Reading Instruction for Students with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders and at Risk of Antisocial Behaviors in Primary Grades: Review of Literature

Abstract

Frequently, students with emotional and behavior disorders (EBD) exhibit academic underachievement combined with high levels of externalizing behaviors and resistance to instructional efforts. Regardless of the present reading initiatives, research focusing on interventions for teaching reading to students with EBD continues to be limited. This article extends previous efforts to review literature concerning reading instruction interventions for students with EBD. Specifically, this review focuses on interventions employed in primary grades. Because of the paucity in research and documented issues related to late and misidentification of students with EBD, studies including students at risk of antisocial behaviors were included. Eleven studies were found and carefully reviewed. Results demonstrate the efficacy of several reading interventions, including Direct Instruction, peer tutoring, and behaviorally based procedures such as time delay prompting, trial and error, and differential reinforcement.