Subtypes of reading disability in a shallow orthography: a double dissociation between accuracy-disabled and rate-disabled readers of Hebrew

Whereas most English language sub-typing schemes for dyslexia (e.g., Castles & Coltheart, 1993) have focused on reading accuracy for words varying in regularity, such an approach may have limited utility for reading disability sub-typing beyond English in which fluency rather than accuracy is the key discriminator of developmental and individual differences in reading ability. The present study investigated the viability of an accuracy/fluency-based typology in a regular orthography, pointed Hebrew. We sought evidence of true or “hard” accuracy/rate subtypes in the strict (double dissociation) sense of selective impairment on only one dimension in the presence of normal levels of performance on the other dimension. In a nationally representative sample of fourth graders, we were able to identify a specific accuracy-disabled sub-group as well as an equally specific rate-disabled subgroup. Validating this subdivision, we show that the nature of reading performance in these subgroups and their converging cognitive/linguistic profiles are unique and distinctive on variables other than the measures used to define them. While the rate-specific disability appeared to reflect a general deficit in speed of processing affecting reading rate, and rapid automatized naming of print-related material, the accuracy-only disability subgroup displayed selective deficits in phonological awareness and morphological knowledge. Biosocial, demographic, and instructional factors, furthermore, did not explain the sub-group differences. It appears that both these subtypes are equally prevalent each counting close to 10% of the population.     

发展性阅读障碍亚类型的研究

发展性阅读障碍是关系人类健康和发展的重要课题。多年来研究者试图寻找这个群体中发生困难的真正原因,希望从根本上解决阅读落后问题和消除阅读障碍。但是研究者发现阅读障碍群体内部具有很大的变异性。文章在简介了当今具有代表性的两种流派对阅读障碍原因的解释和相应的研究证据后,着重阐述了阅读障碍的亚类型的发展历史、研究者对亚类型的划分以及不同亚类型在语言技能上、一般感知能力和生理机制方面的差异,并且阐述了亚类型研究对阅读障碍早期预测的作用,为根本消除阅读障碍提供了新的视角。     

Reading Difficulty Characteristics in Dyslexic and Hearing-impaired Students

This study examines reading difficulty characteristics in Hebrew in three reading-impaired populations. Two are groups of dyslexics: 100 readers with impaired auditory perception and 100 readers with impaired visual perception. The third group comprises 61 readers with deep/severe hearing impairment. All were elementary schools students in the second to sixth grades. The subjects were tested with a conventional Hebrew reading test. It examined types of reading errors (e.g. changes of phonetic structure or word content), self-correction in reading, reading speed, sequential/holistic reading, the effect of reading texts with and without the Hebrew diacritical vowel signs ('punctuation'), and the effect of meaningful or meaningless text material on the amount of reading errors. The literature describes distinctions between various kinds of reading disability related to auditory impairment and visual perception, and the definition of dyslexia as being one category or including sub-groups. Our research hypothesis was that similar characteristics of reading difficulties would be found amongst auditory perception-impaired students and hearing-impaired students, and that they would differ from those of students with impaired visual perception. Our findings support this hypothesis. Many of the sub-tests revealed similarity in the reading difficulties between the hearing impaired students and those with impaired auditory perception versus the visually impaired. An unexpected finding revealed that fourth grade students in all the groups were a special sub-group in each group. These findings suggest, in accordance with a major research approach, that dyslexia should be defined in terms of dyslexia sub-groups rather than as a single category.     

Differential genetic etiology of reading disability as a function of mathematics performance

In order to assess the etiology of reading disability as a function of mathematics performance, data from 168 monozygotic (MZ) and 127 same-sex dizygotic (DZ) twin pairs in which at least one member of each pair was reading-disabled were subjected to quantitative genetic analyses. MZ and DZ concordance rates for reading disability were computed for different levels of mathematics performance, and reading performance data were fitted to an extension of the basic multiple regression model for the analysis of selected twin data. Results of these analyses suggest that genetic factors may be especially salient as a cause of reading disability in children with borderline deficits in mathematics performance: thus, mathematics performance may be a valid dimension for diagnosing subtypes of reading disability.     

