A First-Grade Intervention Program for Children at Risk for Reading Failure

All children entering first grade in two suburban elementary schools in Western Australia (N=124 ) were tested with the Satz test battery for early identification of failing readers. Twenty-one children were identified as being at risk after excluding those who were likely to be generally retarded intellectually. All 21 children continued to attend normal first-grade classes throughout the year, with the experimental group being withdrawn for two periods per week for six months for individual sensory-integrative therapy. At the end of the year the experimental group had reached a level of reading that was significantly higher than the control group. One and two years later, with no further intervention, the reading scores of the experimental group were still significantly higher than those of the control group.