Profiles of Emergent Writing Ability: An Examination of Typically Developing Preschoolers and Those At-Risk for Developmental Language Disorder
Abstract/Description/Artist Statement
The development of early writing skills is a critical aspect of emergent literacy. Despite this, there are gaps in the research examining the way in which preschoolers learn to write, leading to lack of understanding in this area. Having information about early writing skills is especially important for children who are at-risk for Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) in order to prevent later writing difficulties. This research study examined the letter and word writing abilities of 24 children, 71% of whom were typically developing and 29% of whom were identified as being at-risk for DLD. The children participated in a battery of standardized tests and early writing tasks including name writing, letter writing, and writing short words. Using the data collected, we were able to establish profiles among the children based on writing ability, reflecting the well-established variability in preschoolers’ emergent literacy skills. The majority of children at-risk of DLD demonstrated lower level letter-writing ability. In contrast, most typically developing children demonstrated better letter-writing ability. This informed the development of a new scale measuring letter writing ability that could provide clinicians and educators with information to help determine which preschoolers need additional letter writing support.
Faculty Advisor/Mentor
Danika Pfeiffer, PhD CCC-SLP
Faculty Advisor/Mentor Email
dlpfeiff@odu.edu
Faculty Advisor/Mentor Department
Speech-Language Pathology
College/School Affiliation
Ellmer College of Health Sciences
Student Level Group
Undergraduate
Presentation Type
Poster
Profiles of Emergent Writing Ability: An Examination of Typically Developing Preschoolers and Those At-Risk for Developmental Language Disorder
The development of early writing skills is a critical aspect of emergent literacy. Despite this, there are gaps in the research examining the way in which preschoolers learn to write, leading to lack of understanding in this area. Having information about early writing skills is especially important for children who are at-risk for Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) in order to prevent later writing difficulties. This research study examined the letter and word writing abilities of 24 children, 71% of whom were typically developing and 29% of whom were identified as being at-risk for DLD. The children participated in a battery of standardized tests and early writing tasks including name writing, letter writing, and writing short words. Using the data collected, we were able to establish profiles among the children based on writing ability, reflecting the well-established variability in preschoolers’ emergent literacy skills. The majority of children at-risk of DLD demonstrated lower level letter-writing ability. In contrast, most typically developing children demonstrated better letter-writing ability. This informed the development of a new scale measuring letter writing ability that could provide clinicians and educators with information to help determine which preschoolers need additional letter writing support.