Shared Interactive Book Reading in Preschool Children With Neurodevelopmental Disorders: Effects on Language Development and Reading Habits

Shared Interactive Book Reading in Preschool Children With Neurodevelopmental Disorders: Effects on Language Development and Reading Habits

The goal of this observational retrospective study is to explore the effects of a parent-based book reading intervention on children with neurodevelopmental disorders. The project consisted of interactive lessons for parents and shared reading experiences. It took place between May 2021 and June 2022 in Rome and at the time children were receiving neuropsychomotor and speech therapy sessions based on the developmental profile.

The investigators'primary goal is to investigate lexical quotients of children who participated in the project to explore whether it had an impact on their language development. The secondary goal is to assess shared reading habits.

For both outcome measures, researchers will compare the group who partecipated in the study with a cohort of children with the same characteristics who also attended Fondazione Don Carlo Gnocchi for rehabilitation purposes.

Patients and their family will not be asked for any further engagement because all data will be taken from medical records.

Inclusion criteria for the study group:

• age between 1 and 6 years old
• having attended at least 2 out of 5 parent training meetings and 2 out of 9 reading aloud sessions
• at least one caregiver with a good command of the Italian language,
• having given written consent to participate

Exclusion Criteria for both groups:

• cerebral palsy or severe sensory disorder (deafness, blindness)
• limited command of the italian language
• lack of informed consent