Early cognitive predictors of PISA reading in children with and without family risk for dyslexia

Evaluation of the multiple-deficit hypothesis among dyslexic Arabic-speaking children

This study examined the multiple-deficit hypothesis among Arabic-speaking elementary school students. A total of 90 students, divided into three main groups based on their performance on an Arabic word-reading task: dyslexic (n = 30), regular age-matched (n = 30), and 3rd-grade regular students, who were matched to the dyslexic group in regard to their reading proficiency level (n = 30). Participants underwent a nine-domain Arabic reading experiment that measured accuracy and fluency to evaluate general reading proficiency. The performance of Arabic dyslexic students was significantly worse than age-matched controls, but similar to young matched controls based on the reading level of each cognitive task. Moreover, dyslexic students showed deficits in three or more cognitive functions, depending on severity. This study adds to the limited empirical research on the double-deficit hypothesis and its extension to the multiple-domain model among young Arabic students.

Do early musical impairments predict later reading difficulties? A longitudinal study of pre-readers with and without familial risk for dyslexia

The present longitudinal study investigated the hypothesis that early musical skills (as measured by melodic and rhythmic perception and memory) predict later literacy development via a mediating effect of phonology. We examined 130 French-speaking children, 31 of whom with a familial risk for developmental dyslexia (DD). Their abilities in the three domains were assessed longitudinally with a comprehensive battery of behavioral tests in kindergarten, first grade, and second grade. Using a structural equation modeling approach, we examined potential longitudinal effects from music to literacy via phonology. We then investigated how familial risk for DD may influence these relationships by testing whether atypical music processing is a risk factor for DD. Results showed that children with a familial risk for DD consistently underperformed children without familial risk in music, phonology, and literacy. A small effect of musical ability on literacy via phonology was observed, but may have been induced by differences in stability across domains over time. Furthermore, early musical skills did not add significant predictive power to later literacy difficulties beyond phonological skills and family risk status. These findings are consistent with the idea that certain key auditory skills are shared between music and speech processing, and between DD and congenital amusia. However, they do not support the notion that music perception and memory skills can serve as a reliable early marker of DD, nor as a valuable target for reading remediation. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS: Music, phonology, and literacy skills of 130 children, 31 of whom with a familial risk for dyslexia, were examined longitudinally. Children with a familial risk for dyslexia consistently underperformed children without familial risk in musical, phonological, and literacy skills. Structural equation models showed a small effect of musical ability in kindergarten on literacy in second grade, via phonology in first grade. However, early musical skills did not add significant predictive power to later literacy difficulties beyond phonological skills and family risk status.

The Moderating Role of the DYX1C1 Gene in the Effect of Home Supervision on Chinese Children's Reading Achievements: Evidence from the Diathesis-Stress Model

The current study aimed to explore whether susceptible children (with differences in DYX1C1 (dyslexia susceptibility 1 candidate gene 1) gene) are more likely to be influenced by either supportive or adverse home supervision in their reading achievements. Home supervision, reading achievements, and genotype data were collected from a total of 745 fourth and fifth grade children and their parents in Chongqing, China. The results showed that there was a significant interaction between the rs11629841 polymorphism of the DYX1C1 gene and home supervision on children's reading achievements. A further analysis based on the re-parameterized regression model showed that the interaction best fit a weak diathesis-stress model, which indicated that the home supervision had a stronger predictive effect on children's reading achievements among children with the susceptible genotype than children with a non-susceptible genotype in a more adverse environment rather than in a supportive environment. These results suggested that children carrying different genotypes may need targeted interventions and that their parents should emphasize home supervision to develop their children's reading skills.

Early predictors of reading success in first grade

Reading acquisition is a complex process that can be predicted by several components which, in turn, can be affected by the orthography depth. This study aims to explore the early predictors of (un)success in reading acquisition within an intermediate transparent orthography. At the beginning of the school year, 119 European Portuguese-speaking first graders were assessed regarding (i) sociodemographic variables: mothers' education and socioeconomic status (SES); (ii) cognitive variables: phonological working memory and vocabulary; (iii) reading-related variables: letter-sound knowledge, phonemic awareness, and rapid naming. Results of the three variable clusters were correlated with the final classification obtained in the Portuguese discipline. Specifically, there was a correlation between the Portuguese discipline classification with all reading and cognitive-related variables, with the highest correlations occurring with mother education and letter spelling. A regression analysis was conducted to assess the predictor impact of mother education and letter spelling (variables that correlated stronger with the Portuguese classification) on Portuguese classifications. Letter spelling was the sole significant predictor of the Portuguese classification. Based on these results, a path analysis was run to test whether letter spelling is a mediator of the relationship between the mother's education and the Portuguese classification. The results of the model test yielded a reasonable fit, indicating a relationship between the mother's education and letter spelling, which in turn, relates to the Portuguese classification. The identification of reading predictors in an intermediate-depth orthography such as European Portuguese contributes to more accurate identification of at-risk children.

Does a specialist typeface affect how fluently children with and without dyslexia process letters, words, and passages?

Children with dyslexia are at risk of poor academic attainment and lower life chances if they do not receive the support they need. Alongside phonics-based interventions which already have a strong evidence base, specialist dyslexia typefaces have been offered as an additional or alternative form of support. The current study examined whether one such typeface, Dyslexie, had a benefit over a standard typeface in identifying letters, reading words, and reading passages. 71 children, aged 8-12 years, 37 of whom had a diagnosis of dyslexia, completed a rapid letter naming task, a word reading efficiency task, and a passage reading task in two typefaces, Dyslexie and Calibri. Spacing between letters and words was kept constant. Results showed no differences in word or passage reading between the two typesfaces, but letter naming did appear to be more fluent when letters were presented in Dyslexie rather than Calibri text for all children. The results suggest that a typeface in which letters are designed to be distinctive from one another may be beneficial for letter identification and that an intervention in which children are taught letters in a specialist typeface is worthy of consideration.