Accuracy and Fluency in List and Context Reading of Skilled and RD Groups: Absolute and Relative Performance Levels

The purpose of this study was to examine (1) the performance levels and the magnitude of performance difference between students with reading disabilities (RD) and skilled readers when reading a typical classroom text; (2) the hypothesis that students with RD have specific difficulty using context in such a way that reading fluency is affected; and (3) whether RD subtypes may be differentiated according to performance on contextual and context‐free reading tasks. Two groups of fourth graders (85 skilled readers and 24 students with RD) completed a standardized test of reading comprehension, read aloud a folktale, and read aloud the folktale's words in a randomly sequenced list. Performance was scored as correct rate and percentage correct. Based on the number of words per idea unit in the passage, we also estimated the rate at which reader groups encountered and processed text ideas. Compared to the RD group, skilled readers read three times more correct words per minute in context, and showed higher accuracy and rates on all measures. Both context and isolated word‐reading rates were highly sensitive to impairment. We found no evidence for RD subtypes based on these measures. Results illustrate differences in reading levels between the two groups, the temporal advantage skilled readers have in linking text ideas, how word reading differs as a function of task format and performance dimension, and how limited word‐identification skills (not comprehension) produce contextual reading difficulties for students with RD.     

Using CD‐ROM ‘electronic talking books’ to help children with mild reading difficulties improve their reading fluencg

Abstract

This article explains how ‘electronic talking books’ might be used to help children who have mild reading difficulties improve their oral reading fluency. Observations made during a study of three middle primary students with mild reading difficulties are analysed in order to address some associated practical issues.

It has been suggested that CD‐ROM ‘electronic talking books’ may be used to help children improve their oral reading fluency (Ford, Poe & Cox, 1995; Glasgow, 1996–7; Lewis, 2000). However, there has been little discussion about the issues teachers may need to consider in planning, implementing and evaluating interventions using them. The purpose of this article is to describe some facilitating factors and problems that emerged during a study into the use of electronic talking books to improve reading fluency, and to present some possible solutions to the problems. Although the participants of this study were nine‐year‐old boys who experienced mild reading difficulties, many of the issues that arose should be applicable to teaching students with a wider range of reading ability/disability.     

Cluster analytic classification of reading disability subtypes

Cluster analysis was employed to identify subtypes of reading disability in a sample of 140 reading-disabled children using factor scores obtained from a battery of psychometric tests. Preliminary results suggested the existence of three subtypes, but closer scrutiny of the data indicated that individual differences are more accurately characterized by continuity in the measurement space. This result demonstrates the need for detailed validation of findings from applications of cluster analysis. Despite the absence of homogeneous subtypes, the characterization of individual strengths and weaknesses on psychometric measures may nonetheless be important for diagnosis and remediation in the educational setting.Behavioral Research Institute     

Mathematical problem-solving profiles of students with mathematics disabilities with and without comorbid reading disabilities

The purpose of this study was to describe the mathematical problem-solving profiles of students with mathematics disabilities (MD) with and without comorbid reading disabilities (RD). The disability status of fourth-grade students was verified through testing (n = 18 MD; n = 22 MD + RD). Then a hierarchy of mathematics problem-solving tasks was administered. The results demonstrated large deficits for both groups; however, the differences between students with MD and those with MD + RD were mediated by the level of problem solving (arithmetic story problems vs. complex story problems vs. real-world problem solving) and by performance dimension (operations vs. problem solving). On arithmetic story problems, the differences between the disability subtypes were similar for operations and problem solving. By contrast, on complex story problems and real-world problem solving, the differences between the subtypes were larger for problem solving than for operations.     

Making a Difference: Dyslexia and Social Identity in Educational Contexts

Dyslexia is known as a Learning Disability (LD), a reading disability and a neurological disability; yet there is confusion about dyslexia and the associated support required in learning. Challenges are experienced by adult students with dyslexia in both social and organisational contexts. This study explored the life experiences of adult students with dyslexia, in Technical and Further Education (TAFE) Colleges in Australia. The shift from a prior negative self‐perception to a current positive social identity in adult students with dyslexia can be developed through key supporting relationships and interactions in educational institutions.     

