The purpose of this study is to examine the effectiveness of a reading curriculum, The Symbol Accentuation Reading Program designed for special needs populations, on a sample of special needs boys ages 7-9. Effectiveness will be assessed using:
(1) The Elementary Level Reading Comprehension Subscale of the Metropolitan Achievement Test;
(2) The Informal Graded Word Recognition Test (Durrell 1956) used as a quick measure of a child's approximate reading level; and
(3) The Picture Story Language Test (Myklebust, 1965, 1973) used to measure children's writing ability.
Reading comprehension scores, reading level scores, and writing ability scores will be collected and analyzed in a qualitative manner. Comparisons will be made between two groups of students: (1) Students exposed to SARP; and (2) Students not exposed to SARP. However, the comparisons will be conducted using case study methods rather than statistical methods.
While there are numerous studies investigating the efficacy of SARP for teaching children to read and write, very few studies have specifically addressed the benefits of the program for special needs children. However, of those studies which have examined SARP for special needs populations, findings appear to be generally supportive. For example, Miller and Miller (1968) used the SARP technique to teach reading to a sample of 48 retarded children. The authors reported that:
. . .the accentuated condition accompanied significantly more rapid recognition of unfamiliar words and an equivalent ability to discriminate these words in their conventional forms. (p.200)
Similarly, Jeffree (1981) found that SARP assisted a sample of mentally retarded youngsters with the transition of picture recognition to word recognition. Also, Messier (1970) found that SARP increased the language skills and abilities of culturally disadvantaged children.
Given the foregoing, it can be said that the proposed stu...