Developing a Phonological Awareness Curriculum: Reflections on an Implementation Science Framework

This article describes the process of developing and implementing a supplemental early literacy curriculum designed for preschoolers demonstrating delays in literacy development.

Intervention research and implementation research have traditionally been viewed as sequential processes. This article illustrates a process of intervention development that was paralleled by a focus on implementation in early childhood settings. The exploration, preparation, implementation, sustainment framework is used to describe factors that need to be considered during a progression through these 4 phases of implementation. A post hoc analysis provides insight into a rather nonlinear progression of intervention development and highlights considerations and activities that have facilitated implementation.

The guiding principles of the exploration, preparation, implementation, sustainment implementation science framework highlight the important considerations in developing effective and practical interventions. Considering implementation and sustainment during the intervention development process and using data-based decision making has the potential to expand the availability of user-friendly evidence-based practices in communication sciences and disorders and encourage a bridging of the researcher-clinician gap.