**4. Programs for preventing reading and writing learning disabilities**

There are not many studies that design programs to prevent disabilities in learning written language, and that analyze their effects on students' achievement. Consequently, in the United States, the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) and the National Research Council's (NRC) Committee on Preventing Difficulties in Young Children have established the need for a National Reading Panel (NRP) that would agree on topics for reading instruction and for preventing reading disabilities.

Most programs that have been designed for this purpose seek to offer instruction in concrete aspects known to facilitate reading and writing and to present a global model that considers different instructional components. In this section, we present the characteristics and general objectives of some programs that consider different instructional components in an integrated fashion, and analyze the effects that these produce in students. These programs have been developed in the United States and in some cases have been implemented in other English- or Spanish-speaking countries.

#### **4.1. Success For All**

Elsewhere, there is some controversy about the influence of letter knowledge in languages with different orthographic consistency. Some studies indicate that letter knowledge is more strongly related to reading in transparent languages than in nontransparent languages [19, 23], and others indicate that it is not relevant in the latter, given that there is no direct corre-

Other studies have demonstrated that letter knowledge is also strongly related to PA at early ages in languages with different orthographic consistency [39, 42], but they do not establish the nature of these relationships. More research is needed to determine relations between PA, letter knowledge, and reading-writing of words, in order to establish what variable precedes

Rapid automatic naming, or naming speed, consists of naming different high-frequency visual stimuli, such as colors, objects, letters, and numbers, that are presented on multiple occasions in controlled fashion [43]. Rapid automatic naming is considered to be a measurement or index of phonological and visual recovery, depending on whether the items are alphanumeric

Studies have focused mainly on the relationship of rapid automatic naming to reading, in students with and without dyslexia, at different ages and in different languages. Children with dyslexia have been found to be slower in naming high-frequency visual stimuli than children without dyslexia [45–47]. In Ref. [45], rapid naming was found to have a strong relationship with word-reading speed in children with dyslexia, but not with word-reading accuracy.

Most studies consider alphanumeric rapid naming to be a predictor of several reading measures in typical learners [21, 25, 44, 47]. By contrast, there is no consensus on the influence of nonalphanumeric naming: some studies find no relationship to reading measures, while others do [21, 24, 25, 40, 41, 44, 48, 49]. Consensus is also lacking as to what measure of reading is influenced by rapid naming, at what age, and with what type of language. Some studies find that rapid naming influences only measures of speed, at early ages, and more strongly in nontransparent languages, while others also find a relationship with reading accuracy, at a

Finally, there are studies that try to clarify how rapid automatic naming relates to phonological awareness and other cognitive variables, in order to explain reading and writing in languages of different linguistic complexity. Some find that rapid naming is independent of phonological awareness and contributes differently to the explanation of word and pseudoword recognition [21, 45, 52, 53]. For others, rapid naming is indirectly related to reading,

The meanings of words constitute a representational system that makes up the lexicon of a language. When we speak of vocabulary, we refer to words that we know, in order to com-

spondence between graphemes and phonemes [28].

**3.4. Rapid automatic naming**

68 Learning Disabilities - An International Perspective

the others in languages with different linguistic consistency.

(letters and numbers) or nonalphanumeric (colors and objects) [44].

later age and in transparent languages [23, 25, 26, 40, 46, 48–51].

through phonological processing [54].

municate with each other, both orally and in writing.

**3.5. Vocabulary**

The objective of the program Success For All is to prevent difficulties in scholastic learning through a change in curriculum content during early childhood and primary education [59]. It was developed at the Center for Research on the Education of Students Placed at Risk, at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, and has been implemented in various states of the United States, as well as in Canada, Australia, Mexico, and Israel. This program consists of an intensive early intervention where students at risk for learning disabilities are able to meet curriculum-related objectives and avoid the need for special educational services. Reading and writing are emphasized as a strategic metacognitive process. The program does not defend a clear conceptual model of reading, but its foundational bases can be distinguished. Teacher training is a key element for program success. Coordination between classroom teachers and the reading specialist is ongoing. Mainstream teachers apply instructional strategies to all the students, and specialists do so at the individual level. The SFA program is implemented by an expert teacher who works directly with mainstream teachers and specialists who apply the program, helping them resolve any type of difficulty that appears.

The SFA program contains two subprograms: Reading Roots (3-to 6-years old) and Reading Wings (7-to 11-yeras old). Both have been adapted to Spanish and to Latin American culture [60].

The instructional components of Reading Roots are as follows:


The instructional components of Reading Wings are as follows:


The effects of SFA have been analyzed by the American Institute of Research and the Thomas Fordman Foundation, as well as others. An effect size of 0.50 percentage points in the reading average has been demonstrated for each school year. Children at risk gained more than one full point in the first year, and this increased exponentially through the fourth year and was maintained over the long term [61, 62]. Another finding was that the percentage of students referred to special education was lower among students trained with SFA in comparison to control students. In third grade, 2.2% of students in the trained group went referred to special education, and in the control group, 8.8% were referred [61]. Finally, the effects of gains from SFA are also noticeable in the second year, when reading and writing achievement of these students was compared to that of students who received the intervention accelerated schools [63].

