While emergent literacy has been a research topic in programs for young children without disabilities for twenty years or more, it is only within the past half a dozen years that it has gained attention in the special education community. A recent search of ERIC documents and journal articles for emergent literacy titles dating from 1990 to the present revealed over 150 entries using 'emergent literacy' and 'early childhood' as key words. However, when the search was conducted for 'emergent literacy' and 'special education,' only nine documents were found. A search of 'emergent literacy' and 'special education' plus 'early childhood' resulted in six documents. A review of textbooks used in early childhood special education reveal few index references to 'emergent literacy,' although 'communication' is included in almost all texts.
Literacy is more than reciting the alphabet.
However, initial literacy concepts are seldom addressed in special education programs, a situation that highlights the need to disseminate the findings of emergent literacy research related to youngsters with disabilities to early childhood practitioners. Research and Emergent Literacy Literacy is a social, psychological, and linguistic process. An emergent literacy approach stresses that written and oral language develop concurrently and interrelatedly from birth. Literacy concepts emerge very early in life. A summary of basic emergent literacy concepts is shown in Figure 1.