Figure 3

Between 6 and 12 months, the number of ROR parents who mentioned reading as one of three favorite things they did with their child jumped from 14.3 % to 35.7 %. The control group remained unchanged at 22.2%.

Figure 4

The question about what the parents do now for success at kindergarten found the ROR group gaining from 21.4% at 6 months to 64.3% at 12 months by mentioning reading. See Figure 4 for a look at a somewhat positive trend. The control group changed less, from 44.4% to 66.7%. This was insignificant at p= .10.

Figure 5

The next questions look at book reading. “Do you ever read children’s books to [name]” reflects the ROR group gaining more. An ANOVA of the gain scores showed a significantly greater change in the ROR group than in the control group parents reading to their children (F = 2.69, df = 1,21, p = .10). At 6 months, 50% of ROR parents said they read children’s books to their infants. By 12 months this increased to 93% of ROR parents reading. By comparison, 78% of control parents read to their children at 6 months, increasing to 89% at 12 months. See Figure 5. In other words, at 6 months more parents in the control group were reading to their infants, but by 12 months this pattern had reversed: a greater proportion of ROR parents read to their children.

Figure 6

The question, “how many books altogether do you have at home that you read to [name],” was asked of the parents. The ROR site reported a mean of 4.1 books at 6 months and 8.3 books at 12 months. Control group parents reported a mean of 5 books at 6 months and 6.9 at 12 months. See Figure 6. Two ROR families reported less books at 12 months, which may contribute to the insignificant results (F = .59, df = 1,21, p= .45). The number of ROR families reporting having books at home increased from a total of 7 families at 6 months to a total of 13 families at 12 months.

Figure 7

When asked if they had ever seen volunteers reading to children in the waiting room, 57.1% of ROR parents indicated they had, compared to none of the control-site parents (chi-square = 7.89, df = 1, p = .005). See Figure 7.

Figure 8

The total sample mean scores for auditory comprehension were 90.2% for the 6 month-olds, increasing to 92% at the age of 12 months. At 6 months of age, the expressive communication means were 86.1%, and a very close score of 85.9% at 12 months of age. All of the twenty-three subjects had a total language score of 87% at 6 months of age, and an 88% at 12 months of age. See Figure 8.

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