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| Int'l Symposium - Minimal Verbal Units Control in Reading: What We Know So Far |
| Monday, May 30, 2005 |
| 1:30 PM–2:50 PM |
| Boulevard B (2nd floor) |
| Area: EAB; Domain: Basic Research |
| Chair: Martha Hübner (University of Sao Paulo, Brazil) |
| Discussant: Deisy de Souza (Federal University of Sao Carlos, Brazil) |
| Abstract: The present symposium has the objetive of presenting three experimental studies that have the general same aim: to analyze and install minimal verbal units control in reading, with a systematic manipulation of the minimal units, either the letter or the syllable.Working in a basic research context but with applied implications, two of the studies have preschool children as participants and one with mental retarded adults; application of matching to sample procedures, reading comprehension tests (called equivalence tests by two of the studies) and generalization and accuracy tests. Although two of the studies are with Brazilian participants (Portuguese speakers), and the third are with american participants (English speakers) similar results have been founded and similar processes have been discussed, which can constitute a representative picture of this kind of research. Some of the common results founded are: - minimal verbal units control emerge after a certain amount of word sets, taught in sets of words;- naming of the trained words also emerge after the recombinative reading training, as well as equivalence or reading comprehension.Writing behavior has also been seen as an emergent behavior, and some improvement was observed in the so called “phonological awareness” and “ alphabet principle” tests, specially the sub-tests measuring syllabical transposition. |
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| Recombinative Reading: Effects of Repertoire´s Augment and Oralization of Words |
| MARTHA HÜBNER (University of Sao Paulo, Brazil), Renata Gomes (University of Sao Paulo, Brazil) |
| Abstract: The present study follows previous studies that search procedural variables that produce recombinative reading that show verbal minimal units control. The studies conducted with preschool children revealed that the increasement in the recombinative repertorie was efficient in reducing the number of errors in generalization tests with the fourth set of four words. Some variability was observed, showing that other procedures were necessary to get near 100% performance during generalization tests. Oralization of words was introduced during training of textual behavior and 90 percent correct responses media was obtained with the participants.This results are interpreted in terms of the occurrence of speaker and listener behavior at the same time, contrasting with j listener behavior only that occurred in previous studies. |
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| Recombinative Reading and Syllable as a Reading Unit |
| ALESSANDRA AVANZI (University of Sao Paulo, Brazil), Maria Amelia Matos (University of Sao Paulo, Brazil), William J. McIlvane (E.K. Shriver Center, University of Massachusetts Medical School) |
| Abstract: In several studies Matos, Hubner and colls investigated the possibility of recombinative reading in pre-school children by teaching to read Portuguese words using the equivalence paradigm. The words were fragmented into syllables and those syllabes recombined into new words. Special and basic procedures (AMTS) were used with some success but with too variable effects. Recently we tried to teach the syllable as a reading unit and then tested recombinative reading. Using a conditional discrimination training of syllable topography and position in the word, where ST stimuli were syllables and CO were two syllables words; the participants were instructed to chose one of four words which start or ends with the ST syllable. After the syllables discrimination training a copy-by-construction training of four words using the thaught syllables, a test for reading with comprehention of those words and another test of recombinative reading with four new words (same syllables)were done. Then another conditional discrimination training of syllables was done with three new syllables and a test for reading comprehension with four words composed by these new syllables. After another test/training of copy-by-construction of these words the participants were submited to a new test of recombinative reading with eight new words. Results obtnained 90% or more scores in all tests. |
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| Developing Prerequisites for Reading and Spelling in Adults with Mental Retardation |
| KATHERINE L. STEWART (University of Kansas), Monika M. Suchowierska (University of Kansas), Kathryn Saunders (University of Kansas) |
| Abstract: Individual-word recognition and spelling share a major skill component, the alphabetic principle. The term refers to the knowledge that individual letter-sound correspondences can be general to many words. In a previous study, three adults with mental retardation demonstrated generalized spelling skills after matrix training on a word construction task that ensured exposure to all the necessary within-word components. One limitation, however, was a lack of stimulus control by the vowel sound. In this study we attempted to arrange conditions to force a discrimination between vowels. Sixty consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC) words were divided into 12 sets of 5 words each. Each set included all five vowels and the same final consonant. The onset for the words with a, e, i, and u in any given set was the same. The onset for “o” words differed, so as to provide experience with the onset for the next word set. For one of the three participants, accuracy of vowel selection was 100% on all vowels but “o”. For the other two accuracy of vowel selection increased from approximately 40% to 85% correct. |
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