#### **4.2. Starting Out Right**

Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, and has been implemented in various states of the United States, as well as in Canada, Australia, Mexico, and Israel. This program consists of an intensive early intervention where students at risk for learning disabilities are able to meet curriculum-related objectives and avoid the need for special educational services. Reading and writing are emphasized as a strategic metacognitive process. The program does not defend a clear conceptual model of reading, but its foundational bases can be distinguished. Teacher training is a key element for program success. Coordination between classroom teachers and the reading specialist is ongoing. Mainstream teachers apply instructional strategies to all the students, and specialists do so at the individual level. The SFA program is implemented by an expert teacher who works directly with mainstream teachers and specialists who apply the

The SFA program contains two subprograms: Reading Roots (3-to 6-years old) and Reading Wings (7-to 11-yeras old). Both have been adapted to Spanish and to Latin American culture [60].

(a) Oral language. By telling and retelling stories and sharing books, the program fosters an understanding of story structure, comprehension, and the mechanics of writing.

(b) Auditory discrimination. Listening to and isolating sounds in words in order to decode

(c) Phonological awareness. Presentation, identification, and production of rhymed endings

(d) Knowledge of the alphabet. Letter knowledge connected to stories and to daily routine.

(f) Emergent writing. Knowledge of the utility and purpose of writing through scribbling,

(a) Oral comprehension. Listening to stories read by the teacher, identifying their meaning (characters, situation, solution, etc.), establishing the purpose of the reading, introducing

(b) Reading comprehension. Selecting main ideas, drawing conclusions, and contrasting

The effects of SFA have been analyzed by the American Institute of Research and the Thomas Fordman Foundation, as well as others. An effect size of 0.50 percentage points in the reading average has been demonstrated for each school year. Children at risk gained more than one full point in the first year, and this increased exponentially through the fourth year and was maintained over the long term [61, 62]. Another finding was that the percentage of students referred to special education was lower among students trained with SFA in comparison to

formation of letters and words, connecting the dots to form letters, and so on.

and initial sounds in order to establish the sound-letter relationship.

(e) Vocabulary. Development of basic concepts and lexical families.

The instructional components of Reading Wings are as follows:

new vocabulary, and discussing the story.

ideas, through daily independent reading.

program, helping them resolve any type of difficulty that appears.

70 Learning Disabilities - An International Perspective

The instructional components of Reading Roots are as follows:

them.

Another program whose objective is to prevent learning disabilities is the Starting Out Right program, with planned instruction for both the school and family contexts, from the first months of life until third grade [62]. This program is sponsored by the Committee on the Prevention of Reading Difficulties in Young Children, of the National Research Council, and the National Academy of Sciences.

The SOR program is implemented from the first months of life until third grade, and includes family and school involvement [64]. It contains two subprograms: Growing up to Read (0-to 4-years old) and Becoming Real Readers (5-to 8-years old).

The instructional components of Growing up to Read are as follows:


Some of the instructional components of Becoming Real Readers are similar to those of Growing up to Read, although others are added to foster more complex processes. These components are as follows:

(a) Awareness of handwriting and of books and phonological awareness. Identifying phonemes in different positions in oral and written words, composing and decomposing words in syllables and phonemes, segmenting words into syllables and phonemes, and so on.


There is a need for relevant research studies that analyze the effects of the program on scholastic achievement, and its repercussions in decreasing scholastic learning disabilities [19].

#### **4.3. Comprehensive Early Literacy Learning**

The Comprehensive Early Literacy Learning (CELL) program seeks to avoid the appearance of learning disabilities, to improve students' performance, and to further teachers' professional development, by training teachers in processes for teaching reading and writing and in how to prioritize reading and writing in the classroom [65]. This program has been implemented in several states in the United States, as well as in Canada, Australia, Chile, and Mexico. It is characterized by giving priority to the teaching of reading and writing through the school curriculum, and to teacher training, as key elements in the prevention of LDs. The program is designed for 3- to 8-years old, although a continuation was designed later on, for children through 13 years old (ExLL). A Spanish version is available, entitled *Enseñanza inicial de la lectura y la escritura* (EILE), designed for the Spanish-speaking population in the United States [66].

The instructional components that make up this project are as follows:


(e) Writing, vocabulary, and spelling. Spelling and writing letters, words and a variety of stories, respecting spelling rules, and using different grammatical uses and text structures, both interactively and independently.

Application effects of the CELL program have been assessed in different schools in different states of the United States (California, Utah, Montana, Kentucky, Nevada, etc.) and in Mexico and Chile [65–67]. Children trained with CELL were shown to have higher levels of reading comprehension, reading fluency, vocabulary, and writing (spelling and composition) than control groups who were trained with only the ordinary curriculum, from first to sixth grades. Learning outcomes were also greater in mathematics, language arts, and sciences, from third to fifth grades, in English- and Spanish-speaking children who were trained with CELL [65–67].

