Ph.D., Georgia State University, 1989 Professor Developmental Psychology Program rsevcik@gsu.edu 736 Urban Life 404-413-6296

My research interests center on the development of symbolic processes, specifically oral and written language development. Most of my work in this area has been done in the context of intervention research. I have two long-standing lines of research. The first is focused on children with significant developmental disabilities who are considered to be at high risk for speech and language disorders. Most recently, I, and my colleagues, have examined the path of communication development taken by toddlers who have very little or no functional speech and who communicate through the use of computer-linked devices that augment or replace spoken communication. This work has allowed me to address questions about the very beginnings of symbolic development when children use visual-graphic symbols as their primary mode for communication. I have concentrated on the role that the receptive understanding of visual symbols and speech play in symbolic communication development.

My second line of research has examined the effect of different instructional content and methods on teaching children who are struggling to learn to read. Current projects in local school districts are assessing different educational programs for two groups of learners: elementary school age children with mild intellectual disabilities and middle school students who have not yet learned to read. Past research in reading has included a range of student learners: children with, or at risk for, reading difficulties and with different language experiences. My interests in bilingualism and biliteracy have been fostered by collaborative work in Hong Kong, Korea, and South Africa.

Some Recent Representative Publications

Wise, J.C., Sevcik, R.A., Morris, R.D., Lovett, M.W., & Wolf, M. (2007). The relationship among receptive and expressive vocabulary, listening comprehension, pre-reading skills, word identification skills, and reading comprehension by children with reading disabilities. Journal of Speech-Language-Hearing Research, 50, 1093-1109.

Wise, J.C., Sevcik, R.A., Morris, R.D., Lovett, M., & Wolf, M. (2007). The growth of phonological awareness by children with reading disabilities: A result of semantic knowledge or knowledge of grapheme/phoneme correspondences? Scientific Studies of Reading, 11, 151-164.

Barton, A.E., Sevcik, R.A., & Romski, M.A. (2006). Visual-graphic symbol acquisition by pre-school age children with developmental and language delays. Augmentative and Alternative Communication, 22, 10-20.

Morris, R., Pae, H.K., Arrington, C., & Sevcik, R. (2006). The assessment challenge of Native American educational researchers. Journal of American Indian Education, 45, 77-91.

Sevcik, R.A. (2006). Comprehension: An overlooked component in augmented language development. Disability and Rehabilitation, 28, 159-167.

Montgomery, C.R., Morris, R.D., Sevcik, R.A., Clarkson, M.G. (2005). Auditory backward masking deficits in children with reading disabilities. Brain and Language, 95, 450-456.

Pae, H.K., Wise, J.C., Cirino, P.T., Sevcik, R.A., Lovett, M.W, Wolf, M., & Morris, R.D. (2005). The Woodcock Reading Mastery Test: Impact of normative changes. Assessment, 12, 347-357.

Rashid, F.L., Morris, R.D., & Sevcik, R.A. (2005). The relationship between home literacy environment and reading achievement in children with reading disabilities. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 38, 2-11.

Romski, M. A., & Sevcik, R. A. (2005). Augmentative communication and early intervention: Myths and realities. Infants & Young Children, 18, 174-185.

Romski, M.A., Sevcik, R.A., Adamson, L.B., & Bakeman, R.A. (2005). Communication patterns of individuals with moderate or severe cognitive disabilities: Interactions with unfamiliar partners. American Journal on Mental Retardation, 110, 226-238.

Sevcik, R.A., & Romski, M.A. (2005). Early visual-graphic symbol acquisition and use by children with developmental disabilities. In L. Namy (Ed.), Symbol Use and Symbolic Representation ( pp. 155-170). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

Pae, H.K., Sevcik, R.A., & Morris, R.D. (2004). Cross-language links between English and Korean in second-language reading acquisition. Journal of Multilingual Communication Disorders, 2, 68-79.

Sevcik, R. A., Romski, M. A., & Adamson, L. B. (2004). Augmentative and alternative communication and preschool children: Case example and research directions. Disability and Rehabilitation, 26, 1323-1329.

Romski, M. A., Sevcik, R. A., & Fonseca, A.H. (2003). Augmentative and alternative communication for persons with mental retardation. In L. Abbeduto (Ed.), International Review of Research in Mental Retardation: Language and Communication, Vol. 27, (pp. 255-280). New York: Academic Press.

Romski, M. A., & Sevcik, R. A. (2003). Augmented input: Enhancing communication development. In J. C. Light, D. R. Beukelman, & J. Reichle (Eds.), Communicative competence for individuals who use AAC: From research to effective practice (pp. 147-162). Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brookes.

Sevcik, R. A., & Romski, M. A. (2003). Longitudinal designs: Measuring the outcomes of AAC interventions. In R. Schlosser (Ed.), The efficacy of augmentative and alternative communication: Toward evidence-based practices (pp.163-180). New York: Academic Press.

Cirino, P. T., Chin, C.E., Sevcik, R.A., Wolf, M., Lovett, M., & Morris, R.D. (2002). Measuring socioeconomic status: Reliability and preliminary validity for different approaches. Assessment, 9, 145-155.

Cirino, P.T., Rashid, F.L., Sevcik, R.A., Lovett, M. W., Frijters, J. C., Wolf, M., & Morris, R.D. (2002). Psychometric stability of nationally normed and experimental decoding and related measures in children with reading disability. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 35, 525-538.

Sevcik, R. A., & Romski, M. A. (2002). The role of language comprehension in establishing early augmented conversations. In J. Reichle, D. Beukelman, & J. Light (Eds.), Implementing an augmentative communication system: Exemplary strategies for beginning communicators (pp. 453-474). Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brookes.

Chin, C.E., Ledesma, H.M.L., Cirino, P.T., Sevcik, R.A., Morris, R.D., Frijters, J.C., & Lovett, M.W. (2001). Relations between the Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test (K-BIT) and the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children - Third Edition (WISC-III) in children with reading disability. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 34, 2-8.

Romski, M.A., Sevcik, R.A., & Forrest, S. (2001). Assistive technology and augmentative communication in early childhood inclusion. In M. J. Guralnick (Ed.), Early childhood inclusion: Focus on change. Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brookes.

Sevcik, R.A. (2001). Treatment efficacy and AAC intervention approaches. In S.von Tetzchner & J. Clibbens (Eds.), Understanding the theoretical and methodological bases of augmentative and alternative communication. Toronto: ISAAC.

Romski, M.A., & Sevcik, R.A. (1996). Breaking the Speech Barrier: Language Development Through Augmented Means. Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brookes.