Bambini con disabilità e Lettura Dialogica

Le abilità comunicative nei bambini piccoli e in età prescolare sono fortemente determinanti nelle future competenze e successo scolastici, sociali e lavorativi come hanno dimostrato diverse ricerca fra cui Kaiser, Hancock, Cai, Foster e Hester, 2000; Kaiser, Cai, Hancock e Foster, 2002; Warren & Yoder, 1996. I bambini in età prescolare con disabilità hanno spesso deficit significativi nelle loro capacità comunicative, incluse difficoltà nelle abilità del vocabolario ricettivo ed espressivo e deficit complessivi di comunicazione e linguaggio orale (Shevell et al., 2003). Queste disabilità possono condurre a deficit persistenti nelle capacità di lettura, scrittura e alfabetizzazione con evidenti limitazioni sulla loro vita futura.

I ricercatori hanno scoperto che supportare con una comunicazione precoce e interventi linguistici i bambini con disabilità può essere efficace, in particolare quando questi interventi si verificano all’inizio della vita, hanno una forte base empirica e si svolgono in contesti naturali e inclusivi (Hemmeter & Kaiser, 1994; Odom & Wolery, 2003; Warren & Yoder, 1996).

Poiché le capacità di comunicazione in generale e l’impegno con la lingua parlata e scritta in particolare sono fondamentali per i bambini con disabilità, è importante fornire agli insegnanti e ai genitori strumenti che siano efficaci e che si presentino naturalmente nella routine quotidiana (Carlson, Bitterman e Jenkins, 2012; Koppenhaver, Hendrix, & Williams, 2007; Marvin, 1994; Warren & Yoder, 1996).

È stato riscontrato che gli strumenti incentrati sulla lettura condivisa di libri hanno un effetto positivo sulle abilità comunicative e linguistiche nei bambini con sviluppo regolare ma anche in bambini con disabilità (Mol, Bus e de Jong, 2009; WWC, 2015).

Negli anni recenti sono state effettuate diverse ricerche che hanno messo a confronto metodi di lettura tradizionale (l’adulto legge ai bambini che ascoltano passivamente) con il metodo di Lettura Dialogica in gruppi di bambini con disabilità. Da queste ricerche è emerso un netto miglioramento nell’uso del vocabolario, nella capacità di interazione e nella partecipazione verbale dei gruppi che hanno utilizzato la Lettura Dialogica. Ad esempio Jacqueline A. Towson, Peggy A. Gallagher e Gary E. Bingham nella loro ricerca del 2016 sugli effetti della Lettura Dialogica in bambini con disabilità hanno dimostrato che i bambini che hanno utilizzato la Lettura Dialogica hanno ottenuto punteggi significativamente più alti nella formazione di un vocabolario e nella capacità di comprensione e comunicazione espressiva. Ciò si è verificato sia per le parole che erano specificamente mirate durante la lettura dialogica, sia per le parole del vocabolario aggiuntive contenute nel libro per bambini scelto.

La Lettura Dialogica, in questo contesto, è considerata uno degli strumenti più importanti appunto perché stimola ed attiva contemporaneamente diverse facoltà nel bambino, dall’utilizzo delle competenze verbali e di scrittura, alla costruzione linguistica, all’interazione con altri, la comprensione e il ragionamento, fino al comportamento.

Qui di seguito forniamo una lista non esaustiva di alcuni studi recenti, che citano l’utilizzo della Lettura Dialogica con bambini con disabilità.

Bellon, M. L., Ogletree, B. T., Harn, W. E. (2000). Repeated storybook reading as a language intervention for children with autism: A case study on the application of scaffolding. Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, 15, 52-55. 


Carlson, E., Bitterman, A., Jenkins, F. (2012). Home literacy environment and its role in the achievement of preschoolers with disabilities. The Journal of Special Education, 46, 67-77. 


Cohen, J. (1992). A power primer. Psychological Bulletin, 112, 155-159. 


