading comprehension measures, providing promising preliminary evidence for the usefulness of the intervention.
Notes
1 CELF-4 was current at the time of data collection.
2 The program template will be made available during 2022 via the LaLYP website: (https://www.languageandliteracyinyoungpeople.com
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Katrina Kelso
Katrina Kelso is a speech-language pathologist working in private practice and a PhD candidate at Curtin University.
Anne Whitworth
Anne Whitworth and Suze Leitão are speech pathology researchers and academics in the Curtin School of Allied Health and the Enable Institute at Curtin, who have cosupervised Katrina’s PhD program of research.
Suze Leitão
Suze Leitão are speech pathology researchers and academics in the Curtin School of Allied Health and the Enable Institute at Curtin, who have cosupervised Katrina’s PhD program of research.