Purpose: This investigation examined the efficacy of an individual phonemic awareness intervention for pre-kindergarten children with developmental language disorders (DLD). Method: A single-subject A-B-A research design was selected for this investigation. Three participants, ages 4;10 (P1), and 5;6 (P3), were included. P1 and P3 met the criterion for DLD, and P2 had typically developing language (TL). Baseline data using a stability envelope were obtained before implementing treatment (three data points). The investigators collected probe data on a combination of phoneme blending tasks (words, syllables, and sounds) presented randomly at the beginning of each session. The intervention phase included 12 sessions, and the withdrawal phase included three data points. Results: The investigation indicated a positive effect on two of the three dependent variables of phoneme blending for P1 and P3 with DLD. P1 and P3 could blend words and syllables, two critical phonological awareness stages foundational to blending sounds. With additional time and treatment sessions, it is reasonable to conclude that the participants would progress towards blending sounds. In contrast, P2, with TL, maintained preestablished skills from pre to post-test for blending words and syllables. However, as the intervention continued, results for blending sounds suggested a therapeutic effect. Conclusion: The data supported the initial hypothesis that early literacy skill of phoneme blending increased in pre-kindergarten children with a developmental language disorder when given a supplemental phonemic awareness literacy intervention, rejecting the null hypothesis.
