Reading Disabilities

Foundational research

Components of Effective Remediation for Developmental Reading Disabilities: Combining Phonological and Strategy-Based Introduction to Improve Outcomes

Lovett, Maureen W., Lacerenza, L., Borden, Susan L., Frijters, Jan C., et al. (2000). Components of Effective Remediation for Developmental Reading Disabilities: Combining Phonological and Strategy-Based Introduction to Improve Outcomes. Journal of Educational Psychology, 92, 263-283.

Abstract:
The efficacy of a combination of phonological and strategy-based remedial approaches for reading disability (RD) was compared with that of each approach separately. Eighty-five children with severe RD were randomly assigned to 70 intervention hours in 1 of 5 sequences. Performance was assessed before, 3 times during, and after intervention. Four orthogonal contrasts based on a linear trend analysis model were evaluated.

There were generalized treatment effects on standardized measures of word identification, passage comprehension, and nonword reading. A combination of PHAB/DI and WIST proved superior to either program alone on nonword reading, letter-sound and keyword knowledge, and 3 word identification measures. Generalization of nonword decoding to real word identification was achieved with a combination of effective remedial components. Abstract from PsycINFO Database Record.

Copyright © 2000 by the American Psychological Association. Reproduced with permission.

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Repeated Reading and Reading Fluency in Learning Disabled Children

Rashotte, C. & Torgesen, J. (1985). Repeated reading and reading fluency in learning disabled children. Reading Research Quarterly, 20, 180-188.

Abstract:
This study investigated whether improved fluency and comprehension across different stories in repeated reading depend on the degree of word overlap among passages and whether repeated reading is more effective than an equivalent amount of nonrepetitive reading. Non-fluent, learning disabled students read passages presented and timed by a computer under three different conditions. In Conditions 1 and 2 (repeated reading) the same passage was read four times before proceeding to a new story in the next session. Stories in Condition 2 contained three times as many overlapping words as stories in Condition 1. In Condition 3 (nonrepetitive reading), each of the four passages in a session was different.

Results suggest that over short periods of time, increases in reading speed with the repeated reading method depend on the amount of shared words among stories, and that if stories have few shared words, repeated reading is not more effective for improving speed than an equivalent amount of nonrepetitive reading.

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Evidence That Dyslexia May Represent the Lower Tail of a Normal Distribution of Reading Ability

Shaywitz, S.E., Escobar, M., Shaywitz, B.A., Fletcher, J.M., & Makuch, R. (1992, January 16). Evidence that dyslexia may represent the lower tail of a normal distribution of reading ability. New England Journal of Medicine, p. 145.

Abstract:
Dyslexia is now widely believed to be a biologically based disorder that is distinct from other, less specific reading problems. According to this view, reading ability is considered to follow a bimodal distribution, with dyslexia as the lower mode. We hypothesized that, instead, reading ability follows a normal distribution, with dyslexia at the lower end of the continuum. We used data from the Connecticut Longitudinal Study, a sample survey of 414 Connecticut children who entered kindergarten in 1983 and were followed as a longitudinal cohort. Dyslexia was defined in terms of a discrepancy score, which represents the difference between actual reading achievement and achievement predicted on the basis of measures of intelligence.

Data were available from intelligence tests administered in grades 1, 3, and 5 and achievement tests administered yearly in grades 1 through 6. For each child there were 108 possible discrepancy scores ([3 x 3 years] x [2 x 6 years]) based on combinations of the ability scores (full-scale, verbal, and performance IQ) in each of three years and two achievement scores (reading and mathematics) in each of six years.

We demonstrated that each of the discrepancy scores followed a univariate normal distribution and that the interrelation of two different discrepancy scores followed a bivariate normal distribution. At most, only 9 of 108 discrepancy scores (8.3 percent) and 171 of 3402 pairs of discrepancy scores (5.0 percent) were significantly different (at the 5 percent level) from the expected scores – well within the expected values for data with univariate and bivariate normal distributions, respectively. We also examined the stability of dyslexia over time. The normal-distribution model predicted (and the data indicated) that only 7 of the 25 children (28 percent) classified as having dyslexia in grade 1 would also be classified as having dyslexia in grade 3.

CONCLUSIONS. Reading difficulties, including dyslexia, occur as part of a continuum that also includes normal reading ability. Dyslexia is not an all-or-none phenomenon, but like hypertension, occurs in degrees. The variability inherent in the diagnosis of dyslexia can be both quantified and predicted with use of the normal-distribution model.

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Matthew Effects in Reading: Some Consequences of Individual Differences in the Acquisition of Literacy

Stanovich, Keith E. (1986). Matthew effects in reading: Some consequences of individual differences in the acquisition of literacy. Reading Research Quarterly, 22, 360-407.

A framework for conceptualizing the development of individual differences in reading ability is presented that synthesizes a great deal of the research literature. The framework places special emphasis on the effects of reading on cognitive development and on "bootstrapping" relationships involving reading. Of key importance are the concepts of reciprocal relationships – situations where the causal connection between reading ability and the efficiency of a cognitive process is bidirectional – and organism-environment correlation – the fact that differentially advantaged organisms are exposed to nonrandom distributions of environmental quality. Hypotheses are then advanced to explain how these mechanisms operate to create rich-get-richer and poor-get-poorer patterns of reading achievement. The framework is used to explicate some persisting problems in the literature on reading disability and to conceptualize remediation efforts in reading.

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Additional articles

On the Mind of a Child: A Conversation with Sally Shaywitz

D'Arcangelo, M. (2003). On the mind of a child: A conversation with Sally Shaywitz. Educational Leadership, 60(7), 6-10.

Summary:
A pediatrician, neuroscientist, and member of the National Reading Panel, Dr. Sally Shaywitz talks with Educational Leadership readers about the ways the brains of young children develop and what can be done to prevent early learning difficulties.

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Dissecting Dyslexia

May, T.S. (2006). Dissecting Dyslexia. BrainWork, the Neuroscience Newsletter from the Dana Foundation.

Genetic differences in the brain make learning to read a struggle for children with dyslexia. Luckily, most of our brain development occurs after we're born, when we interact with our environment. This means that the right teaching techniques can actually re-train the brain, especially when they happen early.

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Timing and Intensity of Tutoring: A Closer Look at the Conditions for Effective Early Literacy Tutoring

Vadasy, P., Sanders, E., Jenkins, J. & Peyton, J. (2002). Timing and intensity of tutoring: A closer look at the conditions for effective early literacy tutoring. Learning Disabilities Research and Practice, 17, 227-241.

Abstract:
In this article we report data from a longitudinal study of one-to-one tutoring for students at risk for reading disabilities. Participants were at-risk students who received phonics-based tutoring in first grade, students who were tutored in comprehension skills in second grade, and students tutored in both grades 1 and 2. At second-grade posttest, there were significant differences in word identification and word attack between students who were tutored in first grade only compared to students who were also tutored in second grade, favoring students who were tutored in first grade only.

Overall, there were no advantages to a second year of tutoring. For students tutored in second grade only, there were no differences at second-grade posttest compared to controls. Schools may have selected students who did not respond to first-grade tutoring for continued tutoring in second grade. Findings are discussed in light of decisions schools make when using tutors to supplement reading instruction for students with reading difficulties.

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