Evidence based practice brief : teaching emergent literacy skills to preschool children with specific language impairment

Preschool children with Specific Language Impairment are at an increased risk for later reading difficulties (Watson, Layton, & Pierce, 1994; Catts et al., 1999; Johnston et al., 1999; Boudreau & Hedberg, 1999). Current emergent literacy intervention approaches have been discussed regarding typically developing children and children from lower incomes, but they lack efficacy data for preschoolers with SLI. The purpose of this article is to describe the current literature regarding emergent literacy intervention in preschoolers with SLI and reach an evidence-base decision as to the most effective intervention techniques to utilize in order to prevent later reading difficulties.