Background: As a group, autistic children with high support needs (with adaptive functioning in the range of an intellectual disability) are at risk of significant literacy difficulties. We investigated the parent-reported home literacy environment of this group of children. Method: Sixty-two parents of autistic children (4.5 to 18.25 years)…

Conflicting findings exist in the literature regarding the reading skills of children learning English as an additional language (EAL). Moreover, little research has considered how related literacy skills, motivation, and environmental factors may differ between EAL children and monolinguals, and how these factors may contribute to reading…

Read for Good's sponsored Readathon gives children in schools a purpose to read, combined with freedom to choose what they read, on their own terms, free from assessment or evaluation. The sponsorship money helps to provide a regular supply of new books and storyteller visits to the UK's major children's hospitals and supports school libraries.…

Children from families whose members have reading impairments are found to be poorer performers, take less advantage of instruction, and require more time to reach the reading level of children whose relatives are good readers. As a family's reading history may not be available, a self-report of reading abilities is used to identify children's…

We have conducted the national annual literacy survey since 2010 and have surveyed young people on literacy issues since 2005. This report outlines findings about children's and young people's reading from our seventh annual literacy survey conducted in November/ December 2016 and where possible relates those findings back to our other reading…

We evaluated the effect of morphological awareness training delivered in preschool (8 months before school entry) on reading ability at the end of grade 1 and 5 years later (in Grade 6). In preschool, one group of children received morphological awareness training, while a second group received phonological awareness training. A control group…

We present the case study of MB--a bilingual child with Down syndrome (DS) who speaks Russian (first language [L1]) and English (second language [L2]) and has learned to read in two different alphabets with different symbol systems. We demonstrate that, in terms of oral language, MB is as proficient in Russian as English, with a mild advantage for…

Accelerated Reader (AR) is a tool for monitoring and managing independent reading practice. Although a wealth of data is routinely collected about children's reading skills as part of the AR tool, no information is collected on the "softer" reading outcomes, such as reading enjoyment and attitudes towards reading. The National Literacy…

The special circumstances of bilingual and second language literacy learning offer investigators an important additional vantage point from which to better understand the components of reading ability. Cross-writing system comparisons complement this perspective. Comparing writing systems and how children learn to read through the medium of each…

This report outlines findings about children's and young people's reading from our fourth annual literacy survey conducted in November/December 2013. 29,422 young people aged eight to 16 participated. Some of the key findings for 2013 include: (1) Levels of reading enjoyment have improved for the first time since 2005 (see Figure 2, p. 9); (2)…

18,141 young people aged 8 to 17 participated in this online survey in November/December 2010. While the survey focuses on young people's attitudes towards reading, writing, communication skills as well as technology use, this report focuses exclusively on the reading aspect of the survey. More specifically, it explores how much young people enjoy…

This report reveals that children and young people are reading less and more are embarrassed to be seen reading, while many also believe that their parents don't care if they spend time reading. However, not only are children and young people reading less and developing more negative attitudes towards reading, but there is also a clear correlation…

Wordless books offer a bounty of riches. The format is accessible to everyone regardless of language or reading ability, making the books ideal for use in international settings, classes with nonnative speakers, or families with adults or children who are struggling or emergent readers. They enrich the aesthetic lives and literacy skills of…

Many studies show that school leadership is a key factor in supporting change within schools, but few have specifically considered the impact leadership has on gains in students' reading outcomes. This article focuses on factors that typify leadership in schools where such gains have been identified and explores the nature and quality of…

Williams syndrome is a rare neurodevelopmental disorder caused by deletion of approximately 25 genes on chromosome 7q11.23. Children with the syndrome evidence large individual differences in both broad language and reading abilities. Nevertheless, as a group, children with this syndrome show a consistent pattern characterized by relative…