#### **4.4. Program for the prevention of learning disabilities in reading/writing**

The program for the prevention of learning disabilities in reading/writing (PREDALE, for its initials in Spanish) was designed to prevent these disabilities in Spanish pupils from the ages of 4–7 years [68–71]. Its objective is to prioritize reading and writing and to foster cognitivelinguistic skills through all curriculum subjects, in order to avoid or minimize risks of specific learning disabilities and to improve performance in reading, writing, and mathematics at these ages. The program is applied daily by mainstream teachers in the ordinary classroom, where children devote approximately 3 h to reading and writing, using this method as a procedure for learning scholastic content. During the first hour, activities are carried out to foster phonological awareness and oral language. Afterward, reading and writing are focused on through the reading of stories and/or textbooks on different school subjects.

Activities are assigned progressively, with increasing difficulty, for each instructional component of this program, throughout early childhood education (3-to 5-years old) and the first 2 years of primary education. The easiest activities are carried out between the ages of 4 and 5 years, with more complex activities at ages 6 and 7 [68–71].

(a) Phonological awareness

Syllabic awareness

(b) Oral comprehension and vocabulary. Acquisition of new meanings through comments

(d) Writing and spelling. Tracing letters in lower and uppercase, spelling words with different linguistic complexity, preparing texts with different purposes, following punctuation

(e) Reading comprehension and fluency. Locating the main idea, making connections and

(f) Meta-comprehension. Developing self-control over the reading process itself, using strategies for predicting, asking, summarizing, and clarifying the text information.

There is a need for relevant research studies that analyze the effects of the program on scholastic achievement, and its repercussions in decreasing scholastic learning disabilities [19].

The Comprehensive Early Literacy Learning (CELL) program seeks to avoid the appearance of learning disabilities, to improve students' performance, and to further teachers' professional development, by training teachers in processes for teaching reading and writing and in how to prioritize reading and writing in the classroom [65]. This program has been implemented in several states in the United States, as well as in Canada, Australia, Chile, and Mexico. It is characterized by giving priority to the teaching of reading and writing through the school curriculum, and to teacher training, as key elements in the prevention of LDs. The program is designed for 3- to 8-years old, although a continuation was designed later on, for children through 13 years old (ExLL). A Spanish version is available, entitled *Enseñanza inicial de la lectura y la escri-*

(a) Oral and spoken language. Fostering listening skills and verbal discussion, telling stories

(b) Knowledge of sound, symbol, and structure. Development of phonemic knowledge (segmenting words, identifying rhymes, isolating initial and final phonemes, etc.), and knowledge of writing (directionality in writing words, structure of sentences and texts, etc.). (c) Reasoning skills. Letter and word recognition and phonological decoding (knowing the

(d) Reading and comprehension strategies. Reading to and with the children (independent reading, silent reading, reading aloud, guided reading, and shared reading with books of different formats and genres), comprehension strategies and reading speed (prediction and meaning summaries), and diversification of reading (critical, reflective reading of

*tura* (EILE), designed for the Spanish-speaking population in the United States [66].

The instructional components that make up this project are as follows:

(c) Letter and word recognition. Identification of all letters in any word position.

about texts read aloud or narrated.

72 Learning Disabilities - An International Perspective

inferences, and semantic maps or diagrams.

**4.3. Comprehensive Early Literacy Learning**

and explaining stories that were heard.

different types of texts in different areas of study).

grapheme-phoneme rules).

rules.


Phonemic awareness


#### Vocabulary


#### Morphosyntax


• Putting sentences in order to make a story

Phonemic awareness

• Counting phonemes in words

74 Learning Disabilities - An International Perspective

• Adding phonemes to form new words • Omitting phonemes to form new words

• Making words with jumbled letters • Guessing words from their spelling

(b) Vocabulary and morphosyntax

• Drawing-word associations

• Drawing-phrase associations

• Identifying synonyms and antonyms

• Oral definition of words

• Identifying absurd content

• Solving crosswords • Use of the dictionary

Morphosyntax

• Spelling backwards

Vocabulary

• Substituting phonemes to form new words

• Defining drawings (persons, objects, and actions)

• Forming sets of drawings in different categories

• Constructing and solving word search puzzles

• Putting drawings in order to make a story • Putting words in order to make a sentence

• Classifying drawings and words by semantic category

• Linking words by using the final phoneme of one word to start a new word

• Choosing the term to define a drawing (persons, objects, and actions)

• Completing sentences of varying length, with and without alternative choices

• Identifying vowels and consonants in words • Recognizing the vocalic structure of words


The effects of program application have been assessed in different studies; improvements were found in academic achievement, oral language, reading and writing in children with and without risk for presenting specific learning disabilities, from 4- to 7-years old, and a decrease in the percentage of these problems from 5- to 7-years old [68–72]. More research is needed to confirm whether these gains are maintained in the long term.
