Shared Book Reading in Young Children with Developmental Delay and Typical Development

Abstract

A large body of research has shown that shared reading can promote language and cognitive development of children However the prevalence of the shared reading activity in young children with typical development (TD) and developmental delay (DD) was still unknown In addition few studies have investigated maternal behaviors during shared reading with children with developmental delay Therefore the aims of this study were to compare the prevalence of shared reading activities in young children with TD and DD and to analyze the reading behavior of their mothers in shared reading activity based on a model proposed by Whitehurst Besides we would like to identify which factors were related to the quantity of shared reading and maternal reading behavior in both groups of children Children aged from 8-36 months were recruited 61 for children with TD and 24 for children with DD The demographic questionnaire was provided before the assessment and the language development of children was assessed by the language subtest of the Comprehensive Developmental Inventory for Infants and Toddlers (CDIIT) The interaction between mothers and their child during shared reading was videotaped and maternal behaviors were coded using a self-designed dialogic reading evaluation form The multiple regression and the logistic regression were used to test the difference in reading activities at home and maternal reading behaviors between the two groups Additionally the Pearson’s correlation coefficient and Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient were used to analyze the relationships between demographic factors and the reading activities as well as maternal reading behaviors The results indicated that after controlling for child’s age and maternal educational level the age at the beginning of shared reading in children with DD was older than that of children with TD (p= 004) Children with DD were less likely to have shared reading routine at home (p = 003) and the amount of children’s books at home was significantly fewer than children with TD (p < 001) In addition the results of correlation revealed that in the TD group child’s age was significantly related to the length of time spent in per reading reading routine in the past month and the amount of children’s book at home in contrast a significant correlation with the age reported initiated reading was child’s age and family SES in the DD group In addition group was not a predictor for the total number of DR strategies used by mothers in shared reading but there was a significant difference in the amount of the strategy of “naming and pointing” (p= 002) used by mothers between the two groups Besides the result of chi-square method indicated that the proportion of mothers of the DD group tended to be lower than the TD group using the strategy of “praise and encourage” (p= 065) The result of linear regression analysis indicated that mother-child reading frequency was significantly contributed to the total used number of strategies (p= 031) in the TD group In the DD group child’s age and language developmental age and maternal educational level were significantly correlated with the total number of strategies The present study demonstrated that it was important to propagandize the benefits of shared reading to parents of children with DD and support them to maintain the reading routine at home In addition of 10 DR strategies the strategies “pointing and naming” “asking questions” and “connect the story with children’s own experiences” were often used by mothers; however other 5 strategies were less frequently used by them in shared reading Therefore when and how to use those strategies in shared reading may need to be particularly emphasized to parents of children aged below 3 years old in the future shared reading promotion program

Date of Award	2017 Aug 31
Original language	English
Supervisor	Yea-Shwu Hwang (Supervisor)