Children’s reading comprehension and narrative recall in sung and spoken story contexts
from Child Language Teaching and Therapy
A growing number of reading professionals have advocated teaching literacy through music and song; however, little research exists supporting such practices. The purpose of this study was to determine if sung story book readings would enhance story comprehension and narrative re-tellings in children with histories of speech and language delay. Thirty kindergarten and first grade children listened to story books read in either a sung or spoken voice and were then asked to retell stories and answer story comprehension questions. Findings revealed that story re-telling and comprehension scores did not differ between conditions; however, certain advantages associated with language expression and attentional focus were indicated in both conditions.
What type of computer-assisted exercise supports young less skilled spellers in resolving problems in open and closed syllable words?
from Annals of Dyslexia
Abstract Dutch bisyllabic words containing open and closed syllables are particularly difficult to spell for children. What kind of support in spelling exercises improves the spelling of these words the most? Two extensions of a commonly used dictation exercise were tested: less skilled spellers in grade 2 (n = 50; 7 years and 10 months) either received explicit syllabic segmentation cues or received spelling cues by means of a visual preview. Comparisons between pre-, post-, and retention tests of spelling skill showed that extra syllabic cues did not show a significant improvement beyond normal spelling dictation and that visual preview was most effective as compared to the other types of training. The findings suggest that word-specific knowledge can effectively be improved by exposure to the correct letter pattern during exercises in spelling and seems to result in lasting improvement of word-specific orthographic representations, at least for 5 weeks.
Impact of videotaped instruction in dialogic reading strategies: An investigation of caregiver implementation integrity
from Psychology in the Schools
Research during the past 15 years has repeatedly demonstrated the beneficial effects of dialogic reading (DR), a form of shared storybook reading, on the development of language in preschool children. Although much is known about the effects of DR on children, little attention has been paid to the role that adult caregivers play in the DR experience. Specifically, we do not yet have an understanding of the frequency and consistency with which caregivers use DR strategies in daily practice, prior to and following training. In the current study, the integrity with which six caregivers used DR strategies with their preschool-aged children subsequent to viewing a commercially available training videotape was investigated. Results indicate that caregivers can learn to use several DR strategies through videotaped training; however, supplemental training may be necessary to teach caregivers certain strategies if they are to use them with integrity. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
A Longitudinal Study of Speech Timing in Young Children Later Found to Have Reading Disability
from the Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research
Purpose: This study examined the development of timing characteristics in early spontaneous speech of children who were later identified as having reading disability (RD).
Method: Child–adult play sessions were recorded longitudinally at 2 and 3 years of age in 27 children, most of whom were at high familial risk for RD. For each speaking turn, the number of syllables was determined and an acoustic analysis measured the time allocated to articulation, pausing before speaking, and pausing during speaking.
Results: In grade school, a reading battery identified 9 children with RD and 18 children without RD (9 at high risk, 9 at low risk). Early speaking rate was significantly slower in the group with RD, with significantly different patterns of pausing compared with children without RD. Group differences became more distinct by age 3, as longer speaking turns were attempted.
Conclusions: The results are discussed in terms of speech and language formulation. Phonetic plans may be shorter and/or less specified in children with RD, surfacing as slow, short speaking turns with increased pausing relative to articulation. This explanation is consistent with several accounts of RD and provides a perspective on how speech and language deficits may manifest during spontaneous verbal interactions between young children and adults.
Engagement during reading instruction for students who are deaf or hard of hearing in public schools
from the American Annals of the Deaf
An observational study of reading instruction was conducted in general education, resource, and self-contained classrooms, grades 1-4, in public schools. Participants included students who were deaf or hard of hearing and their reading teachers. Results indicated that time engaged in reading and/or academically responding varied significantly by grade level enrolled, reading curriculum grade level, and instructional setting, but not level of hearing loss or presence or absence of concomitant conditions. Students working with reading curriculum one grade level below spent significantly less time in reading instruction and reading than students working on grade level or two levels below. Students in general education settings spent significantly more time in reading instruction and reading silently than students in self-contained settings. The probability that students would engage in reading was significantly increased by several teacher and ecological conditions more likely to be observed in general education settings.
