The Cellfield reading intervention is based on the multi-deficit theory of reading difficulties and addresses several foundation skills of reading simultaneously. Existing research has confirmed that the Cellfield intervention leads to improvement in reading skill directly following the intervention, but little data exist to determine the…

The relationship between prosody and comprehension, previously demonstrated in K--12 students, was examined in university students enrolled in first-year writing classes. Students completed the Gray Oral Reading Test-5 both before and after an expressive reading intervention (ER) or no oral reading instruction (NI). Throughout the semester, the ER…

This randomized study evaluated two evidence-based reading interventions with 121 middle school students who presented with reading fluency deficits. One intervention was teacher-directed and utilized numerous evidence-based strategies; the other intervention, the Helping Early Literacy with Practice Strategies for Small Groups Program, provided a…

This study sought to better understand the prevalence of concurrent and specific difficulties in reading fluency and vocabulary among adolescents with low reading comprehension. Latent class analysis (LCA) was used to identify a sample of 180 students in sixth through eighth grades with reading comprehension difficulties. A subsequent LCA…

This study examined the incidence of reading impairments, the reading profiles, and the outcomes of a reading intervention for youth involved in a comprehensive crime prevention program. Rates of reading impairments were between 55% and 61%. Reading profiles for participants with reading comprehension impairments showed deficits in phonological…

In this experimental study we examined the effects of a technology-mediated, multicomponent reading comprehension intervention, Comprehension Circuit Training (CCT), for middle school students, the majority of whom were struggling readers. The study was conducted in three schools, involving three teachers and 228 students. Using a within-teacher…

The purpose of this quantitative, quasi-experimental study was to investigate the impact of a repeated reading fluency intervention focused on prosody, counterbalanced with an intervention focused on reading strategies. Both of these interventions were designed to promote feelings of achievement through participation in activities intended to…

The purpose of this article is to outline the implementation of a summer reading project targeted at middle school students with identified reading deficits and behavioral concerns called Pathway to Graduation (PTG). The project was a collaborative process between a school district, local university, and department of mental health. The students…

This article provides an extensive review of the literature on the use of repeated reading to improve the reading fluency and comprehension skills of elementary-age students with learning disabilities. A systematic review of the published literature from 2001 to 2011 was conducted and nineteen (N = 19) research-based repeated reading studies were…

In early elementary school in most English-speaking countries children are taught "patterning," which involves learning repetitive patterns of colors or shapes (e.g., red, blue, green, red, blue, green). The present study was designed to test the effectiveness of patterning instruction when compared to equal amounts of instruction in…

Literacy acquisition is imperative to successful academic progress and to successful participation in our society. Students with identified learning disabilities are often among those who struggle to acquire literacy skills. The following dissertation shares the results of a reading intervention study in which nine students with identified…

The research base on how to effectively intervene to improve the reading fluency of students with academic and behavioral disabilities at the middle school level does not provide a strong support for evidence- based practices with this age group. The purpose of this study was to extend the body of research on reading fluency interventions to…

The current study follows a sample of lower skilled language minority (LM) and native English-speaking (non-LM) students who participated in an efficacy trial of a kindergarten phonics-based intervention. Follow-up procedures allowed 93% of the original sample to be retained for simple treatment effects modeling (N = 78 LM and N = 59 non-LM) and…

Many schools in the United States use the IQ-achievement discrepancy method to identify children with learning disabilities (a significant split between their intelligence and their achievement skills). Unfortunately struggling students who are not identified by this method remain in the regular education setting with no additional supports and…

While animal assisted therapy (AAT) has been a successful part of treatment plans within the medical field for several decades, AAT has not been quantitatively researched as a viable instructional tool that can be used in conjunction with other reading intervention strategies. With over one-third of elementary school aged children experiencing…