The Effect of Cooperative Teaching on the Development of Reading Skills among Students with Reading Disorders

Cooperative teaching is the result of efforts made by two educators for teaching a heterogeneous group of students, especially one including those with specific needs, due to reading disorders for instance. The present study serves as an experimental investigation focusing on the effect of cooperative teaching on the development of reading skills among students with a reading disorder. To achieve this, three female students were selected from a regular primary school in the 2nd education district of Tabriz, Iran. The research design was a multiple baseline single subject design with different children, in which we used the reading and dyslexia test (RDT) and the revised Wechsler Intelligence Scale to diagnose reading disorders, and a researcher‐made hundred‐word test to measure the development of reading skills. The children received five cooperative teaching sessions during only the (experimental) intervention, i.e. in the baseline and the follow‐up stages, they were not exposed to any cooperative teaching. The comparisons of the students’ performance in experimental phases showed that cooperative teaching is an effective technique for developing reading skills and that the effectiveness of this technique was also maintained over time. This work is the first empirical demonstration of the effectiveness of co‐teaching in dealing with dyslexic reading disabilities. It additionally serves as the first instance of applying co‐teaching to any form of reading disability in Iran.     

Bias in education disability accommodations

For students with disabilities, educational success often depends on accommodations. We study accommodation decision-making by implementing a large-scale survey experiment with staff who work in disability services at U.S. colleges. We find evidence of disability specific bias – against those with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) as opposed to a vision impairment. This bias appears in respondents’ attitudes toward students and their expectations about which students will receive accommodations. We offer evidence that perceptions of work ethic underlie the disability bias. Our exploration into racial bias arrives at a nuanced picture – we find evidence of racial bias, but it is concentrated only among staff who report not having taken a racial bias training course. This could reflect an impact of such courses or differences between those who do and do not choose to take a course. We conclude with a discussion of possible steps to minimize bias and move towards a more equitable allocation of disability services.     

Identification of sub-types of students with learning disabilities in reading and its implications for Chinese word recognition and instructional methods in Hong Kong primary schools

This paper consists of three studies. The first study aimed to identify sub-types of students with learning disabilities in reading. Based on the dual-route model of reading, words may be read using either a lexical (words are recognized as wholes) or a sub-lexical (words are recognized through grapheme-phoneme correspondence) procedure. Castles and Coltheart (1993) provided evidence for the existence of these two mechanisms in English reading. They suggested that deficits in one and/or the other mechanism would lead to different patterns of reading disability. Surface dyslexia results from an impairment of the lexical procedure with an intact phonological route to reading. Phonological dyslexia results from a deficit in the grapheme-phoneme transformation mechanism. A higher percentage of surface dyslexia was identified in the present study. The aim of the second study was to analyze reading errors to support the existence of surface and phonological dyslexic patterns in Chinese reading. The results showed that students with surface dyslexic pattern made more phonological errors, whereas students with phonological dyslexic pattern made more semantic errors. These two studies indicate that students with learning disabilities could have different strengths and weaknesses and could have different preferences for recognizing Chinese characters and different responses to instructional methods. The third study was designed to test the effects of different teaching methods and different kinds of Chinese characters on students with learning disabilities. In general, the analytic method was found more effective for students with surface dyslexic pattern and the whole-word method for those with the phonological dyslexic pattern. The findings of this study showed the importance of identifying the strengths of the different sub-types of readers and the need to choose appropriate instructional methods accordingly.     

Cognitive deficits in reading disability and attention deficit disorder

This paper presents data from three studies (a cross-sectional study of school-referred children, a test-retest study of subtypes of reading disabilities, and a study of a large, random sample of first graders) that focus on specifying the cognitive deficits associated with reading difficulties and separating them from those associated with attentional deficits. The cognitive deficits associated with difficulty in reading were consistent across samples, developmental levels, definitions, and subtypes of reading disabilities. With IQ, age, and sex controlled for, poor readers were significantly impaired on measures of naming and phonological awareness. The effects of attentional deficits were more variable and complex but were clearly separate from the reading disability effects.     

Reading disability defined as a discrepancy between listening and reading comprehension: a longitudinal study of stability, gender differences, and prevalence

The purpose of this study was to determine whether defining reading disability by a discrepancy between group-administered tests of listening and reading comprehension would produce result similar in terms of stability, gender ratio, and prevalence to IQ-achievement test discrepancy definitions. The total population of a small school district (N = 1,008) was followed from prekindergarten through Grade 7-8 for 13 years. As is often seen in epidemiological studies using IQ and individually administered reading tests to define reading disability, stability in the classification of reading disability was low. Among the participants with a consistent reading disability, the male-to-female ratio was 3.2:1, compared with 1.3:1 for the 5.1% of the sample who were nondiscrepant poor readers in both lower and upper grades. A mean 2.7% of the population was classified as reading disabled over the eight-grade span, and only 1.7% demonstrated a consistent reading disability in both the lower and the upper grades. An increase in the ratio of nondiscrepant to discrepant poor readers after Grade 5 was due mainly to late-emerging poor readers. It was concluded that defining reading comprehension disability in terms of a discrepancy between listening and reading comprehension provides a fairly accurate estimate of the stability, gender ratio, and prevalence of the disorder.     