Does Early Reading Failure Decrease Children’s Reading Motivation?
from the Journal of Learning Disabilities
The authors used a pretest—posttest control group design with random assignment to evaluate whether early reading failure decreases children’s motivation to practice reading. First, they investigated whether 60 first-grade children would report substantially different levels of interest in reading as a function of their relative success or failure in learning to read. Second, they evaluated whether increasing the word reading ability of 15 at-risk children would lead to gains in their motivation to read. Multivariate analyses of variance suggest marked differences in both motivation and reading practice between skilled and unskilled readers. However, bolstering at-risk children’s word reading ability did not yield evidence of a causal relationship between early reading failure and decreased motivation to engage in reading activities. Instead, hierarchical regression analyses indicate a covarying relationship among early reading failure, poor motivation, and avoidance of reading.
Literature Circles for Students With Learning Disabilities
from the Intervention in School and Clinic
The term literature circle refers to a classroom instructional strategy that connects all aspects of literacy for students with varied interests and levels of reading achievement. Although general education teachers commonly use literature circles, special education teachers have used this strategy much less frequently. Literature circles lend themselves particularly well to inclusionary settings as they involve small heterogeneous reading groups that explore content within a collaborative structure that allows students the opportunity to listen, reflect, and share thoughts about literature. Listening, speaking, reading, and writing are reciprocally reinforced through literature circle group work. This article provides a step-by-step description of literature circle implementation that supports the needs of students with learning disabilities.
Reading Strategies for Students With Mild Disabilities
from the Intervention in School and Clinic
Teaching children with mild disabilities to read can be a challenging task for even the most seasoned teacher. In order to be successful, teachers need to be knowledgeable about the big five of reading: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension (National Reading Panel, 2000). While the ultimate goal of reading is comprehension, several of the aforementioned skills must be in place to meet this goal (Tolman, 2005). Despite knowledge of the big five, other skills such as syllabication and structural analysis, subsumed under phonics and vocabulary instruction, are needed in order for children to progress from word-callers to becoming fluent readers who can efficiently comprehend text.
Integrating Response to Intervention (RTI) with neuropsychology: A scientific approach to reading
from Psychology in the Schools
This article integrates the fundamental components of both Response to Intervention (RTI) and cognitive neuropsychology when identifying reading disorders in children. Both proponents of RTI and cognitive neuropsychology agree the discrepancy model is not a reliable or valid method to identify learning disorders in school. In addition, both proponents of RTI and cognitive neuropsychology agree that earlier intervention and the use of evidence-based intervention techniques must permeate the thinking behind any educational reform. Lastly, both proponents of RTI and cognitive neuropsychology concur with the National Reading Panel’s (2000) five core components of the reading process. Given the similarities between RTI and neuropsychological models of reading, a more integrative assessment model will be introduced to better diagnose and remediate subtypes of reading disorders in children. In summary, it is the author’s belief that cognitive neuropsychology will emerge as the leading discipline in forging the inevitable alliance between science and education. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Sluggish engagement and disengagement of non-spatial attention in dyslexic children
from Cortex
Although the dominant view posits that developmental dyslexia arises from a deficit in phonological processing and memory, efficient phonological decoding requires precise visual selection of graphemes. Therefore, visual engagement and disengagement of non-spatial attention were studied in 13 dyslexic children and 13 chronological age and intelligence quotient (IQ) matched normally reading children by measuring “attentional masking” (AM) and “attentional blink” (AB) effects. AM refers to an impaired identification of the first (T1) of two rapidly sequential targets (i.e., attentional engagement). In contrast, AB refers to an impaired identification of the second target in the sequence (T2; i.e., attentional disengagement). The results revealed a specific temporal deficit of AM as well as of AB in dyslexic children. Our results showed that the abnormality in AM and AB is rather widespread, since 77% and 54% of dyslexic children deviated at least 1 standard deviation (SD) from the mean of the controls, respectively, for the two deficits. We further showed that individual differences in non-spatial attention were specifically related to nonword reading ability. These results suggest that non-spatial attention deficits (possibly related to a parietal cortex dysfunction) may selectively impair the reading development via sub-lexical mechanisms.
Age 17 Language and Reading Outcomes in Late-Talking Toddlers: Support for a Dimensional Perspective on Language Delay
from the Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research
Purpose: This study examined whether late talkers identified at 24 to 31 months continued to have weaker language and reading skills at age 17 than typically developing peers.
Method: Language and reading outcomes at 17 years of age were examined in 26 children identified as late talkers with normal nonverbal ability and normal receptive language at intake and 23 typically developing children matched at intake on age, SES, and nonverbal ability.
