Good sentence construction, the act of writing multiple words into sentence types that make semantic and syntactic sense, is needed for clear and meaningful written expression. The present study investigated the effects of a multi‐component writing intervention, sentence instruction and frequency building to a performance criterion, on the simple sentence construction of intermediate‐grade level students with high‐incidence disabilities. Four special education teachers delivered intervention to small groups of two students, a total of eight students, and assessed for retention. Overall results were positive but inconsistent across the small groups. Three of the four small groups improved their text writing within simple sentences during and following intervention, and moderate to large Tau‐U values for correct word sequences and for incorrect word sequences, respectively, were found. Results suggest that postinstruction writing fluency practice can be an effective part of writing intervention for intermediate‐grade level students with high‐incidence disabilities.

Twenty‐three single‐subject studies aimed at improving the writing achievement of students identified as having a learning disability were analyzed meta‐analytically. The effect size phi was used to compare the writing strategies. The dependent measures used to assess the efficacy of the interventions were also coded and reviewed. Results suggest intervention studies using the self‐regulated strategy development (SRSD) or a non‐SRSD writing strategy produced high effect sizes, suggesting the overall success of the writing interventions. Findings also indicate the 23 studies used a total of 39 dependent measures, which show the way writing achievement is measured varies greatly. Furthermore, many of the dependent measures were not standardized or technically sound.

Research supports the efficacy of intensive literacy instruction for children with moderate intellectual disabilities and Down syndrome (DS). However, much of the literature features measures closely aligned with evaluated interventions. Despite their increasing role in instruction, curriculum-based measures (CBM) are rarely featured in reading studies involving DS. Increasing the use of CBM in research has the potential to provide insight into the effectiveness of intervention and address concerns regarding the utility of approaches predicated on CBM. This single-case design study used CBM to examine the performance of children with DS ( N  =  17) who had largely exhibited gains on intervention-aligned measures following an intensive reading intervention. Results of multilevel modeling were mixed, with significant ( p < .05) effects relegated to letter- and first-sound fluency. No more than 29% of participants met goals created using a procedure derived from CBM. Findings have implications for future studies and implementation of literacy interventions for children with DS.

No abstract

All Rights Reservedii For Naomi, whoabove all thingsis the most kind and loving person.iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS When I was a child, my parents often told me that an education was the surest path to a better life; my ticket out of Dodge. It is my hope that this projectand the overall experience it representsconvinces them that I listened to their advice, albeit to an extreme. I extend to them my most profound thanks for their support and love, as it was they who first believed in me.