Impact of reading intervention on the phonological awareness of children with autism spectrum disorder: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

PURPOSE: To review studies that have intervention in reading with impacts on phonological awareness in children with autism spectrum disorder. RESEARCH STRATEGIES: Searches took place until February 2021 in Cochrane, Embase, ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), LILACS (Latin American and Caribbean Health Sciences Literature), PubMed/Medline, Scopus, Web of Science and gray literature databases. SELECTION CRITERIA: The review included experimental studies with preschoolers and schoolchildren with ASD. Two independent reviewers selected the studies and, in case of disagreement, a third reviewer was consulted. DATA ANALYSIS: Joanna Briggs Institute checklists were used for risk of bias. A random effects meta-analysis was performed and the certainty of the evidence was assessed using the GRADE tool. RESULTS: Eight studies with some impact on phonological awareness were reviewed. The risk of bias was low and moderate. The certainty of the evidence was low for randomized trials and very low for non-randomised trials. Comparison of pre- and post-therapy on the Preschool Literacy Test (TOPEL) showed that children with ASD improved phonological awareness, with a mean difference between baseline and post-therapy of 6.21 (95% CI = 3.75-8.67; I2 = 0%). CONCLUSION: Shared reading and software activities with words and phrases can alter phonological awareness. These results support further research with larger samples and a detailed description of the intervention to observe its effectiveness in phonological awareness.

Impact of reading intervention on the phonological awareness of children with autism spectrum disorder: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract Purpose To review studies that have intervention in reading with impacts on phonological awareness in children with autism spectrum disorder. Research strategies Searches took place until February 2021 in Cochrane, Embase, ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), LILACS (Latin American and Caribbean Health Sciences Literature), PubMed/Medline, Scopus, Web of Science and gray literature databases. Selection criteria The review included experimental studies with preschoolers and schoolchildren with ASD. Two independent reviewers selected the studies and, in case of disagreement, a third reviewer was consulted. Data analysis Joanna Briggs Institute checklists were used for risk of bias. A random effects meta-analysis was performed and the certainty of the evidence was assessed using the GRADE tool. Results Eight studies with some impact on phonological awareness were reviewed. The risk of bias was low and moderate. The certainty of the evidence was low for randomized trials and very low for non-randomised trials. Comparison of pre- and post-therapy on the Preschool Literacy Test (TOPEL) showed that children with ASD improved phonological awareness, with a mean difference between baseline and post-therapy of 6.21 (95% CI = 3.75-8.67; I2 = 0%). Conclusion Shared reading and software activities with words and phrases can alter phonological awareness. These results support further research with larger samples and a detailed description of the intervention to observe its effectiveness in phonological awareness.

Bilingualism in the development of phonological awareness skills: an integrative literature review / O bilinguismo no desenvolvimento das habilidades de consciência fonológica: revisão integrativa da literatura

ABSTRACT Purpose: to verify the influence of bilingualism on the development of phonological awareness. Methods: this is an integrative literature review, built on the hypothesis of the relationship between bilingualism and its influence on the development of phonological skills in children. The construction was carried out in the databases: CAPES, Pubmed, Scielo, Eric, and LILACS, using the following free terms in Portuguese and English: bilingualism AND phonology, bilingualism AND phonological awareness and bilingualism AND phonological skills. The sample selection criteria were: a) scientific papers published in national and international journals with full text, free and available in the database; b) in English and Portuguese; c) that addressed the theme in the last five years. For the selection of the papers, reading the title, followed by the summary, and finally, reading the papers potentially relevant for review were considered. Results: following the eligibility criteria, 2,578 papers were identified. Of these, 87 were selected for complete analysis. The final sample consisted of eight papers, two of them being written by Brazilian authors. Of these, five showed better phonological awareness skills in bilinguals and two in monolinguals. Studies point out that age can be a predictor of language skills and better phonological awareness skills associated with good reading development. Bilinguals, early exposed to this skill, develop reading by phonology and those with late exposition, by semantics. Conclusion: the present study demonstrated that there are still controversies regarding the impacts of bilingualism on phonological awareness, including on the benefits of phonological awareness.

RESUMO Objetivo: verificar a influência do bilinguismo no desenvolvimento da Consciência Fonológica. Métodos: trata-se de uma revisão de literatura integrativa, construída a partir da hipótese de questionamento sobre a relação entre o bilinguismo e sua influência no desenvolvimento das habilidades fonológicas em crianças. A construção foi realizada nas bases de dados: Periódico CAPES, Pubmed, Scielo, Eric e LILACS, utilizando os seguintes termos livres em português e inglês: bilingualism AND phonology, bilingualism AND phonological awareness e bilingualism AND phonological skills. Os critérios de elegibilidade foram: a) artigos publicados em periódicos nacionais e internacionais com texto completo, gratuito e disponível na base de dados; b) em inglês e português; c) que abordassem a temática nos últimos cinco anos. Para a seleção dos artigos foram considerados a leitura pelo título, seguida do resumo e finalmente, a leitura dos artigos completos, potencialmente relevantes para a revisão. Resultados: seguindo os critérios de elegibilidade foram identificados 2.578 artigos. Destes, 87 foram selecionados para a leitura completa. A amostra final foi composta por 8 artigos, sendo 2 artigos de autores brasileiros. Destes, cinco artigos apresentaram melhor habilidade de consciência fonológica nos bilíngues e dois nos monolíngues. Estudos apontam que a idade pode ser um preditor de domínio da língua e de melhores habilidades de consciência fonológica associada ao bom desenvolvimento da leitura. Bilíngues expostos precocemente desenvolvem a leitura pela fonologia e os expostos tardiamente pela semântica. Conclusão: o presente estudo demonstrou que ainda há controvérsias quanto aos impactos do bilinguismo na consciência fonológica, inclusive sobre os benefícios na consciência fonológica.