Results: Although late talkers performed in the average range on all language and reading tasks at age 17, they obtained significantly lower Vocabulary/Grammar and Verbal Memory factor scores than SES-matched peers. The age 17 Vocabulary/Grammar factor had large correlations with the age 17 Verbal Memory and Reading/Writing factors. The age 17 Vocabulary/Grammar and Reading/Writing factors were strongly predicted by comparable factors at age 13. Age 2 Language Development Survey (LDS) vocabulary score explained 17% of the variance in the age 17 Vocabulary/Grammar and Verbal Memory factors.
Conclusions: Results suggested that slow language development at 24 to 31 months is associated with a weakness in language-related skills into adolescence relative to skills manifested by typically developing peers, findings consistent with a dimensional perspective on language delay.
Reading, dyslexia and the brain
from Educational Research
Abstract
Background: Neuroimaging offers unique opportunities for understanding the acquisition of reading by children and for unravelling the mystery of developmental dyslexia. Here, I provide a selective overview of recent neuroimaging studies, drawing out implications for education and the teaching of reading.
Purpose: The different neuroimaging technologies available offer complementary techniques for revealing the biological basis of reading and dyslexia. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is most suited to localisation of function, and hence to investigating the neural networks that underpin efficient (or inefficient) reading. Electroencephalography (EEG) is sensitive to millisecond differences in timing, hence it is suited to studying the time course of processing; for example, it can reveal when networks relevant to phonology versus semantics are activated. Magnetic source imaging (MSI) gives information about both location in the brain and the time course of activation. I illustrate how each technology is most suited to answering particular questions about the core neural systems for reading, and how these systems interact, and what might go wrong in the dyslexic brain.
Design and methods: Following a brief overview of behavioural studies of reading acquisition in different languages, selected neuroimaging studies of typical development are discussed and analysed. Those studies including the widest age ranges of children have been selected. Neuroimaging studies of developmental dyslexia are then reviewed, focusing on (a) the neural networks recruited for reading, (b) the time course of neural activation and (c) the neural effects of remediation. Representative studies using the different methodologies are selected. It is shown that studies converge in showing that the dyslexic brain is characterised by under-activation of the key neural networks for reading.
Conclusions: Different neuroimaging methods can contribute different kinds of data relevant to key questions in education. The most informative studies with respect to causation will be longitudinal prospective studies, which are currently rare.
Study Finds Troubled Children Adversely Affect Peers’ Test Scores, Behavior
Troubled children hurt their classmates’ math and reading scores and worsen their behavior, according to new research by economists at the University of California, Davis, and University of Pittsburgh
Computer-Based Exercises for Learning to Read and Spell by Deaf Children
from the Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education
There is a surprising lack of systematic research evaluating the effects of reading exercises for young deaf children. Therefore, for this article, two computer-based exercises were developed and learning effects were determined by posttests. One (spelling oriented) exercise was to select the correct word among three orthographically similar alternatives that corresponds to a drawing or a sign (digital video). The other (meaning oriented) exercise was to select the correct sign or picture among three alternatives that corresponds to a written word. Eleven deaf Dutch children with a mean age of 7 years 10 months participated in the study. A first question was whether in single-word exercises the meaning or the spelling of a word should be emphasized. A second question was whether there was any effect of using drawings or signs to refer to the meaning of the word. The results reveal that emphasizing the word spelling is most effective for learning to read for deaf children and the findings also suggest that drawings are more efficient in the current exercises.
Reading abilities after cochlear implantation: The effect of age at implantation on outcomes at 5 and 7 years after implantation
from the International Journal of Pediatric Otorhinolaryngology
Objectives
The reading skills of deaf children have typically been delayed and this delay has been found to increase with age. This study explored the reading ability of a large group of children who had received cochlear implants 7 years earlier and investigated the relationship between reading ability and age at implantation.
Methods
The reading ages of 105 children, with age at implantation less than 7 years and onset of deafness below the age of three, were assessed 5 and 7 years after implantation using the Edinburgh reading test. Net reading age was calculated by using the difference between chronological age and reading age. Non-verbal intelligence was measured for a subset of 71 children, using Raven’s coloured progressive matrices. Further investigation of this subset looked at the association of nonverbal intelligence, age at implantation and reading ability.
