Annals of Dyslexia最新文献

The present study investigated the compensatory role of verbal learning and consolidation in reading and spelling of children with (N = 54) and without dyslexia (N = 36) and the role of verbal learning (learning new verbal information) and consolidation (remember the learned information over time) on the response to a phonics through spelling intervention of children with dyslexia. We also took phonological awareness, rapid automatized naming, verbal working memory, and semantics into account. Results showed that children with dyslexia performed better in verbal learning and equal in verbal consolidation compared to typically developing peers. Regression analyses revealed that verbal learning did not predict reading but did predict spelling ability, across both groups; verbal consolidation did not predict reading, nor spelling. Furthermore, neither verbal learning nor verbal consolidation was related to responsiveness to a phonics through spelling intervention in children with dyslexia. Verbal learning may thus be seen as a compensatory mechanism for spelling before the intervention for children with dyslexia but is beneficial for typically developing children as well.

Given the recent push for universal screening, it is important to take into account how well a screener identifies children at risk for reading problems as well as how screener and sample information contribute to this classification. Picking the best cut-point for a particular sample and screening goal can be challenging given that test manuals often report classification information for a specific cut-point and sample base rate which may not generalize to other samples. By assuming a bivariate normal distribution, it is possible to calculate all of the classification information for a screener based on the correlation between the screener and outcome, the cut-point on the outcome (i.e., the base rate in the sample), and the cut-point on the screener. We provide an example with empirical data to validate these estimation procedures. This information is the basis for a free online tool that provides classification information for a given correlation between screener and outcome and cut-points on each. Results show that the correlation between screener and outcome needs to be greater than .9 (higher than observed in practice) to obtain good classification. These findings are important for researchers, administrators, and practitioners because current screeners do not meet these requirements. Since a correlation is dependent on the reliability of the measures involved, we need screeners with better reliability and/or multiple measures to increase reliability. Additionally, we demonstrate the impact of base rate on positive predictive power and discuss how gated screening can be useful in samples with low base rates.

Understanding factors that influence reading achievement among bilingual children is considerably more complex than it is for monolingual children. Research on dual language development indicates that bilingual children’s oral language abilities are often distributed across languages in varied ways, due to heterogeneity of dual language exposure and input. Consequently, there may be greater variability in the associations between oral language proficiency and reading achievement among bilingual children than there is for monolingual children. This study evaluated how vocabulary knowledge and morphosyntactic ability in Spanish and English were associated with English reading achievement among 117 bilingual kindergarten and first grade children in the USA using both OLS and quantile regression. Results indicated that although English vocabulary and morphosyntax were both significantly associated with reading achievement, English vocabulary knowledge was most strongly associated with reading at higher quantiles of reading achievement. Cross-language analyses indicated that both Spanish vocabulary and morphosyntax made significant contributions to predicting English reading achievement beyond the effects of English oral language. Spanish vocabulary was uniquely predictive of reading at high and low quantiles of English reading, whereas relations between Spanish morphosyntax and English reading did not differ across quantiles. These results were consistent with predictions derived from theoretical models such as the simple view of reading and suggest that Spanish vocabulary knowledge may provide more unique information about children’s underlying capacity for acquiring language and literacy skill than does morphosyntax.

Few studies have systematically investigated the reading skill profiles of English learners (ELs) in late elementary school, a critical developmental period for language and literacy and the most common grades for initial identification with specific learning disabilities (O’Connor et al., Learning Disabilities Research & Practice, 28(3), 98–112, 2013). We investigated the reading skill profiles of 331 ELs in 3rd and 4th grades, including ELs with and without risk for dyslexia due to significant deficits in word and pseudo-word reading accuracy and fluency. We utilized latent profile analysis and factor mixture modeling to investigate (1) the nature and distribution of reading skill profiles; (2) whether these profiles were associated with differences in reading comprehension growth across one academic year; and (3) the stability of reading profiles across an academic year. We selected a two-class solution (reading disabled and typically developing) based on model fit indices, theoretical considerations, pattern of results across profile-solutions and time-points, and parameterizations, making the approach stronger and more generalizable. These classes demonstrated clear, consistent differences in performance across reading component skills, with the RD class scoring consistently below the TD class across code-based and meaning-based domains of reading. Across the year, the TD class demonstrated significantly higher patterns of growth in reading comprehension (χ² (1) = 206.21, p < 0.001). Class membership was largely stable (97% of participants maintain class membership). These results suggest that ELs with risk for dyslexia demonstrate multiple component skill deficits that may require long-term, comprehensive, intensive interventions to remediate.

This study investigated the presence of word reading difficulties in a sample of students in Grades 1–4 (n = 357) identified with language and reading comprehension difficulties. This study also examined whether distinct word reading and listening comprehension profiles emerged within this sample and the extent to which these groups varied in performance on cognitive and demographic variables. Findings showed that the majority of students (51%) with language and reading comprehension difficulties demonstrated significant risk in word reading (more than 1 SD below the mean), even though the participant screening procedures did not examine word reading directly. Three latent profiles emerged when students were classified into subgroups based on their performance in listening comprehension (LC) and word reading (WR): (1) severe difficulties in LC and moderate difficulties in WR (11%), (2) mild difficulties in both LC and WR (50%), and (3) moderate difficulties in LC and mild difficulties in WR (39%). Of note, even though students were identified for participation on the basis of poor oral language and reading comprehension abilities, all profiles demonstrated some degree of word reading difficulties. Findings revealed there were differences in age and performance on measures of working memory, nonverbal reasoning, and reading comprehension performance between profiles. Implications for educators providing instruction to students with or at risk for dyslexia and developmental language disorders were discussed.