Assessment of Dyslexia in Croatian: Some Characteristics of Reading and Writing in Students with Dyslexia

Procjena u području različitih razvojnih teškoća i poremećaja je složeni proces koji zahtijeva poznavanje niza odrednica urednoga razvoja i visoki stupanj osjetljivosti za prepoznavanje i razumijevanje odstupanja. U ovome je procesu vrlo važno i pronalaženje tzv. jakih strana. Kada se procjena provodi kod odraslih osoba, kod kojih u ranoj i školskoj dobi ne postoji dokumentacija o teškoćama (ili one nisu prepoznate unutar određenih fenomena), kao što je to često slučaj kod disleksije, procjena može biti još složenija. Naime, kod disleksije se tijekom odrastanja nerijetko stvaraju mnogi nadomjesni mehanizmi koji otežavaju raspoznavanje suštinskih problema i nedostataka. Upravo stoga je važno poznavanje obilježja i osobitosti funkcioniranja odraslih osoba s disleksijom u smislu točnoga opisa, čime se osigurava kvalitetna procjena. Namjera je ovoga rada dati pregled najvažnijih obilježja čitanja i pisanja kod studenata s disleksijom sa svrhom oblikovanja polazišta za procjenu i razumijevanje suštine disleksije kao osobitoga načina funkcioniranja (prema definiciji European Dyslexia Association; EDA, 2007). Rad se temelji na pretpostavci da je disleksija jezično uvjetovana te da s obzirom na posebnosti jezika i pisma postoje neke osobite značajke teškoća u hrvatskome. Hrvatski pripada u skupinu tzv. transparentnih jezika, što uvjetuje znakove disleksije u samom čitanju i pisanju. Opisom tipova i kategorija pogrešaka otvara se mogućnost boljega opisa fenomena disleksije unutar hrvatskoga općenito, što može poslužiti daljnjim međujezičnim istraživanjima. U Hrvatskoj do sada nije bilo objavljenih radova vezanih za procjenu odraslih osoba s disleksijom.Assessment of various developmental delays and disorders is a complex process that requires knowledge of normal development, sensibility to recognize and understand deviations as well as to detect one’s fortes. When assessing adults who do not have any prior documentation of their difficulties or their problems have not been correctly identified (often occurring in adults with dyslexia), this process of evaluation is even more complex. Namely, during their upbringing, individuals with dyslexia often tend to develop many compensative mechanisms that complicate identification of basic problems and impairments. Therefore, familiarity with characteristics as well as understanding the idiosyncrasies of adult dyslexic functioning in terms of their accurate description is crucial for a valid assessment. The aim of this paper is to provide a review of the most important characteristics of reading and writing in students with dyslexia, compared to students without that disorder, in order to form the basis for assessment and understanding of dyslexia in terms of specific functioning of individuals who have it (according to the European Dyslexia Association definition; EDA, 2007). This paper is based on a hypothesis that dyslexia is a language disorder, manifesting itself in language-specific errors (made by individuals with dyslexia). Since Croatian can be identified as a ‘transparent’ language, signs of dyslexia can be readily noted in reading and writing. Description of various types and categories of errors will allow for better and more accurate identification of phenomenology of dyslexia in Croatian itself, which can further be beneficial in crosslinguistic research. Until now, there have not been any published papers related to the assessment of adults with dyslexia