Recognising the needs of every disabled child: the development of tools for a disability census

The Equality Act 2010 further enshrines the duties on organisations set out in the Disability Discrimination Act 2005 to safeguard the rights of vulnerable children. However, disability is a complex phenomenon, which makes the collection of data, and the subsequent identification of children who might be classed as disabled, problematic. This article, written by Dr Jill Porter, Director of Studies for research students at the Department of Education, University of Bath, Professor Harry Daniels, Director of The Centre for Socio‐cultural and Activity Theory Research, University of Bath, Dr Anthony Feiler, Reader in Education at the University of Bristol, and Dr Jan Georgeson, Research Fellow at the University of Plymouth, explores the findings of a nationwide survey with questions about multiple indicators of disability. The authors argue that methods for collecting disability data need to reflect the uncertainties surrounding the relationship between neurological conditions, their expression and the socially mediated nature of the impact of disability. In exploring the data the authors note that families have different expectations of their children and of family life and, as a result, the presence of an impairment has a differential impact; this argues, the authors suggest, for the need for parents' views to be privileged in the collection of disability data.     

Disabilities Among Norwegian Students Found Eligible for Special Education

The prevalence of different disabilities in a sample of 780 students found eligible for special education in Norway is presented in this article. Each student was judged in relation to 10 different disabilities, and the frequencies of the different disabilities were reported. Almost all students had more than one problem or disability. It is argued that statistics related to students with disabilities that ascribe each student only to one category of disability do not provide a correct picture of the prevalence of different disabilities. The most common disabilities reported in this study were psychosocial problems, intellectual disability, and communication disorders that were found in about 40 to 50% of the students. About one third of the students were reported to have attention deficit disorder or physical disabilities, 25% experienced social stress outside school, and 20% had medical problems. Hearing and visual impairments are reported for about 5% and 6% of the sample respectively.     

Comorbidity of reading disability and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: differences by gender and subtype

This study used a community sample of 494 twins with a reading disability (223 girls, 271 boys) and 373 twins without a reading disability (189 girls, 184 boys) to assess the relation between reading disability (RD) and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Symptoms of DSM-III and DSM-IV ADHD were classified into symptoms of inattention and symptoms of hyperactivity-impulsivity (H/I). Results indicated that individuals with RD were more likely than individuals without RD to meet criteria for ADHD and that the association between RD and ADHD was stronger for symptoms of inattention than for symptoms of H/I. Parents and teachers reported similar rates of ADHD, suggesting that ADHD symptoms were pervasive across settings and were not solely attributable to academic frustration. Analyses of possible gender differences revealed that RD was significantly associated with inattention in both girls and boys but associated with H/I only in boys. This difference may provide a partial explanation for the discrepancy between the gender ratio obtained in referred (approximately 4 boys to 1 girl) and nonreferred (1.2 to 1.5 boys to 1 girl) samples of individuals with RD. Specifically, the hyperactive and impulsive behaviors exhibited by boys with RD may be more disruptive than the inattentive behaviors exhibited by girls and may therefore precipitate more frequent referrals for clinical attention.     

Changes in self-concept and academic skills during a multimodal summer camp program

The impact of a six-week multimodal summer camp program on the self-concept and reading/writing skills of a group of dyslexic students (n=42) was assessed. Campers ranged in age from 9 to 14 years (mean=11 years, 5 months) and came from public, private, and specialized private schools serving students with learning disability (LD). Twenty-six percent of the sample had a comorbid diagnoses of attention deficit disorder (ADD) and 11 percent had attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Campers improved significantly in phonetic reading and spelling skills, but not in sight word vocabulary or reading speed. Campers also exhibited significant improvements in self-concept, both on a general level and in the specific areas of reading and overall academic competence. The kinds of changes observed on the more general measures of self-concept, however, were not the same for the various groups of campers. Campers from regular private schools and from public schools typically experienced greater gains in general self-concept than did campers from LD private schools. Campers with diagnosed comorbid disorders typically realized little or no gains, whereas campers without ADD or ADHD displayed significant improvement in general self-concept.