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I'm trying to prove a point that early intervention for young kids with dyslexia (PK4 to 3rd Grade) is critical to serving their needs in school. The earlier we "diagnose" and see signs the early we can remediate and put back into a general education setting. I want statistics from medical journals, pyschology studies, showing the results of this early intervention in special needs schools for dyselxia. Focus on US please (but if international has kick ass stats please send. I'm working with the Craig's school to help convince parents to spend the money now to benefit later from the rewards.
Hello! Thanks for your request for statistics from medical journals, psychology studies, and proprietary research that prove the importance of early intervention among young kids with dyslexia, particularly those in PK4 to 3rd Grade.
The short version is that there are several research studies pointing to the significance of early intervention among children with dyslexia. Findings include the following: (1) The time it takes for reading skill to improve by a certain degree becomes four times longer if intervention is done by fourth grade instead of late kindergarten. (2) Of children who are recipients of early intervention, 56% to 92% attained reading abilities that are at par with those of children with no reading difficulties.
Below you will find a deep dive of my findings.
METHODOLOGY
To find your desired information, I looked first for materials discussing dsylexia and early intervention. With this approach, I came across a mix of articles and reports mentioning the importance of early intervention with some citing statistics from research studies. I took note of these statistics and the corresponding original studies they appeared in, where possible.
I searched in Google Scholar as well since you mentioned you are interested in data from scholarly literature such as medical journals and psychology studies.
STATISTICS
There are three research findings that are considered most supportive of early intervention, according to a recent post by Dyslexia Resource Trust, a non-profit organization that advances the interests of people with dyslexia. These are the following:
1. Of kids with difficulty reading, 90% acquire grade level in reading if, by the first grade, there is intervention. (Vellutino et al., 1996)
2. Of children who receive intervention only by age nine or later, 75% continue to have difficulty reading throughout their school years. (Francis, et al., 1996)
3. The time it takes for skill to improve by a certain degree becomes four times longer if intervention is done by fourth grade instead of late kindergarten. (Lyon, 1997)
I was unable to locate the actual titles of these authors' papers after an extensive search, unfortunately.
A recent study by the University of California-Davis and Yale School of Medicine, which was published in the Journal of Pediatrics in November 2015, points to the importance of early intervention as well. According to the study, the difference in reading achievement between dyslexic kids and non-dyslexic ones is already evident at first grade. It follows that identification and intervention should be done this early as well, when growth in reading is at its highest.
In addition, there are statistics supporting the value of summer intervention in thwarting decline in children with reading difficulties. Based on a study published in the Journal of Learning Disabilities in December 2015, among children aged 6-9 with reading disabilities or difficulties, there is a significant difference in reading ability between those who received summer intervention and those who did not.
The September 2015 supplemental testimony for the U.S. House of Representatives of Barbara Wilson, M.Ed., the co-founder and President of Wilson Language Training, contains the following quote from Shaywitz, author of Overcoming Dyslexia:
"A child with a reading disability who is not identified early may require as many as 150-300 hours of intensive instruction (at least ninety minutes a day for most school days over a one-to-three year period) if he is going to close the reading gap between himself and his peers. And of course, the longer identification and effective reading instruction are delayed, the longer the child will require to catch up."
1. Marked improvements in ability are expected among those who receive "appropriate multisensory structured language instruction" at an early stage. (Ritchey & Goeke, 2006)
2. "Increased activation in key brain areas for reading" is possible with early intervention. (Shaywitz et al., 2004)
Cambridge School in New Jersey, which is a school for children with learning disabilities, offered the following evidences of the value of early intervention.
1. Impact of at least 100 intervention sessions is higher among children in kindergarten or first grade compared to those in second or third grade. (Wanzek & Vaughn, 2007; Wanzek et al., 2013)
2. Of recipients of early intervention, 56% to 92% attained reading abilities that are at par with those of children with no reading disabilities. (Torgesen, 2004)
Lastly, a study on the effect of a "multiple-component reading intervention" on children at risk for or with reading disabilities in first to third grades demonstrates as well the usefulness of early intervention. Children in the intervention group performed better than those in the control group across all 14 outcomes. The study was published in the Journal of Education Psychology in 2017.
CONCLUSION
To wrap it up, the importance of early intervention among children with dyslexia is supported by numerous research studies. Among the findings of these research studies are: (1) The time it takes for reading skill to improve by a certain degree becomes four times longer if intervention is done by fourth grade instead of late kindergarten. (2) Of children who are recipients of early intervention, 56% to 92% attained reading abilities that are at par with those of children with no reading difficulties.
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