In the beginning was the Word: on primers and reading

Određenje pismenosti proteže se na kontinuumu od nepismenosti do pismenosti, pri čemu čitanje i pisanje predstavljaju one vještine koje su u osnovi pojma pismenosti. Čitati i pisati daje mogućnosti usvajanja informacija i znanja, širenja spoznaja i napredovanja općenito. Upravo stoga je početak čitanja i pisanja i sustavne poduke u sklopu procesa obrazovanja izuzetno važan period u životu svakog djeteta. Dio toga sustava je i početnica. Raznolikost i konceptualna raznovrsnost, te brojnost početnica koje se koriste i odobrene su za uporabu u našem školskom sustavu pokrenula je niz rasprava o opravdanosti kako broja tako i strukture nekih početnica. S ciljem poticanja promišljanja o kvaliteti početnica, a usmjereni na procese početnoga opismenjavanja, nastojali smo utvrditi ima li razlika u čitanju i pisanju kod djece prvoškolaca podučavanih različitim početnicama. Kako na obilježja početnoga čitanja i pisanja utječe cijeli niz čimbenika, dobiveni rezultati raspravljeni su u kontekstu doprinosa izdvajanju bitnih značajki za promicanje kvalitete takve vrste udžbenika. Izdvajajući razlike dobivene na ispitanim grupama djece i opisom nekih kvaliteta korištenih početnica radi se ne samo na podizanju razine početnoga čitanja i pisanja već i na prevenciji teškoća čitanja i pisanja.The definition of literacy spreads across the illiteracy-literacy continuum, where reading and writing represent the skills that are at the very core of this term. Reading and writing enable information and knowledge gain, and provide a broader understanding and a platform for general advancement. This is why the period of every child’s life when they begin to read and write, as well as when they begin to be systematically taught those skills, as a part of formal education, is a very important one. Conceptual diversity and the number of primers approved and used in our educational system have animated numerous debates on the justification of their number, or the structure in some cases. With the purpose of stimulating the reflections on the quality of these primers, but nevertheless focusing on the initial process of teaching how to read and write, we tried to determine if there was a difference in reading and writing among first graders who were taught with different primers. Bearing in mind that reading and writing are initially influenced by numerous factors, the results are discussed in the context of contributing to the separation of features that are crucial for the promotion of quality of this kind of textbooks. Not only does determining the differences between the observed groups of children and describing some of the features of used primers raise the level of reading and writing at the very beginning, but it also prevents the difficulties connected with that process

Mastering basic mathematical operations in elementary school students

U istraživanju poznavanja osnovnih aritmetičkih operacija sudjelovalo je 145 osnovnoškolaca bez teškoća u matematici, polaznika trećeg do osmog razreda, s ciljem dobivanja uvida u razinu ukupne ovladanosti temeljnom matematikom u svakom od razreda. U radu se razmatra uspješnost rješavanja pojedinih aritmetičkih zadataka u domeni zbrajanja, oduzimanja, množenja, dijeljenja te poznavanja pravila izvođenja računskih radnji prema porastu obrazovne dobi. Rezultati su pokazali da se skupina učenika trećih razreda statistički značajno razlikuje od učenika na ostalim obrazovnim razinama. Stoga je moguće pretpostaviti da se upravo u trećem razredu mijenjaju strategije rješavanja zadataka kod temeljnih matematičkih operacija, što je u skladu s drugim sličnim istraživanjima. Čini se da strategije prizivanja podataka zamjenjuju strategije temeljene na brojenju. Nema statistički značajnih razlika u uspješnosti rješavanja zadataka osnovnih aritmetičkih operacija učenika od četvrtog do osmog razreda. Stoga je moguće pretpostaviti da su razine temeljnih matematičkih kompetencija ujednačene s aspekta točnosti za ove obrazovne razine. Kako je ispitivanje provedeno na relativno malom uzorku u odnosu na razrede, generalizacija rezultata je ograničena, a oni mogu biti korisni za oblikovanje smjernica u izradi ispitnog materijala za prepoznavanje teškoća u matematici i određivanje pravca intervencija kod navedenih teškoća ili diskalkulije.145 elementary school students from third to eighth grade with no difficulties in mathematics have been tested for their abilities in basic arithmetic operations. The aim of the examination was to gain insight into the level of mastery in mathematics in each of the grades.The observed variable in this experiment is the success in solving arithmetic problems in addition, subtraction, multiplying and dividing, as well as in applying the rules of mathematical operations depending on ascending educational age. The observed results showed that the group of third graders statistically significantly differs from all other educational levels, so it can be concluded that the strategies of problem solving in basic mathematical operations shift exactly in the third grade, which is consistent with other similar studies. It seems that counting based strategies give way to data retrieval strategies. As no statistically significant differences in problem solving of basic arithmetical operations from fourth to eighth grade were observed, it can be concluded that the levels of basic mathematical competences are levelled out in terms of accuracy. As the research has been performed on a relatively small sample in each grade, it is not possible to generalise the results. However, they can provide guidelines for shaping the examination material for recognising difficulties in mathematics, as well as for determining the direction of intervention in those difficulties or in dyscalculia

