Progress in Language and Literacy Skills Among Children With Disabilities in Inclusive Early Reading First Classrooms

Abstract

Quality literacy instruction in preschool can be critical to the future academic success for all children, but may be even more so for children with disabilities. The purpose of this study was to examine progress in emergent literacy skills of young children with disabilities, compared with their typical peers, in an inclusive preschool setting. Participants in this study included 77 prekindergarteners with disabilities and 77 children with no identified disabilities who were matched based on age, teacher, and school. Children were enrolled in inclusive Early Reading First prekindergarten classrooms. Results suggest that although children with disabilities made significant gains mirroring the progress of their typical peers, as a group, they did not catch up to the achievement of their typical peers. Children with disabilities showed the greatest progress in Print Awareness and Recognizing Uppercase Letters. Implications for future instruction and research are outlined.