Results
There was a strong negative correlation at both 5 and 7 years after implant between net reading score and age at implantation. In the subset of 71 children who had an IQ score within normal range, those implanted at or before 42 months had age-appropriate reading both 5 and 7 years post-implant. This was not the case for children implanted after 42 months. Reading progress at the two post-implant assessment intervals were found to be highly related.
Conclusions
Age at implantation was a significant factor in the development of reading skills in this group. In children implanted below the age of 42 months, reading progress was in line with chronological age, which has not been the case previously with profoundly deaf children. With earlier implantation more common in present groups, and improved technology, there is every reason to be optimistic about the influence of cochlear implantation on the development of reading skills in deaf children.
Predictors of word-level literacy amongst Grade 3 children in five diverse languages
from Dyslexia
Groups of Grade 3 children were tested on measures of word-level literacy and undertook tasks that required the ability to associate sounds with letter sequences and that involved visual, auditory and phonological-processing skills. These groups came from different language backgrounds in which the language of instruction was Arabic, Chinese, English, Hungarian or Portuguese. Similar measures were used across the groups, with tests being adapted to be appropriate for the language of the children. Findings indicated that measures of decoding and phonological-processing skills were good predictors of word reading and spelling among Arabic- and English-speaking children, but were less able to predict variability in these same early literacy skills among Chinese- and Hungarian-speaking children, and were better at predicting variability in Portuguese word reading than spelling. Results were discussed with reference to the relative transparency of the script and issues of dyslexia assessment across languages. Overall, the findings argue for the need to take account of features of the orthography used to represent a language when developing assessment procedures for a particular language and that assessment of word-level literacy skills and a phonological perspective of dyslexia may not be universally applicable across all language contexts. Copyright (c) 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The effectiveness of Additional Literacy Support (ALS) in Years 3 and 4
from Dyslexia
This study compared the progress in reading and spelling of 256 children in 11 classes in 9 English primary schools in Years 3 and 4, and a partially overlapping sample of 126 children who received additional help with literacy during 1 year. Teachers and teaching assistants used either Additional Literacy Support (ALS), a highly structured set of small group teaching materials devised by the English National Literacy Strategy, or a wide variety of other materials including other published intervention programmes, reading scheme-based, computer-based and individually designed interventions, or a combination of ALS and other interventions. The influence of a broad range of contextual factors were investigated, especially whether children’s qualities, school factors such as socio-economic status and class size, and delivery differences made significant differences to the outcomes of the different interventions. The study used a naturalistic quasi-experimental design, in which teachers were asked to record details of their children and interventions without altering their professional decisions, which has not been used before in investigating literacy difficulties in context. ALS was marginally more effective than other interventions in the majority of classes, but was clearly superior in value for money terms. Children’s qualities did not appear to affect outcomes. Although children receiving additional help made better than average progress, overall catch-up was limited, especially in spelling. Copyright (c) 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Reading And Rhythm Relationship Explored - The British Psychological Society, UK
A study published in the British Journal of Developmental Psychology adds weight to the theory that a child’s reading ability is linked to their sensitivity to the rhythm of speech.
American Sign Language syntactic and narrative comprehension in skilled and less skilled readers: Bilingual and bimodal evidence for the linguistic basis of reading
from Applied Psycholinguistics
We tested the hypothesis that syntactic and narrative comprehension of a natural sign language can serve as the linguistic basis for skilled reading. Thirty-one adults who were deaf from birth and used American Sign Language (ASL) were classified as skilled or less skilled readers using an eighth-grade criterion. Proficiency with ASL syntax, and narrative comprehension of ASL and Manually Coded English (MCE) were measured in conjunction with variables including exposure to print, nonverbal IQ, and hearing and speech ability. Skilled readers showed high levels of ASL syntatic ability and narrative comprehension whereas less skilled readers did not. Regression analyses showed ASL syntactic ability to contribute unique variance in English reading performance when the effects of nonverbal IQ, exposure to print, and MCE comprehension were controlled. A reciprocal relationship between print exposure and sign language proficiency was further found. The results indicate that the linguistic basis of reading, and the reciprocal relationship between print exposure and “through the air” language, can be bimodal, as in being a sign language or a spoken language, and bilingual, as in being ASL and English.