Phraseology in the children\u27s language: psycholinguistic approach

Problem razumijevanja i uporabe frazema sve je prisutniji u različitim znanstvenim područjima i disciplinama. Iskazivanje svijeta prenesenim značenjima, čime se ujedno ekonomizira jezik, danas je sve prisutnije - i u svakodnevnome govoru i poetici, mitologiji, knjiţevnosti, tehničko-znanstvenome nazivlju. Neka su prenesena značenja zbog učestale uporabe toliko uklopljena u svakodnevni jezik da su gotovo izgubila identitet prenesenoga. Druga se pak rijetko čuju, lokalno su označna i teško značenjski usporediva unutar jednoga jezika (njegovih idioma), a još teţe usporediva s frazemima drugih jezika. Razumijevanje i uporaba prenesenih značenja, osim kulturološke i jezične, odraţava i spoznajnu sastavnicu. Stoga sloţenost i struktura prenesenoga pruţaju podatke o nizu razvojnih značajki određene sredine kao cjeline, ali i pojedinca. U ovom je radu opisano deset frazema hrvatskoga jezika prema dvama odabranim obiljeţjima: 1. ishodištu i razvoju frazema, vezano uz objekte i radnje kojima se određena značenja daju na jezično osebujan način iskazujući kulturu jednoga naroda; 2. individualnu lingvističku odnosno semantičku kompetenciju, čija je postupnost u razumijevanju i uporabi spoznajno utemeljena. Određenje tih obiljeţja u urednom jezičnome razvoju omogućava prepoznavanje odstupanja u usvajanju prenesenih značenja. Prenesena značenja prisutna su i u pisanoj komunikaciji, i to u oblicima koji se upotrebljavaju u početnome usvajanju čitanja, kao i oblicima namijenjenima tzv. naprednim čitačima. Stoga je oblikovanje postupaka za razvijanje komunikacije putem frazema nuţno za postizanje optimalnoga jezičnoga razvoja te kao prevencija poteškoća čitanja i pisanja. S obzirom na cilj rada i dosadašnje spoznaje, opisat ćemo rezultate ispitivanja poznavanja deset frazema kod četrdesetero desetogodišnjaka urednog jezično-govornoga razvoja, polaznika trećih razreda redovnih osnovnih škola.The problem of understanding and using phrases is present in different scientific fields and disciplines. Expressing the world with transferred meanings helps economizing the language. It is widespread in everyday discourse and poetics, mythology, literature, technical and scientific terminology. Some transferred meanings are, due to their frequent useage, embedded in everyday language, so they have almost lost the transferred identity. Other transferred menings are rearly heard and hardly comparable by their meaning in given language (idioms), let alone with idioms in other languages. Understanding and using figurative meanings reflects not only cultural and linguistic, but also cognitive component. Therefore, the complexity and structure of the transferred meanings provides information on a number of environmental and individual developmental characteristics. This paper describes 10 phrases of the Croatian language, selected with regard to: 1) the origin and development of idioms, related to objects and actions that define meaning peculiarly for the culture; 2) individual linguistic or semnantic competences.By determining those characteristics in typical language development it is possible to recognize the difficulties in the adoption of figurative meanings. Transferred meanings are also present in written communication, in forms that support initial acquiring of reading, as well as in forms intended for advanced readers. Therefore, in order to achieve optimal language development, it is necessary to design the procedures for the development of communication trough phrases. This is also necessary fro the prevention of difficulties in reading and writing. Given its objective and the present knowledge, this paper describes the results of the analysis of idioms recognition among 40 ten-years-olds with typical language and speech development

