Validation of the Reading Tendency Index in school-age children: Replication with a bilingual sample

Defining deficits in reading ability may be accomplished through the analysis of a child’s reading tendencies, representing a possible paradigm shift in the conceptualization and assessment of reading disabilities. Based on this premise, Mohl and colleagues (2018) developed a quantitative paradigm to measure reading tendency in children through performance on two lexical decision tasks (LDTs) that differentially rely on decoding and sightword reading abilities. The Reading Tendency Index (RTI; Mohl et al., 2018) is calculated from the differential between drift rates on the phonologic and orthographic LDTs. Scores closer to zero represent a balanced approach whereas scores as a negative or positive value suggest the tendency to rely on phonological decoding or sightword reading strategies, respectively. It was suggested that a balanced approach promotes more proficient reading abilities; however, this original study was performed with a small, male-only sample with a significant number of children with an ADHD diagnosis. The present study provided independent examination of the RTI paradigm, including the two LDT tasks and original calculations, to validate the tasks as a measure of reading abilities in a larger, representative sample of school-aged children. The present study involved the following goals: 1) to replicate the three-group reading tendency structure based on LDT performance in a larger representative sample of school-aged children, 2) to examine the construct validity of the RTI groupings and LDT tasks as a quantitative measure of reading ability, 3) to determine whether RTI group membership can be predicted based on reading and other cognitive skills, and 4) to explore performance differences, if any, in participants enrolled in French Immersion programs. The final sample included 92 participants aged 7 to 14 years (Mage = 9.96 years) recruited from English (n = 49) and French Immersion (n = 43) schools. Results indicated the following: 1) the three-group RTI structure was replicated in the larger sample of typically-developing school-aged children; 2) Sightword Readers had poorer performance on reading fluency, reading comprehension, and spelling than Balanced Readers and Decoders, but groups did not differ otherwise; 3) only reading comprehension predicted membership for the Sightword group; and 4) French Immersion students demonstrated similar patterns of performance on the RTI and other cognitive measures as English-only students. Supplemental post-hoc analyses were performed to explore different cut-off scores and methods for determining RTI groups. Implications and limitations of the current findings as well as considerations for future studies are discussed

THE ROLE OF PHONOLOGICAL MEMORY IN READING ACQUISITION AND DYSLEXIA: A SYSTEMATIC LITERATURE REVIEW

Purpose: This paper presents the findings of a systematic literature review regarding the role of phonological memory in reading acquisition and early onset of dyslexia. Method: Searching multiple bibliographic databases (PUBMED, HEAL-LINK/Annals of Dyslexia, SCOPUS, SCHOLAR), 254 published studies were identified as potentially relevant with 12 meeting the inclusion criteria. Eight of them refer to the role of phonological memory in reading ability and 4 in dyslexia. Results: The findings of the review highlight: (i) the limited range of conducted research regarding the association of phonological memory and reading ability in general and dyslexia in particular among preschool children, (ii) the significant heterogeneity of tools and tasks implemented and (iii) the shared conclusion by the vast majority of the studies suggesting that phonological memory affects reading ability and is an onset predictor of dyslexia. Conclusions: As a general conclusion, it was found that a common goal of all studies was to evaluate the contribution of phonological memory to reading ability. However, significant heterogeneity was found in tools and tasks (to a lesser extent) they used in their studies. Also, no clear conclusion emerged on the role of phonological memory in the acquisition of reading skill. More specifically, some studies have found a correlation between phonological memory and reading ability and some other non-correlation.  Article visualizations

Poor written and oral text comprehension in third grade children. A multiple case study

In this multiple case study we analyzed oral text comprehension, reading profiles and underlying cognitive abilities (attention, executive functions, working memory, narrative memory, rapid automatized naming and vocabulary) of 9 children identified as poor written text comprehenders after a school screening on 75 third grade children. Four out of the 9 children were named Language-Minority (L-M) children, since they had immigrant parents. The remaining 5 children were born in Italy from Italian parents. The comparisons of the two subgroups suggested that the lexical route of reading was particularly impaired in the L-M subgroup and that written text comprehension was weakened by restricted vocabulary which, in turn, was not supported by efficient phonological short-term memory. In a second type of data analysis we examined the individual profiles of the 9 children, irrespective of their belonging to the L-M or Italian subgroups, and identified different patterns of associations among reading performance, written text comprehension and oral text comprehension. The findings showed that poor text comprehension always co-occurred with word and/or text reading difficulties which, in turn, were associated to slow naming and weak verbal working memory. Moreover, when children had both written and oral text comprehension difficulties, not only verbal working memory was impaired but also narrative memory, suggesting a weakness in the episodic buffer (Baddeley 2000; 2010). The implications of poor working memory associated to slow naming and/or weak episodic buffer for text comprehension are discusse

Screening in Classrooms for Nonverbal Learning Disabilities: Validation of an Instrument

