Reading intervention to improve narrative production, narrative comprehension, and motivation and interest of children with hearing loss

Abstract

This study examined the effects of a reading intervention on narrative production, narrative comprehension, and reading motivation interest in children with hearing loss. Seven school children between the ages of 9 and 11 were paired with younger "reading buddies" (without hearing loss). The children with hearing loss read storybooks to an assigned reading buddy including one narrative-style book and a matched storybook with manipulatives (i.e., felt board cutouts). Readings occurred for four days. Folloiving the dyadic story readings, narrative production and comprehension were compared across the "reading only" versus "reading + manipulative" conditions. Data demonstrated that the "reading + manipulative" condition resulted in significantly improved narrative quality and comprehension. Pre- and postassessment of the students' self-ranking of reading motivation and interest were also gathered and revealed a significant improvement in motivation and interest following the intervention. The authors conclude that data provide preliminary evidence that a cross-age reading intervention utilizing manipulative features in dyadic reading can improve the narrative ability, narrative comprehension, and reading motivation and interest of school age students with hearing loss.