This study explored the effects of ABRACADABRA, a free computer-assisted literacy program, on the reading accuracy and comprehension skills of children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). ABRACADABRA is a balanced literacy instruction program, targeting both code and meaning-based reading abilities. Twenty children with ASD, aged 5-11…

Despite data supporting the benefits of early reading interventions, there has been little evaluation of the long-term educational impact of these interventions, with most follow-up studies lasting less than 2 years (Suggate, 2010). This study evaluated reading outcomes more than a decade after the completion of an 8-month reading intervention…

Addressing the reading needs of adolescent learners living in rural areas may create challenges for teachers and administrators in the age of accountability. This study addressed this issue by implementing two explicit instructional approaches with struggling adolescent readers (n = 49) in a rural middle school in the southeastern United States.…

Trained volunteers tutored youth and adults who were reading below fifth grade level. Pre- and posttest measures of reading, verbal language, listening comprehension, and locus of control were taken. Experimental subjects, but not controls, made significant gains in general reading and discrete reading subskills. Trained volunteers can ameliorate…

Three approaches to initial reading instruction were evaluated to determine their relative effectiveness in establishing word recognition skills. Significant differences between the three groups of children were found in the posttest scores: a special alphabet approach produced highest scores; a phonetic approach, next highest; and a look-say…

Reading instruction and its effects were examined for 105 students in elementary classrooms for the learning disabled. Extensive detailed observations of students, teachers, and instructional material were used to explore the plausibility of a causal model of the effects of reading behaviors and instruction on students' reading performance.…