Early literacy: The value of assessment

Istraživanja rane pismenosti različito određuju doprinos fonološke svjesnosti, poznavanja slova, koncepta o tisku, govornog jezika, rječnika, narativnih sposobnosti, rukopisnih vještina i drugih predviđatelja za kasniji uspjeh u čitanju, pisanju, ali i akademskom napredovanju u cjelini. U Hrvatskoj nema sustavnijih istraživanja i praćenja razvoja ovih pokazatelja kao niti točno defi niranih kurikuluma predškolskog odgoja i obrazovanja koji bi osigurali poučavanje znanjima neophodnima za kasniju formalnu pismenost. Pilot ispitivanjem trogodišnje i četverogodišnje djece (koja pohađaju vrtićke programe) uporabom materijala koji je sadržavao Upitnik za procjenu rane pismenosti i podtestove PredČip testa Fonološka svjesnost i Imenovanje slova, prikupljeni su podaci o razini rane pismenosti ispitane djece. Dobiveni rezultati pokazuju da, sukladno očekivanjima, djeca starije kronološke dobi imaju više znanja o konceptu tiska, uspješnija su na zadacima fonološke svjesnosti i imenovanja slova te imaju bolje grafomotoričke vještine. Nisu pronađene statistički značajne razlike između trogodišnjaka i četverogodišnjaku na skupnoj varijabli Izranjajuće čitanje i pisanje, a koja se temelji na prepoznavanju obilježja pisane riječi i predvještinama pisanja. Postignuća ispitane djece uspoređena su i s očekivanim rezultatima i normama unutar drugih jezika i pisama kako bi se potakla nastojanja za promišljanjem kriterija i načina poučavanja rane pismenosti. Istraživanje pokazuje da ispitani segmenti rane pismenosti – koncept o tisku, izranjajuća pismenost, precrtavanje, fonološka svjesnost i imenovanje slova mogu biti osnova za prepoznavanje djece rizične za nastanak teškoća u čitanju i pisanju i djece s disleksijom. Rezultati pojedinaca prikupljeni prema navedenim segmentima rane pismenosti mogu, u slučajevima niskih postignuća ili odstupanja, biti osnova za izradu intervencijskih programa, a za što su potrebne i kvalitativne analize rezultata. Kvalitativna analiza rezultata prema dobnoj pripadnosti pokazala je da slijed težina, odnosno uspješnosti u rješavanju zadataka nije posve jednak kod trogodišnjaka u odnosu na četverogodišnjake. To upućuje na mogućnost da postoji dobno neujednačeni razvoj ispitanih vještina bilo iz razloga drugačijih uvjeta sazrijevanja ili značajnijeg udjela poučavanja za neku određenu vještinu. Veći uzorak ispitanika i provjerene mjerne karakteristike materijala mogle bi osigurati bolji uvid u ranu pismenost.Early literacy studies put varying emphasis on the contribution of different components – such as phonological awareness, letter recognition, print concept, spoken language skills, vocabulary knowledge, narrative ability, handwriting, and other predictors – to subsequent achievements in reading and writing as well as overall academic development. In Croatia, there is a lack of systematic research that would longitudinally track the development of these literacy predictor skills and abilities and a scarcity of clear educational preschool curricula that would support these skills crucial for later formal literacy. Data in the current pilot study was obtained from three- and four-year-old children attending kindergarten using the Early Literacy Assessment questionnaire and the Phonological Awareness and Letter-Naming subtests of the PredČip test, which gathers information regarding the early literacy-skill levels of these children. As expected, the results indicate that older children show more knowledge regarding the concept of print, are more successful on phonological awareness and letter-naming tasks, and exhibit better graphomotor skills. No statistically signifi cant differences between the three- and four-year-olds were found on the group variable emerging reading and writing, which is based on the recognition of features of the written word and prewriting skills. The obtained results were compared with expected achievement and norms in other languages and writing systems to support efforts to establish early literacy assessment criteria and best-practice teaching methods. The components of early literacy that were used in this study – i.e., the print concept, emergent literacy, fine motor skills, phonological awareness, and letter naming – can serve as starting point for screening children who are at risk of developing reading and writing difficulties or dyslexia. Specific findings in the assessed areas that indicate low scores or deviations could be used for the development of intervention programs, for which qualitative analysis of the findings would be necessary. Such qualitative analysis showed that task difficulty or success in various tasks is different for three year-olds than for four-year-olds. This might imply that there is a nonlinear development of assessed skills, stemming from differing development conditions or from the fact that some skills are formally taught more often than others. Another study, with a greater number of participants and using assessment materials with analyzed psychometric properties, might provide additional insights into early literacy development