Long-term effects of the home literacy environment on reading development: Familial risk for dyslexia as a moderator

This study aimed to gain better understanding of the associations between literacy activities at home and long-term language and literacy development. We extended the home literacy environment (HLE) model of Sénéchal and LeFevre (Child Development [2002], Vol. 73, pp. 445-460) by including repeated assessments of shared reading, oral language, and reading comprehension development, including examination of familial risk for dyslexia as a moderator, and following development over time from ages 2 to 15 years. Of the 198 Finnish participants, 106 have familial risk for dyslexia due to parental dyslexia. Our path models include development in vocabulary (2-5.5 years), emerging literacy (5.5 years), reading fluency (8 and 9 years), and reading comprehension (8, 9, and 15 years) as well as shared book reading with parents (2, 4, 5, 8, and 9 years), teaching literacy at home (4.5 years), and reading motivation (8-9 years). The results supported the HLE model in that teaching literacy at home predicted stronger emerging literacy skills, whereas shared book reading predicted vocabulary development and reading motivation. Both emerging literacy and vocabulary predicted reading development. Familial risk for dyslexia was a significant moderator regarding several paths; vocabulary, reading fluency, and shared reading were stronger predictors of reading comprehension among children with familial risk for dyslexia, whereas reading motivation was a stronger predictor of reading comprehension among adolescents with no familial risk. The findings underline the importance of shared reading and suggest a long-standing impact of shared reading on reading development both directly and through oral language development and reading motivation.

Unveiling the Mysteries of Dyslexia-Lessons Learned from the Prospective Jyväskylä Longitudinal Study of Dyslexia

This paper reviews the observations of the Jyväskylä Longitudinal Study of Dyslexia (JLD). The JLD is a prospective family risk study in which the development of children with familial risk for dyslexia (N = 108) due to parental dyslexia and controls without dyslexia risk (N = 92) were followed from birth to adulthood. The JLD revealed that the likelihood of at-risk children performing poorly in reading and spelling tasks was fourfold compared to the controls. Auditory insensitivity of newborns observed during the first week of life using brain event-related potentials (ERPs) was shown to be the first precursor of dyslexia. ERPs measured at six months of age related to phoneme length identification differentiated the family risk group from the control group and predicted reading speed until the age of 14 years. Early oral language skills, phonological processing skills, rapid automatized naming, and letter knowledge differentiated the groups from ages 2.5-3.5 years onwards and predicted dyslexia and reading development, including reading comprehension, until adolescence. The home environment, a child's interest in reading, and task avoidance were not different in the risk group but were found to be additional predictors of reading development. Based on the JLD findings, preventive and intervention methods utilizing the association learning approach have been developed.

Regression Analysis of ICT Impact Factors on Early Adolescents' Reading Proficiency in Five High-Performing Countries

The popularity of information and communication technology (ICT) has had a significant influence on the reading proficiency of early adolescents. Achieving excellent reading proficiency, which is related not only to a student's inherent talent but also to various impact factors, can greatly enhance the effectiveness of reading education. The Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2015 provides an international view on the reading proficiency of 15-year-olds in a computer-based testing environment. In this study, a multiple linear regression model was constructed using the computing language R to investigate the association between student-level ICT impact factors (the availability of ICT, the use of ICT and attitudes toward ICT) and reading proficiency among early adolescents. The sample included 37,155 15-year-olds from five representative countries with extremely high reading proficiency. The results showed that the students' ICT-related attitudinal factors concerning their interest in ICT and perceived autonomy in using ICT, rather than ICT availability and ICT use, were closely associated with high reading proficiency. In addition, ICT devices should be integrated not only as instructional media but also as a cognitive tool for teaching reading with timely and appropriate scrutiny.

Behind the Scenes of Developmental Language Disorder: Time to Call Neuropsychology Back on Stage

Although the Developmental Language Disorder (DLD), also known as Specific Language Impairment in children has been the focus of unceasing scientific attention for decades, the nature and mechanisms of this disorder remain unclear. Most importantly, we still cannot reliably identify children requiring urgent intervention among other ‘late talkers’ at an early age and understand the high prevalence of comorbidity with psychiatric phenomena such as Autism Spectrum Disorder. One of the main reasons for this is the traditional ‘diagnosis-by-exclusion,’ resulting in heterogeneity of the DLD population. This paper proposes an alternative approach to the diagnosis, treatment and research of DLD, claiming that it is these children’s multiple deficits in neuropsychological development, which impede the spontaneous acquisition of their first language. Specifically, this review of the state-of-the-art in DLD research demonstrates deep and systematic interconnections between the speech and other higher cognitive functions developing in early childhood, including perception, attention and executive functions. In the proposed framework, speech is, therefore, considered as one of neuropsychological abilities, and the delay in its development is explained by other neuropsychological deficits, resulting in highly individual clinical profiles. By considering DLD as a complex neuropsychological syndrome, whose successful treatment depends on a holistic approach to diagnosis and intervention, we may significantly increase the efficacy of speech therapy, and also better understand the flexibility of the developing brain, its compensatory mechanisms and hence the comorbidity of DLD with psychiatric symptoms. Implications for using this paradigm in future scientific research are discussed.