Shared Book Reading for Children Who Are DHH (Farquharson & Babeu, 2020)

Purpose: Parents of children who are deaf or hard of

hearing (DHH) often report difficulty engaging their children

in successful reading experiences. Shared book reading

(SBR) is associated with many aspects of language growth

for children who are deaf and hard of hearing. The primary

purpose of this pilot study was to investigate the effectiveness of a 4-week training program in improving caregiver knowledge of emergent literacy features and SBR practices for deaf and hard-of-hearing children.

Method: Three caregivers with infants or toddlers who were

DHH attended a 4-week SBR training. Each week focused

on a specific language or literacy construct taught within

the context of a picture storybook. Pre- and posttest

questionnaires were used to assess caregivers’ knowledge

of SBR and early literacy. An additional follow-up questionnaire was completed to rate self-perceived changes in confidence levels and overall satisfaction with the training.

Results: All caregivers made gains in knowledge of sharedbook reading practices. Caregivers reported increased confidence in their ability to implement SBR practices at home with their child who was DHH. Caregivers also shared important insight regarding ways in which this pilot program can be improved for the future.

Conclusions: This study contributes to the field by

determining that knowledge gains and increased

confidence can result from a brief caregiver training, as

well as providing suggestive feedback for future trainings

of this nature. Our supplemental materials include the

PowerPoint files that were used for this training. Early

identification of young children who are DHH and the

provision of appropriate amplification or hearing technology,

such as hearing aids or cochlear implants, has given children greater access to oral language. Early provision of services may provide families the support they need to become actively involved in promoting their child’s linguistic

development (Moeller, 2000). Family involvement, in

the form of parent–child reading, has led to gains within

receptive and expressive vocabulary, narrative skills, and

later reading comprehension for children who are deaf

or hard of hearing (DHH; Ezell et al., 2000; Hargrave &

Sénéchal, 2000; Zevenbergen & Whitehurst, 2003). The

purpose of this pilot study was to examine the extent

to which a 4-week SBR training influences caregiver

knowledge of important early literacy concepts and

results in increased confidence levels in caregivers of

infants and toddlers who are DHH.

Supplemental Material S1. Building early literacy skills at home.

Supplemental Material S2. Providing feedback during dialogic reading.

Supplemental Material S3. Enhancing your child’s print knowledge during shared book reading.

Supplemental Material S4. Picking books and supporting your child during reading.

Farquharson, K., & Babeu, C. (2020). Examining caregiver knowledge of shared book reading Practices for infants

and toddlers who are deaf or hard of hearing: A pilot study. Advance online publication. Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups. https://doi.org/10.1044/2020_PERSP-19-00071