Importance of Semantic Knowledge in Preschool Age

Cilj rada bio je utvrditi razinu semantičkoga znanja kod šestogodišnje djece urednoga jezičnoga razvoja (N=40), djece s perinatalnim oštećenjem mozga (N=40) i djece s posebnim jezičnim teškoćama (N=40), a s obzirom na poznate podatke o vrijednosti semantike za kasnije čitanje. U Hrvatskoj je mali broj istraživanja usmjeren na semantička znanja u toj dobi. Varijable obuhvaćene ispitivanjem odnose se na: opseg rječnika (PEABODY), jezično razumijevanje (REYNELL) i narativno pamćenje (NARPAM) te narativno pamćenje uz pomoć (NARPAM1). Rezultati su pokazali da varijable semantike imaju različite doprinose razlikovanju uzoraka, a uspjeh na zadacima prema kojima su one oblikovane, neujednačen je za odabrane skupine djece kao i pojedince unutar skupina i to u odnosu na razinu zahtjevnosti zadataka. Ustanovljene su kvantitativne razlike između djece u uzorcima, a pomnija raščlamba njihovih obilježja jasno govori u prilog postojanju i kvalitativnih razlika. Detaljnjijim, individualno usmjerenim pregledom podataka, moguće je zaključivanje o neophodnim postupcima rada s pojedincima koji u skupini s perinatalnim oštećenjem mozga i skupini s posebnim jezičnim teškoćama pokazuju odstupanja.The goal of the research was to define the level of semantic knowledge in six-year-old children with typical language development (N=40), children with perinatal brain lesions (N=40) and children with specific language impairment (N=40), taking into account known data about the role of semantics for later reading skill. In Croatia, a small number of research is based on the semantic knowledge in this age. The variables included in the research relate to: the scope of vocabulary (PEABODY), language comprehension (REYNELL), narrative memory (free recall-NEPSY) and narrative memory (cued-recall conditions NEPSY). The variables of semantics have different contributions in discrimination of samples. Furthermore, the performance of the samples is very unequal as well as performance of participants from the particular sample regarding the level of task complexity. The results of the research show quantitative differences in chosen samples, but their features clearly speak in favor of existence of qualitative differences. The more detailed, individually focused analysis of data enables some conclusions about necessary intervention procedures with some of the children from the samples with perinatal brain lesions or specific language impairment who perform below expected level

