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Effects of a Reading Fluency Intervention on Middle School Students Attending a Residential Treatment Center for Youth with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders

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Abstract

In the USA, students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) are among the most vulnerable to have reading difficulties, experience general academic failure, and drop out of school. Students with EBD who receive schooling in residential treatment centers are at even greater risk for academic difficulties. To date, very little research has examined the impact of reading interventions for students educated within a residential treatment center. The primary goal of this two-part study was to evaluate the effects of a reading intervention with four students with EBD who were attending a residential treatment center. Each student received an evidence-based reading fluency intervention to increase their reading skills, and data collected in a multiple baseline design across participants demonstrated that each student responded favorably to the intervention. Standardized reading assessments, administered pre-post, supported evidence of intervention effectiveness. Implications for applied research and practice are discussed, including the implications for using participants’ feedback to modify and enhance intervention procedures.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, Raleigh, NC, USA

    Asenath A. Devaney

  2. North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA

    John C. Begeny & Mary E. Haskett

  3. Kennedy Kreiger Institute and the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Diana S. Ginns

Authors
  1. Asenath A. Devaney
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  2. John C. Begeny
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  3. Mary E. Haskett
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  4. Diana S. Ginns
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Correspondence to John C. Begeny.

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We attest to the following:

• Animals were not used in this research.

• All procedures involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the NC State University Institutional Review Board and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. Also, informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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On behalf of all authors, the corresponding author states that there is no conflict of interest.

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Devaney, A.A., Begeny, J.C., Haskett, M.E. et al. Effects of a Reading Fluency Intervention on Middle School Students Attending a Residential Treatment Center for Youth with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders. Contemp School Psychol 23, 367–378 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40688-018-0184-z

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