Cole, K. N., Dale, P. S. (1986). Direct language instruction and interactive language instruction with language delayed preschool children: A comparison study. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 29, 206-217. 


Colmar, S. (2011). A book reading intervention with mothers of children with language difficulties. Australian Journal of Early Childhood, 36, 104-112. 


Colmar, S. (2014). A parent-based book-reading intervention for disadvantaged children with language difficulties. Child Language Teaching & Therapy, 30, 79-90. 


Crain-Thorenson, C., Dale, P. S. (1999). Enhancing linguistic performance: Parents and teachers as book reading partners for children with language delays. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, 19, 28-39. 


Dale, P. S., Crain-Thorenson, C., Notari-Syverson, A., Cole, K. (1996). Parent-child book reading as an intervention technique for young children with language delays. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, 16, 213-235. 


D’Alonzo, K. T. (2004). The Johnson-Neyman procedure as an alternative to ANCOVA. Western Journal of Nursing Research, 26, 804-812. 


Dunn, L. M., Dunn, L. M. (2007). Peabody picture vocabulary test (4th ed.). Minneapolis, MN: Pearson Assessments. 


Ezell, H. K., Justice, L. M., Parsons, D. (2000). Enhancing the emergent literacy skills of preschoolers with communication disorders: A pilot investigation. Child Language Teaching & Therapy, 16, 121-140. 


Fleury, V. P. (2015). Engaging children with autism in shared book reading: Strategies for parents. Young Exceptional Children, 18(1), 3-16. 


Fleury, V. P., Miramontez, S. H., Hudson, R. F., Schwartz, I. S. (2013). Promoting active participation in book reading for preschoolers with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A preliminary study. Child Language Teaching & Therapy, 30, 273-288. 


Hargrave, A. C., Senechal, M. (2000). A book reading intervention with preschool children who have limited vocabularies: The benefits of regular reading and dialogic reading. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 15, 75-90. 


Hay, I., Fielding-Barnsley, R. O. (2007). Facilitating children’s emergent literacy using shared reading: A comparison of two models. Australian Journal of Language and Literacy, 30, 191-202. 


IBM Corp . (2011). IBM SPSS statistics for Windows, version 20.0. Armonk, NY: Author. 


Justice, L. M., Kaderavek, J., Bowles, R., Grimm, K. (2005). Language impairment, parent-child shared reading, and phonological awareness: A feasibility study. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, 25, 143-156. 


Kaiser, A. P., Cai, X., Hancock, T. B., Foster, E. M. (2002). Teacher-reported behavior problems and language delays in boys and girls enrolled in Head Start. Behavioral Disorders, 28, 23-39. 


Kaiser, A. P., Hancock, T. B., Cai, X., Foster, E. M., Hester, P. P. (2000). Parent-reported behavior problems and language delays in boys and girls enrolled in Head Start classrooms. Behavioral Disorders, 26, 26-41. 


Kasza, K. (1987). The wolf’s chicken stew. New York, NY: Paperstar. 


Katims, D. S. (1994). Emergence of literacy in preschool children with disabilities. Learning Disability Quarterly, 17, 58-69. 


Koppenhaver, D. A., Erickson, K. A., Skotko, B. G. (2001). Supporting communication of girls with Rett syndrome and their mothers in storybook reading. International Journal of Disability, Development and Education, 48(4), 395-410. 


Koppenhaver, D. A., Hendrix, M. P., Williams, A.R. (2007). Toward evidence-based literacy interventions for children with severe and multiple disabilities. Seminars in Speech and Language, 28(1), 79-89. 


Levene, H. (1960). Robust tests for equality of variances1. In Olkin, I. (Ed.), Contributions to probability and statistics: Essays in honor of Harold Hotelling (pp. 278-292). Chicago, IL: Stanford University Press. 


Lonigan, C. J., Whitehurst, G. J. (1998). Relative efficacy of parent and teacher involvement in a shared-reading intervention for preschool children from low-income backgrounds. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 13, 263-290. 