Importance of Semantic Knowledge in Preschool Age

Cilj rada bio je utvrditi razinu semantičkoga znanja kod šestogodišnje djece urednoga jezičnoga razvoja (N=40), djece s perinatalnim oštećenjem mozga (N=40) i djece s posebnim jezičnim teškoćama (N=40), a s obzirom na poznate podatke o vrijednosti semantike za kasnije čitanje. U Hrvatskoj je mali broj istraživanja usmjeren na semantička znanja u toj dobi. Varijable obuhvaćene ispitivanjem odnose se na: opseg rječnika (PEABODY), jezično razumijevanje (REYNELL) i narativno pamćenje (NARPAM) te narativno pamćenje uz pomoć (NARPAM1). Rezultati su pokazali da varijable semantike imaju različite doprinose razlikovanju uzoraka, a uspjeh na zadacima prema kojima su one oblikovane, neujednačen je za odabrane skupine djece kao i pojedince unutar skupina i to u odnosu na razinu zahtjevnosti zadataka. Ustanovljene su kvantitativne razlike između djece u uzorcima, a pomnija raščlamba njihovih obilježja jasno govori u prilog postojanju i kvalitativnih razlika. Detaljnjijim, individualno usmjerenim pregledom podataka, moguće je zaključivanje o neophodnim postupcima rada s pojedincima koji u skupini s perinatalnim oštećenjem mozga i skupini s posebnim jezičnim teškoćama pokazuju odstupanja.The goal of the research was to define the level of semantic knowledge in six-year-old children with typical language development (N=40), children with perinatal brain lesions (N=40) and children with specific language impairment (N=40), taking into account known data about the role of semantics for later reading skill. In Croatia, a small number of research is based on the semantic knowledge in this age. The variables included in the research relate to: the scope of vocabulary (PEABODY), language comprehension (REYNELL), narrative memory (free recall-NEPSY) and narrative memory (cued-recall conditions NEPSY). The variables of semantics have different contributions in discrimination of samples. Furthermore, the performance of the samples is very unequal as well as performance of participants from the particular sample regarding the level of task complexity. The results of the research show quantitative differences in chosen samples, but their features clearly speak in favor of existence of qualitative differences. The more detailed, individually focused analysis of data enables some conclusions about necessary intervention procedures with some of the children from the samples with perinatal brain lesions or specific language impairment who perform below expected level

Phonological Skills and Phonological Memory as Basic Literacy Predictors - Some Differences Between Children with Typical Language Development, Children with Perinatal Brain Lesions and Children with Specific Language Impairment

Suvremeni istraživački interesi koji su usmjereni na razvoj čitanja i prateće teškoće pokušavaju odrediti razinu značaja različitih kognitivnih procesa kao prediktora teškoća čitanja. Brojna istraživanja izdvajaju upravo fonološke varijable kao najpresudnije za uspjeh u čitanju. Usprkos činjenici da kod djece s perinatalnim oštećenjem mozga kao i kod djece s posebnim jezičnim teškoćama postoji rizik za pojavu teškoća čitanja, segment fonoloških vještina je kod ovih populacija nedostatno istraživan (posebno u hrvatskome jeziku). Cilj rada je usporedba triju različitih skupina šestogodišnjaka (djece urednoga jezičnoga razvoja, djece s perinatalnim oštećenjem mozga i djece s posebnim jezičnim teškoćama) na zadacima fonoloških vještina i fonološkog pamćenja. Osim raščlambe razlika, opisane su osobitosti skupina na navedenim zadacima. Rezultati pokazuju da se navedene skupine statistički značajno razlikuju na većini varijabli kojima se procjenjuju fonološke vještine i fonološko pamćenje. Osim empirijske važnosti, istraživanje pridonosi i logopedskome radu jer opisuje obilježja fonološke sastavnice u djece s rizikom za teškoće učenja. Također, ono omogućava oblikovanje primjerenih terapijskih postupaka temeljnih na fonološkim vještinama kao prediktorima teškoća čitanja.Contemporary research interests that are focused on the reading development and associated difficulties try to define the role of different cognitive processes as predictors of reading difficulties and disorders. Numerous research emphasize phonological variables as the most important for success in reading. Despite the fact that children with perinatal brain lesions as well as children with specific language impairments are at risk for developing reading difficulties, segment of phonological skills in these two populations is insufficiently investigated (especially in Croatian). The aim of the research is to compare three different groups of six-year-olds (children with typical language development, children with perinatal brain lesions and children with specific language impairment) on tasks that assess phonological skills and phonological memory. Except the analysis of differences, the features of the groups are described. The results show that these groups have statistically significant differences on the majority of variables that capture phonological skills and phonological memory. Beside its’ empirical value, this research also contributes to the clinical work of speech and language pathologists because it describes features of phonological skills in children at risk for learning disabilities, further more, it enables the creation of appropriate intervention procedures based on phonological skills as predictors of reading difficulties