My research is in the area of early reading acquisition and reading failure. My focus is on the cognitive and linguistic factors (especially aspects of phonological processing) that play a role in learning to read and on the prevention of reading failure through early intervention. In past projects we have investigated the influence on the functional organization of the brain of intensive remediation in reading for second and third grade reading disabled students. To accomplish this, we partnered with Yale Medical School where children had an fMRI before treatment, at the end of the 8-month intervention and again one year later. Students who participated in the intervention achieved significantly better outcomes in reading and spelling and maintained their gains one year after the intervention ended. In addition, fMRI results indicated that after treatment, patterns of brain organization begin to resemble those of typical readers (e.g., increase in activation in the left occipitotemporal area and improvement in reading fluency). More recently, we are following 300+ kindergarten children in 9 urban schools in Upstate New York through second grade in an early intervention study. Depending on the condition, children receive evidence-based reading intervention from their classroom teachers at different stages of literacy development and for different durations and intensity. We are addressing questions of timing and duration of early intervention needed for maximum benefit and variables that affect responsiveness to treatment. My research has been generously funded by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), the U.S. Department of Education Institute of Education Sciences (IES), and the National Center for Learning Disabilities.

Blachman, B. A., & Tangel, D. (2008). Road to reading: A program for preventing and remediating reading difficulties. Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brookes, Publishing Co.

Blachman, B. A., Schatschneider, C., Fletcher, J. M., Francis, D. J., Clonan, S. M., Shaywitz, B. A., & Shaywitz, S. E. (2004). Effects of intensive reading remediation for second and third graders and a 1 year follow-up. Journal of Educational Psychology, 96, 444-461.

Shaywitz, B. A., Shaywitz, S. E., Blachman, B. A., Pugh, K. R., Fulbright, R. K., Skudlarski, P., et al. (2004). Development of left occipitotemporal systems for skilled reading in children after a phonologically-based intervention. Biological Psychiatry, 55, 926-933.

Blachman, B. A., Tangel, D. M., Ball, E. W., Black, R. S., McGraw, C. (1999). Developing phonological awareness and word recognition skills: a two-year intervention with low-income, inner-city children. Reading and Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 11, 239-273.

Blachman, B.A. (Ed.). (1997). Foundations of reading acquisition and dyslexia: Implications for early intervention. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Ass.