Mahy, M. (1998). A summery Saturday morning. New York, NY: Penguin Books. 


Martin, N., Brownell, R. (2011). Expressive one-word picture vocabulary test (4th ed.). Novato, CA: ATP Assessments. 


Marvin, C. (1994). Home literacy experiences of preschool children with single and multiple disabilities. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, 14, 436-454. 


McConnell, S., Bradfield, T., Wackerle-Hollman, A., Rodriquez, M. (2012). Individual Growth and Development Indicators of Early Literacy (IGDIs-EL). St. Paul, MN: Early Learning Labs. 


McPhail, D. (1993). Pigs aplenty, pigs galore! New York, NY: Penguin Books. 


Mol, S. E., Bus, A. G., de Jong, M. T. (2009). Interactive book reading in early education: A tool to stimulate print knowledge as well as oral language. Review of Educational Research, 79, 979-1007. 


National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Early Child Care Research Network . (2005). Pathways to reading: The role of oral language in the transition to reading. Developmental Psychology, 41, 428-442. 


Pearson Early Learning . (2006). Read together, talk together: Kit A, ages 2-3. San Antonio, TX: Pearson Education. 


Pianta, R. C., La Paro, K. M., Hamre, K. (2008). Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS). Baltimore, MD: Paul Brookes. 


Reese, E., Leyva, D., Sparks, A., Grolnick, W. (2010). Maternal elaborative reminiscing increases low-income children’s narrative skills relative to dialogic reading. Early Education and Development, 21, 318-342. 


Sénéchal, M. (1997). The differential effect of storybook reading on preschoolers’ acquisition of expressive and receptive vocabulary. Journal of Child Language, 24, 123-138. 


Shevell, M., Ashwal, S., Donley, D., Flint, J., Gingold, M., Hirtz, D., … Sheth, R. D. (2003). Practice parameter: Evaluation of the child with global developmental delay: Report of the Quality Standards Subcommittee of the American Academy of Neurology and The Practice Committee of the Child Neurology Society. Neurology, 60, 367-380. 


Smith, M. W., Brady, J. P., Anastasopoulos, L. (2008). Early Language and Literacy Classroom Observation Toolkit, PreK (ELLCO-PreK). Baltimore, MD: Brookes. 


What Works Clearinghouse, U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, & National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance . (2007). Early childhood education: Dialogic reading.

What Works Clearinghouse, U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, & National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance . (2010). Early childhood education interventions for children with disabilities: Dialogic reading.

van Kleeck, A., Woude, J. V., Hammett, L. (2006). Fostering literal and inferential language skills in Head Start preschoolers with language impairment using scripted book-sharing discussions. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 15, 85-95. 


Warren, S. F., Yoder, P. J. (1996). Enhancing communication and language development in young children with developmental delays and disorders. Peabody Journal of Education, 71, 118-132. 


Whitehurst, G. J., Epstein, J. N., Angell, A. L., Payne, A. C., Crone, D. A., Fischel, J. E. (1994). Outcomes of an emergent literacy intervention in Head Start. Journal of Educational Psychology, 86, 542-555. 


Whitehurst, G. J., Lonigan, C. J. (2010). Get ready to read!—Revised edition. San Antonio, TX: Pearson Assessments. 


Zevenbergen, A. A., Whitehurst, G. J. (2003). Dialogic reading: A shared picture book reading intervention for preschoolers. In Van Kleek, A., Stahl, S. A., Bauer, E. B. (Eds.), On reading books to children: Parents and teachers (pp. 177-200). London, England: Routledge. 


Zevenbergen, A. A., Whitehurst, G. J., Zevenbergen, J. A. (2003). Effects of a shared-reading intervention on the inclusion of evaluative devices in narratives of children from low-income families. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 24, 1-15. 


Ziolkowski, R. A., Goldstein, H. (2008). Effects of an embedded phonological awareness intervention during repeated book reading on preschool children with language delays. Journal of Early Intervention, 31, 67-90.