Assessment and Intervention of Letter Knowledge With Children With Developmental Language Disorder: A Systematic...

Area of Science:

• Developmental Psychology
• Educational Psychology
• Speech-Language Pathology

Background:

• Letter knowledge is fundamental for reading development.
• Children with developmental language disorder (DLD) face significant literacy challenges.
• Existing research on assessing and intervening in letter knowledge for children with DLD is limited.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically review and synthesize existing research on letter-knowledge assessment and intervention in children with DLD.
• To identify gaps in current assessment and intervention practices.
• To provide guidance for future research and clinical practice.

Main Methods:

• Systematic literature search across multiple databases for studies on English-language letter knowledge assessment or intervention in children aged 3-18 with DLD.
• Independent screening and data extraction by two reviewers.
• Narrative synthesis of assessment focus, intervention strategies, and instructional approaches.

Main Results:

• Assessment studies predominantly focused on letter-name and letter-sound identification, with rare inclusion of recognition and writing tasks.
• Standardized measures were common, while experimental tools were scarce.
• Eight intervention studies integrated letter knowledge with phonological awareness or broader literacy, emphasizing letter-sound identification.

Conclusions:

• Current research on letter knowledge in children with DLD overemphasizes naming and sound identification, with insufficient attention to recognition and writing.
• The developmental progression of letter skills suggests that assessing all components may not always be necessary or appropriate.
• Intentional task selection, including writing, is recommended, and tools are needed to guide these decisions.