Intervention for Dyslexia - The British Dyslexia Association

intervention identified by Vaughn and Roberts (2007) are shown in Table 2. These
authors also stress the importance of providing explicit, systematic, targeted instruction
3-5 times a week, including ample practice opportunities with immediate feedback.
Table 2. Key elements of secondary intervention (after Vaughn & Roberts, 2007)
Phonemic
awareness
instruction
Teaching students to understand the sounds of language and
to manipulate them in ways that are associated with
improved reading.
Phonics instruction Teaching students how to link the sounds of language to
print, to recognise words based on recognized patterns, to
decode multisyllabic words, and to generalise the learned
rules of language to new words.
Spelling and writing
instruction
This is used to support the acquisition of phonics rules and
word reading. Many students benefit when they have ample
practice hearing sounds and then writing them. Mapping
sounds to print and teaching students to recognise word
patterns (e.g. am, it, ate, eed) helps students read words
rapidly. Thus, encouraging students to write letters, sound
patterns, words, and sentences during secondary intervention
yields improved outcomes for reading.
Fluency instruction Teaching students to read words accurately and with
sufficient speed that comprehension is not impaired because
of undue focus on word reading.
Vocabulary
instruction
Comprehension
instruction
Teaching students to recognize the meaning of words they
are reading and to build an appreciation of new words and
their meaning so that learning the meaning of new words is
an ongoing process supported by the teacher and through
independent activities.
Teaching students to monitor their understanding while
reading, linking what they read to previous learning, asking
questions about what they read, and responding to what they
read in increasingly sophisticated ways.
2.3 Critical issues in secondary intervention
2.3.1 Long-term effects
Several studies have carried out longer-term follow-up of children who have received
secondary intervention. Findings have generally shown that children who respond well
and make good growth during the intervention tend to maintain their gains
subsequently. For example, Vellutino, Scanlon and Sipay (1997) reported on a follow-up
of the children in the study described by Vellutino, Scanlon, Sipay et al. (1996) (see
Section 2.2.2). One year after the treatment those children who were classed as
‘treatment responders’, and who made marked gains during the intervention, were
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