A randomized, controlled study of computer-based intervention in middle school struggling readers
from Brain and Language
The current study was conducted to test the premise that computer-based intervention that targets auditory temporal processing combined with language exercises (Fast ForWord®) is effective in remediating children with disorders of language and reading. Sixty-five middle school struggling readers were randomly assigned to one of five groups and over a 12-week-period received one of the following interventions: (1) two phases of intervention with Fast ForWord® (FFW, experimental group), (2) two phases of intervention with SuccessMaker (SM, active control group), (3) FFW followed by SM, (4) SM followed by FFW, or (5) no intervention beyond the regular class curriculum (developmental control group). Changes in reading, phonemic awareness, spelling and language skills were assessed via a repeated measures MANOVA. Results indicated significant within-subjects effects (i.e., change for all participants over time), but no between-subject group differences, failing to show that Fast ForWord® resulted in any gains over and above those seen in the other groups.
Reading, dyslexia and the brain
from Educational Research
Abstract
Background: Neuroimaging offers unique opportunities for understanding the acquisition of reading by children and for unravelling the mystery of developmental dyslexia. Here, I provide a selective overview of recent neuroimaging studies, drawing out implications for education and the teaching of reading.
Purpose: The different neuroimaging technologies available offer complementary techniques for revealing the biological basis of reading and dyslexia. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is most suited to localisation of function, and hence to investigating the neural networks that underpin efficient (or inefficient) reading. Electroencephalography (EEG) is sensitive to millisecond differences in timing, hence it is suited to studying the time course of processing; for example, it can reveal when networks relevant to phonology versus semantics are activated. Magnetic source imaging (MSI) gives information about both location in the brain and the time course of activation. I illustrate how each technology is most suited to answering particular questions about the core neural systems for reading, and how these systems interact, and what might go wrong in the dyslexic brain.
Design and methods: Following a brief overview of behavioural studies of reading acquisition in different languages, selected neuroimaging studies of typical development are discussed and analysed. Those studies including the widest age ranges of children have been selected. Neuroimaging studies of developmental dyslexia are then reviewed, focusing on (a) the neural networks recruited for reading, (b) the time course of neural activation and (c) the neural effects of remediation. Representative studies using the different methodologies are selected. It is shown that studies converge in showing that the dyslexic brain is characterised by under-activation of the key neural networks for reading.
Conclusions: Different neuroimaging methods can contribute different kinds of data relevant to key questions in education. The most informative studies with respect to causation will be longitudinal prospective studies, which are currently rare.
Storytelling as a democratic approach to data collection: interviewing children about reading
from Educational Research
Abstract
Background Before the 1990s, an individual or medical model dominated educational research methodology with respect to younger children: the subjects of the research were usually considered untrustworthy sources of information. A subsequent shift towards an ecological model has focused on the child’s perspective: however, Lewis and Lindsay have described the development of methods for conducting research with children as slow.
Purpose This paper examines how storytelling can be used as a method of collecting authentic and revealing research data from children. The method is suggested as a valuable way in which to gain insights into children’s discourse, and is used in this paper in relation to children’s discourse about reading.
Sample, design and methods The storytelling method was initially trialled in one school with 36 children aged between 5 and 11 years. The storytelling interview was then used in case studies over a period of a year in three schools, with a total of 88 7- and 8-year-old children. During the interviews, children were asked to tell a story entitled ‘The child who didn’t like reading’. Systematic content analysis was undertaken to identify emergent cultural norms and models in the stories. Information on the children’s reading practices, and their observations on reading, was also collected for the purposes of triangulation.
Results The children’s storytelling gave access to their cultural models of reading. It was found that the stories demonstrated sufficient triangulation with the other data about the children’s reading practices to support a sociocultural production of the children’s discourse.
Conclusions Storytelling can provide a useful and credible method of collecting research data from children. It may be especially useful with poor readers as there are no literacy demands, and in this respect, affords socially inclusive research.
