Overview

The goal of this study is to examine the impact of a caregiver-implemented shared reading program, Sit Together and Read (STAR), on children ages 4 to 5 with developmental language disorder. The main questions it aims to answer are:

• how much STAR impacts children's literacy skills in the short-term and long-term--up to two-years after completing STAR.
• how do caregiver supports in the form of small monetary rewards or encouraging texts help caregivers to implement STAR at its intended frequency of sessions per week.

Caregiver participants will be assigned to either a control group or one of three STAR groups. Children's skills related to literacy and learning will be assessed before the intervention starts, at the end of the intervention, and every six months post-intervention for two years.

Researchers will determine the short term and long term impacts of STAR compared to the control group. Researchers will compare the three STAR conditions to see if the rewards or encouragement helped parents to follow through with completing more STAR sessions.

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

• receiving or on waitlist for speech services
• primary complaint of impaired language skills
• receptive, expressive, or mixed language disorder
• primarily communicates in English

Exclusion Criteria:

1. No known additional diagnoses causal of developmental language disorder including
   1. autism spectrum disorder
   2. hearing loss
   3. severe intellectual disability
2. Is not attending or has completed Kindergarten