The purpose of the study was to determine the validity and reliability of a nonverbal learning disability evaluation (NLDE) scale using an instrument intended to screen for nonverbal learning disabilities in classroom settings. Scholars believe that there are at least four distinct subtypes of learning disabilities, each with its own characteristics and interventions. Validity was examined via an ANOVA, discriminant functions analysis, and factor analysis. Reliability was examined via use of Cronbach\u27s alpha ( a = .93). The sampled populations were special education and regular education teachers in North Dakota and 61 of the students they served. The 43 LD students had identified disabilities in learning and represented grade levels from 3-8. The 18 non-LD children were all enrolled at the elementary school level. The results of the ANOVA and Tukey\u27s pairwise comparisons on NLDE composite scores indicated that the three group means (NLD, VLD, and Non-LD children) were significantly different from one another. The results of the canonical discriminant functions analysis indicated that there were two functions (factors) required. Can 1, mostly made up of motor behavior, was needed to separate the NLD group from each of the other two. Can2., mostly behaviors learned in a classroom setting in the areas of language and mathematics, was needed to separate both LD groups from the non-LD group. A factor analysis revealed that the instrument was univariate, deriving only one factor. This factor was correlated with over 80% of the scale items. The DISCRIM analysis correctly classified children into their original a priori groups. Results supported the existence of an NLD subtype, a group of students discriminate from other LD individuals. Further development of the scale is suggested by dropping some items that didn\u27t load on some of the functions or factors and re-evaluating the scale and using a much larger research population. Changes in scale scoring were also suggested

Development and evaluation of computer-based techniques for assessing children in educational settings

This thesis reports and discusses an integrated programme of research on computerised assessment in education, focussing on two themes. The aim of the first study was to develop and evaluate a computerised baseline assessment system for four to five year olds (CoPS Baseline). The aim of the second study was to develop and evaluate a computerised dyslexia screening system for the secondary school age group (LASS Secondary).CoPS Baseline was shown to be a reliable and valid assessment of pupils' skills in literacy, mathematics, communication and personal and social development on entry to school at age four or five. It was also found to be predictive of children's later reading, spelling, writing and mathematics ability up to three years after the initial testing.LASS Secondary was shown to be a reliable and valid assessment of students' reading, spelling, reasoning, auditory memory, visual memory, phonological processing and phonic skills from the ages of 11 to 15. It was also seen to be a good indicator of dyslexia, with significant differences between the scores of dyslexic students and non-SEN students on the sentence reading, spelling, auditory memory, non-word reading and syllable segmentation tests.CoPS Baseline and LASS Secondary were also found to be more objective than conventional assessment administered by a person, time-saving in their test administration and scoring, and more enjoyable and motivating for children, particularly children who have specific difficulties.Computer-based techniques have been shown to be beneficial in the assessment of children in educational settings. However, further research is proposed in the areas of: gender and ethnic differences in computerised versus conventional assessment; the addition of reading comprehension, verbal intelligence, mathematics and motor skills tests to the LASS Secondary system; follow-up tests of students assessed on LASS Secondary to provide information about teaching outcomes; and the development of tests suitable for use with deaf / hearing-impaired individuals in order to assess literacy skills and identify dyslexia

Dysnomia and its relationship to subtypes of reading disabilities

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between dysnomia and subtypes of reading disabilities. Specifically, three research questions were addressed: 1. Does dysnomia, as indicated by performance on a battery of naming tests, differentiate between subtypes of reading disabilities? 2. How does word-retrieval performance of reading-disabled subjects compare to other groups (both disabled and average readers)? 3. If impaired, is this performance indicative of a developmental lag or a deficit? The subjects were 41 students, ages 8 to 12, who were identified by their respective school systems as learning disabled and who had a deficit of at least 1.5 years in reading skills. Thirty-eight of the subjects were males and three were females. All of the subjects earned IQ scores of at least 85 on either the Performance or Verbal scales of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised

Dyslexia:From diagnoses to theory

Dyslexia is generally considered to be a disorder of accurate and/or fluent word recognition and spelling and decoding abilities. However, theories about what causes dyslexia differ to a large extent which prevents international agreement about how dyslexia should be diagnosed. In this thesis, various aspects of diagnostic methods were investigated, and new methods were proposed. It was found that existing methods can be improved by using item scores instead of sum scores, by applying multiple classifications, and by carefully evaluating criteria of dyslexia. Furthermore, it was found that self-report statements provide more reliable diagnoses than test results, mainly because self-report statements do not depend on general intelligence and level of schooling. Additionally, a classification accuracy of 80% was found using anatomical brain imaging techniques. Some findings of this thesis are relevant for the interpretation of theoretical perspectives about dyslexia. First, a severity score of dyslexia showed two separate normal distributions for people with and without dyslexia. Second, it was found that dyslexia is characterised by at least six cognitive variables. Third, some of these variables showed significant correlations with various areas in the brain. Fourth, support was found for the idea that anatomical brain differences are mainly the result of individual differences in training. Based on the findings in this thesis, it was proposed that dyslexia may not be a disorder, but a perceptual variation, originating in the subcortex and with widespread effects on various areas in the cortex. Especially processes of inhibition may be impaired in people with dyslexia