Dr Ben Bailey

Background: COVID-19 has resulted in some educators and allied health practitioners transitioning to online delivery of literacy instruction. As far as we are aware, no studies have investigated online delivery of comprehensive literacy instruction for children with Down syndrome. Aims: In this pilot study, we explore the efficacy of online delivery of ABRACADABRA (a free literacy web application) for children with Down syndrome, alongside supplementary parent-led shared book reading, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Sample: Six children with Down syndrome, aged 8¿12 years, participated in this within-participants design study. Methods: Participants acted as their own controls with outcome variables measured at three timepoints: baseline, pre-instruction and post-instruction. Children participated in 16¿18 hrs of one-to-one literacy instruction online over a 6-week instruction phase, along with twice weekly parent-led shared book reading activities. Results: Outcomes from standardized assessments revealed statistically significant improvements in word- and passage-level reading accuracy skills over the instruction phase (pre-instruction to post-instruction) compared with the no-instruction control phase (baseline to pre-instruction). Improvements in reading comprehension skills were inconsistent across assessment measures and statistical analyses. Conclusion: Children with Down syndrome can benefit from comprehensive literacy instruction delivered via telepractice. Our study provides critical initial evidence of successful service delivery during a global pandemic and beyond.

This review investigated virtual reality and augmented reality (VR/AR) communication interventions for children, adolescents, and adults with communication disability and neurodevelopmental disorders, as well the feasibility of these technologies. A search of five scientific databases yielded 5385 potentially relevant records of which 69 met inclusion criteria. Studies reported on a wide range of VR/AR devices, platforms, and applications for people with autism spectrum disorder, communication disorders, and intellectual disability. Some VR/AR systems hosted effective communication interventions; however, participant outcomes varied across the included studies. Most participants with neurodevelopmental disorders and their supporters were able to access learning experiences using VR/AR and few adverse effects were reported. Directions for future research are discussed.

Background and aims: Effective literacy instruction demands a clear understanding of the subskills that underpin children's reading and writing abilities. Some previous research on reading has questioned whether the same subskills support literacy acquisition for typically developing children and children with autism spectrum disorders. This study examined the subskills associated with spelling ability in a group of 20 children with ASD aged 5¿12 years (ASD group). A group of 20 typically developing children matched for age and word spelling accuracy (TD group) provided comparative data. Methods: Participants completed standardised assessments of vocabulary, phonological awareness, letter knowledge and word spelling. Errors produced in response to the word spelling assessment were analysed for evidence of phonological awareness. In addition, all spelling attempts were analysed for evidence of phonological, orthographic, and morphological awareness, 'linguistic awareness', using the Computerised Spelling Sensitivity System. Results: Correlation and regression analyses showed statistically significant relationships between phonological awareness and word spelling accuracy for children in the ASD and TD groups. Spelling errors produced by both groups contained evidence of phonological awareness. Analysis of all spelling attempts showed that the overall level of linguistic awareness encoded by children in the ASD and TD groups was not significantly different. Conclusions: These findings provide evidence that phonological awareness and other subskills support spelling in children with autism spectrum disorders as they do in typically developing children. Implications: The similar spelling profiles exhibited by children with autism spectrum disorders and their typically developing peers suggest that these populations may benefit from literacy instruction that targets the same underpinning subskills.