Computer-based training with ortho-phonological units in dyslexic children: new investigations
from Dyslexia
This study aims to show that training using a computer game incorporating an audio-visual phoneme discrimination task with phonological units, presented simultaneously with orthographic units, might improve literacy skills. Two experiments were conducted, one in secondary schools with dyslexic children (Experiment 1) and the other in a speech-therapy clinic with individual case studies (Experiment 2). A classical pre-test, training, post-test design was used. The main findings indicated an improvement in reading scores after short intensive training (10 h) in Experiment 1 and progress in the reading and spelling scores obtained by the dyslexic children (training for 8 h) in Experiment 2. These results are discussed within the frameworks of both the speech-specific deficit theory of dyslexia and the connectionist models of reading development. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Evidence-Based Literacy Instruction for Individuals Who Require Augmentative and Alternative Communication: A Case Study of a Student with Multiple Disabilities
from Seminars in Speech and Language
Literacy skills provide numerous benefits to individuals who require augmentative and alternative communication (AAC), including new opportunities for education, work, and social interaction. Literacy skills also have a powerful impact on communication and language development. This paper describes the components of effective evidence-based literacy instruction, including skills to target for instruction, effective instructional procedures to teach these skills, and adaptations to accommodate the needs of individuals with significant speech, motor, and other disabilities. The paper also presents a case study that describes ongoing intervention with an 8-year-old girl with multiple disabilities who required AAC. Evidence-based instruction was provided in phonologic awareness, letter-sound correspondences, decoding, sight-word recognition, reading connected text, reading comprehension skills, and early writing and keyboarding skills. During the 16 months of intervention, a total of 55 hours of instruction, the student acquired 20 letter-sound correspondences, learned to use decoding and sight-word skills to read 60 words, and began to read simple texts both in shared reading activities and independently. She also began to type simple short messages and stories using spelling approximations. The acquisition of these new literacy skills resulted in increased educational opportunities for the learner and also enhanced her language and communication skills.
American Sign Language syntactic and narrative comprehension in skilled and less skilled readers: Bilingual and bimodal evidence for the linguistic basis of reading
from Applied Psycholinguistics
We tested the hypothesis that syntactic and narrative comprehension of a natural sign language can serve as the linguistic basis for skilled reading. Thirty-one adults who were deaf from birth and used American Sign Language (ASL) were classified as skilled or less skilled readers using an eighth-grade criterion. Proficiency with ASL syntax, and narrative comprehension of ASL and Manually Coded English (MCE) were measured in conjunction with variables including exposure to print, nonverbal IQ, and hearing and speech ability. Skilled readers showed high levels of ASL syntatic ability and narrative comprehension whereas less skilled readers did not. Regression analyses showed ASL syntactic ability to contribute unique variance in English reading performance when the effects of nonverbal IQ, exposure to print, and MCE comprehension were controlled. A reciprocal relationship between print exposure and sign language proficiency was further found. The results indicate that the linguistic basis of reading, and the reciprocal relationship between print exposure and “through the air” language, can be bimodal, as in being a sign language or a spoken language, and bilingual, as in being ASL and English.
Semantic processing of previews within compound words
from the Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition
Previous studies have suggested that previews of words prior to fixation can be processed orthographically, but not semantically, during reading of sentences (K. Rayner, D. A. Balota, & A. Pollatsek, 1986). The present study tested whether semantic processing of previews can occur within words. The preview of the second constituent of 2-constituent Finnish compound nouns was manipulated. The previews were either identical to the 2nd constituent or they were incorrect in the form of a semantically related word, a semantically unrelated word, or a semantically meaningless nonword. The results indicate that previews of 2nd constituents within compound words can be semantically processed. The results have important implications for understanding the nature of preview and compound word processing. These issues are crucial to developing comprehensive models of eye-movement control and word recognition during reading. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2008 APA, all rights reserved)
Mothers’ Causal Attributions Concerning the Reading Achievement of Their Children With and Without Familial Risk for Dyslexia
from the Journal of Learning Disabilities
The present study analyzed data from the Jyväskylä Longitudinal Study of Dyslexia to investigate the factors to which mothers of children with and without familial risk for dyslexia attribute the causes of their first-grade children’s reading achievement. Mothers’ causal attributions were assessed three times during their children’s first school year. Children’s verbal intelligence was assessed at 5 years and their word and nonword reading skills at 6.5 years. The results showed that the higher the word reading skills the children had, the more their mothers attributed their success to ability than to effort. However, if children had familial risk for dyslexia, their mothers’ attribution of success to ability decreased during the first grade as compared with the ability attributions of mothers whose children were in the control group.
About the Callier Library
Callier Library is a satellite facility of The University of Texas at Dallas, McDermott Library. It is located at the Dallas, Texas campus of the Callier Center for Communication Disorders. The library supports the graduate-level programs and faculty in communications sciences which are located at the center. It also supports the work of clinicians in hearing and speech disorders who work at both campuses of the Callier Center. One of the missions of Callier Library is to be a useful source of information to the international community of researchers and clinicians in communication disorders. To that end, this web log of citations and news in the field has been built and maintained by Allen Clayton, the Callier Center Librarian.
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