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The Effects of Intensive Phonemic Awareness
Intervention on Struggling Readers
USDOE Personnel Preparation Grant 84.325 H
Ellsworth, C Fiorella, M Hoover, J Valeriani,
J Green, R King, J Lindstedt, E
Department of Communication Sciences Disorders,
Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ 86011
for two hours each day, five days per week. The
students who did not receive LiPS did participate
in the SFA general education reading program for
one and one-half hours per day, five days per
week. The SFA students served as a control group
for the LiPS students. One of the initial seven
students was dropped from the study due to
inconsistencies in his data.
Abstract
FIGURES All standard deviations are rounded to
three decimal places.

Given the relationship between phonological
processing skills and literacy achievements,
assessment of reading and phonological measures
are useful in identifying children whose reading
problems are due to phonological processing
deficits. These children have the most to gain
from interventions with a strong phonological
emphasis. Seven children who failed previous
reading interventions were evaluated using
language, literacy and cognitive assessments.
They presented with below average scores on the
language and literacy tests. Three children were
selected to receive the Lindamood Phoneme
Sequencing Program (LiPS) on an intensive
schedule. Overall, scores on the language and
literacy tests for the LiPS group improved 50
more than the Success For All (SFA) control
group. Data indicates that intensive LiPS
intervention built a solid foundation for good
reading development in this group of students who
were initially identified as at-risk for reading
failure.

Method
In order to assess the effects of intensive
phonemic awareness intervention (specifically the
LiPS) on struggling readers, the following tests
were administered both prior to and following the
students participation in LiPS, the same tests
were also administered to the control group prior
to and following their participation in the SFA
program. Cognitive Clinical Evaluation of
Language Fundamentals 4th edition
(CELF-4) Semantic and Letter-Naming Verbal
Fluency/Word Retrieval (FAS) Test of Nonverbal
Intelligence (TONI) Language Clinical Evaluation
of Language Fundamentals 4th edition
(CELF-4) Phonological Comprehensive Test of
Phonological Processing (CTOPP)
Introduction
Research indicates that reading comprehension,
phonemic awareness, and reading fluency are the
essential skills for proficient reading. "One of
the most compelling and well-established findings
in the research on beginning reading is the
important relationship between phonemic awareness
and reading acquisition." (Kame'enui, et. al.,
1997) According to the definitions of the
essential components of reading instruction and
reading in section 1208 of the Reading First
subpart of NCLB law, phonemic awareness is
defined as the skills and knowledge needed to
understand how phonemes (sounds) are connected to
print. Reading fluency is the ability to read
fluently. Lastly, reading comprehension
strategies are defined as the development of
appropriate active strategies to construct
meaning from print. Acquisition of reading
comprehension, phonemic awareness, and reading
fluency are essential in the development of
reading skills. Children who have deficits in one
or more of these skills may present with poor
reading skills. The students selected in this
study received intensive one-on-one therapy using
the Lindamood Phoneme Sequencing Program (LiPS),
which is part of a multi-sensory approach
intended to develop strong pre-reading skills
through listening, thinking, seeing and most
importantly, feeling where and how each sound is
formed in the mouth. The program is intended to
develop the students ability to recognize,
manipulate and hold on to individual sounds in
words. This builds a strong foundation for good
reading development. The students in the
control group remained in their classrooms where
they received the Success for All (SFA) reading
program. This comprehensive phonologically based
literacy program provides strong foundational
skills in the general education classroom to
prevent reading failure.
Results
The average pre-test standard deviation for the
SFA students was -0.937 and the average
post-test standard deviation was -0.478. The
difference was 0.459. The average pre-test
standard deviation for the LiPS students was
-0.504. Their average post-test standard
deviation was 0.087. The difference was 0.591.
On the CTOPP, the average standard deviation of
the pre-tests of the SFA students was -0.533.
The average standard deviation of the post-tests
was -0.121. The difference was 0.412. The
average standard deviation of the pre-tests of
the LiPS students was -0.2. The average standard
deviation of the post-tests was 0.44. The
difference was 0.64. Results from the batteries
of tests that were administered indicated that
the average scores of the three students who
participated in the LiPS program improved 50
more than the students who participated in the
SFA program.

References
Fischer Family Trust Success for All.
Retrieved October 12, 2006 from
www.fischertrust.org/success.htm. Haskell, D.
W., Foorman, B. R., Swank, P. R. (1992).
Effects of three orthographic/phonological units
on first-grade reading. Remedial and Special
Education, 13, 40-49. Kameenui, E. J., (2002).
An Analysis of Reading Assessment Instruments for
K-3 (Final Report). Institute for the
Development of Educational Achievement, College
of Education University of Oregon. Kame'enui, E.
J., Simmons, D. C., Baker, S., Chard, D. J.,
Dickson, S. V., Gunn, B., Smith, S. B., Sprick,
M., Lin, S. J. (1997). Effective strategies for
teaching beginning reading. In E. J. Kame'enui,
D. W. Carnine (Eds.), Effective Teaching
Strategies That Accommodate Diverse Learners.
Columbus, OH Merrill. www.dibels.uoregon.edu Mid
-Continent Research for Education and Learning
Delivering Research and Practical Guidance to
Educators. Retrieved April 1, 2006, from
http//www.mcrel.org. Reading rockets
Launching Young Readers. Retrieved April 1,
2006, from http//www.readingrockets.org. Univer
sity of Oregon Center on Teaching and Learning
DIBELS. Retrieved April 1, 2006, from
http//www.dibels.uoregon.edu.
Conclusions
This study demonstrates that phonological
processing is a primary area of weakness for poor
readers. This finding is consistent with a large
body of literature in the area of language and
reading disorders. Due to the strong correlation
between phonological processing and reading
skills, measures of phonological processing can
be useful in determining eligibility for reading
interventions that have a strong phonological
emphasis. Specifically, those students who
received LiPS intervention improved their
language and literacy test scores by half of a
standard deviation. Those students that receive
SFA intervention improved their language and
literacy test scores by slightly lower than half
a standard deviation. Data indicates that
intensive LiPS intervention builds a solid
foundation for good reading development in this
group of students who were initially identified
as at-risk for reading failure. However, data
also indicates that the SFA reading program
provides an adequate beginning foundation for
good reading development as well.
Sample
Three students from Kinsey Elementary School in
the Flagstaff Unified School District were
identified for this study. These students were
identified following the results of the DIBELS
(Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy
Skills) assessment as needing intensive support
and had failed assessments of the SFA reading
program.
Inclusion Criteria/Exclusion Criteria
Acknowledgements
Seven first and second grade children were
identified using the DIBELS screening as being
at-risk for reading deficiencies. These children
were then categorized by their cognitive
abilities, family support system, work ethic, and
attendance. Three students were chosen from the
above seven to participate in the LiPS program.
Their selection was based on their better
attendance, greater availability of family
support, and superior motivation. LiPS
intervention was provided
A special thanks to the faculty, staff, and
students at Kinsey Elementary School in the
Flagstaff Unified School District. Thank you,
also, to Andrew Bowers, Erin Naumann, and Aisling
Pomeroy for their preliminary work on this
project and to Ellen Allen for her support of
this project.