Date of Award

Fall 11-21-2026

Document Type

Doctoral Research Paper

Degree Name

Psy.D. in Clinical Psychology

Organizational Unit

Graduate School of Professional Psychology

First Advisor

Kelly Elliott

Second Advisor

Carrie Landin

Third Advisor

Trazy Vozar

Copyright Statement / License for Reuse

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Keywords

Developmental differences, Caregivers, Early literacy, Psychoeducation

Abstract

Children with developmental differences face elevated risk for early literacy delays, while their caregivers experience significant difficulty accessing appropriate and supportive resources. This paper describes an adaptation of WeRead, an existing story-time and psychoeducation program through the University of Denver's Baby S.T.E.P.S. Lab, for children ages 0–7 with developmental differences and their caregivers. The program integrated a neurodiversity-affirming read-aloud, a strengths-based art activity, movement and music, caregiver psychoeducation on visual schedules, and collaboration with four community partners. The event drew approximately 65 attendees. A post-program survey, though limited by few responses, indicated that caregivers valued the program's accessibility, community partnerships, and hands-on activities. This paper discusses strengths and limitations of adapting an existing framework for this population and offers recommendations for future iterations.

Copyright Date

10-3-2926

Publication Statement

Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.

Rights Holder

Rachel Podl

Provenance

Received from Author

File Format

application/pdf

Language

English (eng)

Extent

71 pgs

File Size

25 MB

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