Early Learning and Literacy

The National Center for Learning Disabilities is committed to promoting high quality early education services and supports for all children, including those who struggle with learning. NCLD is especially interested in helping parents and early educators understand ways to help children to develop the early literacy, learning and behavioral skills they will need to be successful in school. Our Web sites are full of resources for parents, educators and other adults in the lives of young children.

Web Sites
Transition to Kindergarten
Literacy Resources
Online Chats
Advocacy
Research Roundup Columns

Web Sites

Get Ready to Read!
Get Ready to Read! is an early literacy program designed to help parents, early educators and child care professionals ensure that young children are equipped with the fundamental skills necessary for learning to read. The goal of Get Ready to Read! is to screen four-year-olds for early literacy skills before they enter kindergarten and provide skill-strengthening activities to ensure reading success. The Get Ready to Read! Web site is full of free resources. There are early literacy activity cards, literacy environment checklists, online games and much more, in addition to a free online version of the screening tool. For these resources and more, visit the Get Ready to Read! Web site.

Recognition & Response
The Recognition & Response Web site is a comprehensive online resource that provides educators with information about this cutting edge approach to early education. This site offers information and resources to help early educators address the needs of young children (three- to five-year-olds) who show signs that they may not be learning in an expected manner, even before they begin kindergarten.

Transition to Kindergarten

Transitioning to Kindergarten: A Toolkit for Early Childhood Educators
Transitioning to Kindergarten: A Toolkit for Early Childhood Educators provides early childhood educators with a comprehensive, flexible, easy-to-use set of resources to enhance the transition to kindergarten for all children. The Toolkit provides many opportunities for educators to document critical information about a child's progress in reading readiness, as well as qualitative information about a child's early literacy, cognitive, social, linguistic and physical development. The Toolkit has a mix of charts and one-pagers to be filled out by teachers and parents and passed on to a child's kindergarten teacher, as well as guidelines for collecting valuable examples of drawing and other work samples throughout the year.

Transition to Kindergarten: Policy Implications for Struggling Learners and Those Who May Be at Risk for Learning Disabilities
Transition to kindergarten, currently recognized as the start of formal schooling in the United States, is a turning point for children, parents, and educators. It is the specific time, the focal point, when children's "readiness" becomes a concern, with potential short- and long-term ramifications for school and subsequent life success. The purposes of this report are to briefly review the relevant research, programs, and policies on kindergarten transition, especially as they pertain to struggling learners including those with learning disabilities; identify gaps in research, programs, and policies related to this population; and recommend future policy directions to more adequately address the needs of children with suspected or identified learning disabilities.

Literacy Resources

Early Literacy Webinars
The National Center for Learning Disabilities and the Stern Center for Language and Learning in Williston, Vermont co-sponsored a series of three Webinars for teachers and child care providers that focused on various aspects of building literacy skills of pre-K children. To view and listen to the Webinars and access other related resources, click here.

Reading and Literacy Resources Page
On the Reading and Literacy page, you will find a wealth of resources on reading, including important research findings, helpful guidelines for parents, beneficial early literacy interventions, and teacher-training for the successful instruction of learners at all ages. Find more at the Reading and Literacy page.

Online Chats

Online Chats on LDTalk.org about Early Literacy and Learning
The National Center for Learning Disabilities brings you LDTalk.org, the Internet's only Web site featuring discussions on issues critically important to people with learning disabilities. Several of these discussions have focused on early literacy and learning:

Recognition & Response (October 24, 2006)
Featured Experts: Dr. Mary Ruth Coleman and Dr. Virginia Buysse
Recognition & Response is a systematic approach to addressing early learning difficulties before kindergarten. This approach includes assessing the overall quality of early learning experiences for all children as well as making program modifications, tailoring instruction, and providing appropriate supports for individual children who struggle to learn.

Speech/Language and Literacy Development: Keys to Success for Struggling Learners (May 23, 2006)
Featured Experts: Dr. Diane Paul and Dr. Froma Roth
The LD Talk focused on the relationship between early speech-language development and learning disabilities, plus the importance of early recognition of speech-language delay and the important role of speech-language pathologists in helping young children become successful readers.

Reading for Meaning: Helping Students Become Successful Readers (February 23, 2006)
Featured Expert: Nancy Hennessy
This LDTalk session discussed the importance of building skills such as decoding, the development of fluency, knowledge of word meaning, and the ability to make connections and think strategically when reading.

Enhancing Early Literacy for English Learners (March 29, 2005)
Featured Expert: Dr. Jana Echevarria
This LDTalk session discussed the challenges of early literacy for English Language Learners.

Preventing Early Reading Failure (February 8, 2005)
Featured Expert: Dr. Joseph Torgesen
This LD Talk session discussed preventing early reading failure.

Advocacy

Preschool Services Under IDEA (PDF)
While the preschool years are a time of triumphs for most children and families, approximately 8% of all young children are identified as having disabilities that may prevent their reaching important milestones as expected. It was with these children and their families in mind that Congress created the Part C Infant/Toddler Program and the Preschool Special Education Program in 1986 when it reauthorized the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). This new brief explains the services preschoolers may be entitled to under the Section 619 Preschool Program.

Forum on Early Literacy
The National Center for Learning Disabilities hosted the one-day "Forum on Early Literacy Screening to Promote School Success," which focused on key questions regarding challenges, opportunities, available resources, and future needs and directions concerning early literacy screening and policy.  Over 100 participants attended the forum, which focused on key questions regarding challenges, opportunities, available resources, and future needs and directions concerning early literacy screening and policy.

Download the PDF version of the Forum on Early Literacy Screening to Promote School Success executive summary. 

Research Roundup Columns

Sheldon H. Horowitz, Ed.D. is the Director of Professional Services at the National Center for Learning Disabilities. His regular Research Roundup column is featured in NCLD's monthly e-newsletter LD News. A number of these columns address early education issues, including: