Date Presented 04/23/21
The purpose of this study is to determine the impact of a literacy-focused OT intervention program on reading engagement and reading achievement in elementary-school-age children. Children who develop functional literacy skills will have the ability to further their education and vocational goals. This concerns the field of OT because it is our mission to facilitate the skills needed for all people to engage in their occupational roles.
Primary Author and Speaker: Turquessa Francis
PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to determine the impact of a literacy-focused occupational therapy intervention program on reading engagement and reading achievement in elementary school-aged children with emotional disturbances. Students with emotional and behavioral disorders perform up to two grade levels below their same-age peers, and this deficit continues to grow as these students progress through school (Griffith et al., 2009). There is a lack of programs that address reading as an occupation, assessments that specifically look at students' participation in reading, and a framework for therapists to base their interventions on when addressing reading as an occupation (Grajo & Candler, 2016). Research questions for this study are: (1) Does providing an occupation-based intervention for literacy increase reading achievement at each grade level (Grades 1-5) in comparison with students who do not receive occupation-based intervention? (2) Does providing an occupation-based intervention for literacy affect self-perception of mastery of literacy materials?
DESIGN: This study design employed a quasi-experimental design using two groups, treatment (19 students) and control (9 students). The inclusion criteria for this study were: (1) the student must attend specified elementary school for children with emotional disturbances in the WNY metropolitan area. (2) the student must be diagnosed with emotional disturbance. (3) the student must be between grades 1-5. and (4) the student must be at least 1-grade level below peers in reading.
METHOD: Reading achievement was assessed using the Independent Reading Level Assessment (IRLA), which was administered by the classroom teacher. The IRLA reading score was recorded by the teacher using a survey provided to the teacher by the researchers at the start of the study and after the end of the intervention period. Reading engagement was assessed using the Inventory of Reading Occupations (IRO), which was administered by the occupational therapy researchers before and after the intervention. There are four main categories that were assessed using the IRO: (1) Reading preference (2) Perceived Reading Mastery (3) Reading Frequency and (4) Reading Environment. Students also completed a 12-question survey to determine reading interests to guide intervention materials. The intervention was administered 2x a week for 30 minutes each session, both sessions focused on reading engagement utilizing reading and writing materials within the children's identified interests.
RESULTS: IRLA treatment results were significant at p = .0001. IRLA control results were also significant at p = .008, however, the treatment group had more significant results and the outcomes of the intervention group trended higher than the control group. IRO results showed an increase in mastery for the treatment group between the pre-test and post-test of 0.084, while the control group showed a decrease. With the IRO, the treatment group increased in 3 out of 4 IRO categories, while the control group showed an increase in 1 out of 4 IRO categories.
CONCLUSION: An occupation-based literacy intervention program positively impacted reading achievement at a higher rate than students who received the standard reading intervention, supporting the positive impact of occupational therapy intervention with literacy achievement. The usage of an occupation-based literacy intervention also increased the level of self-perceived mastery of the intervention group compared to the control group, an important finding because increased self-confidence in literacy tasks increases the likelihood of continued engagement in literacy tasks to improve reading skills. These results provide evidence and procedures to guide intervention.
References
Grajo, L.C. & Candler, C. (2016). An occupation and participation approach to reading intervention (OPARI) part I: defining reading as an occupation. Journal of Occupational Therapy, Schools, & Early Intervention, 9(1), 74-85.
Griffith, A. K., Duppong Hurley, K., & Hagaman, J. L. (2009). Treatment Integrity of Literacy Interventions for Students With Emotional And/or Behavioral Disorders,30, 245-255. https://doi.org/10.1177/0741932508321013
