On the Dynamics of Inferential Behavior while Reading Expository and Narrative Texts.

Inference plays a key role in reading comprehension. This study examines changes in inferential behavior while reading different genres. The inferential behavior of 28 students with reading disabilities (RDs) and 44 students without RDs was quantified while they read expository and narrative texts. First, the average rates of inference attempts and correct inferences were measured during reading. Then, the same rates were measured separately during early and late reading to see if there was a change in inferential behavior. The results show that the change in inferential behavior depends on the genre. While reading the expository text, both groups showed no significant change in their inference making. In contrast, while reading the narrative text, both groups showed higher rates of inference attempts, and only the students without RD showed a significant increase in correct inferences. The implications of these findings for the design of more engaging and effective reading programs are discussed.

Scoping Review of Music Interventions Aimed at Improving Reading Skills in Children with Specific Learning Disorders in Reading.

An emerging body of research utilizes music in the treatment of children with specific learning disorders in reading. However, greater understanding of music interventions is necessary for efficient application of music to address children's specific reading needs. Therefore, this scoping review aimed to identify the key musical concepts used to improve reading skills. Intervention studies were identified through online searches of databases and hand searching of primary journals in music therapy, and 12 studies met the inclusion criteria. For the 12 studies, auditory processing, phonological processing, and temporal processing were the underlying mechanisms identified in the interventions. Most of the interventions presented rhythmic activities for the purpose of improving reading accuracy. The results of this study highlight the lack of specific descriptions for the musical elements used within music interventions targeting reading skills. In addition, due to the diversity of the terms used to describe the music interventions, it was difficult to compare the effectiveness of these interventions on reading accuracy, comprehension skills, and fluency. Therefore, future studies are needed to articulate clear rationales for how musical elements can be used in music interventions to treat specific reading disabilities in children.

Revisiting the definition of dyslexia.

The International Dyslexia Association definition of dyslexia was updated 20 years ago and has been referenced frequently in research and practice. In this paper, researchers from the Florida Center for Reading Research consider the components of the definition and make recommendations for revisions. These include recognizing the persistence of word-reading, decoding, and spelling difficulties, acknowledging the multifactorial causal basis of dyslexia, clarifying exclusionary factors, and denoting comorbidity with other developmental disorders. It is also suggested that the academic and psychosocial consequences of dyslexia be highlighted to reinforce a preventive service delivery model. Lastly, the inclusion of dyslexia within a specific learning disability category is supported.

The impact of morphological density on reading comprehension in Arabic: A comparison between typically developing and children with reading disabilities.

This study examined the influence of morphological density on reading comprehension in Arabic and whether this influence differs between typical and children with reading disabilities. Morphological density in Arabic is a text feature that refers to using bound morphemes, creating dense words with more morphemes. The participants were 182 fifth-graders, both typical and children with reading disabilities. Children were assessed in reading comprehension by reading texts with low- or high-morphological density. Findings revealed that overall morphological density impacted reading comprehension performance. That is, scores were found to be higher while reading low-density text than high-density text. Moreover, an interaction of morphological density condition by reading proficiency showed no density text effect among typical developing readers. However, a difference was obtained in the children with reading disabilities whereas low-morphological density text score was higher than the score of high-morphological density text. The study highlights the importance of morphological awareness in reading comprehension in Arabic, extending that morphological density plays an important role in this process. The results are discussed in light of the lexical quality hypothesis and simple view of reading model. The findings imply the need of explicit morphological instruction for dense morphological forms.

Executive functions underlie word reading and reading fluency in Chinese children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, reading disabilities, and comorbid attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder and reading disabilities.

The current study examined the executive function (EF) deficits and their roles in reading in one hundred and four Cantonese-speaking children with typical development, reading disabilities (RD), ADHD, and comorbid ADHD and RD (ADHD + RD). Children's EF and reading skills were measured. Analysis of variance results showed that all children with disorders manifested deficits in verbal and visuospatial short-term and working memory and behavioral inhibition. Moreover, children with ADHD and ADHD + RD also exhibited deficits in inhibition (IC and BI) and cognitive flexibility. These findings demonstrated that the EF deficits in Chinese children with RD, ADHD, and ADHD + RD are similar to those in their counterparts using alphabetic languages. However, children with ADHD + RD displayed more severe deficits in visuospatial working memory compared to children with RD and ADHD, which was inconsistent with that observed in children using alphabetic languages. Regression analysis results showed that verbal short-term memory was a significant predictor for both word reading and reading fluency in children with RD and ADHD + RD. Moreover, behavioral inhibition significantly predicted reading fluency in children with ADHD. These findings also agreed with previous studies. Collectively, the results of the current study showed that the EF deficits and their roles in reading found in Chinese children with RD, ADHD, and ADHD + RD are mainly consistent with children using alphabetic languages. However, more studies are still needed to confirm these findings, especially comparing the severity of working memory among these three disorders.

A Register Study Suggesting Homotypic and Heterotypic Comorbidity Among Individuals With Learning Disabilities.

The present study examined whether learning disabilities (LD) in reading and/or math (i.e., reading disability [RD], math disability [MD], and RD+MD) co-occur with other diagnoses. The data comprised a clinical sample (n = 430) with LD identified in childhood and a sample of matched controls (n = 2,140). Their medical diagnoses (according to the International Classification of Diseases nosology) until adulthood (20-39 years) were analyzed. The co-occurrence of LD with neurodevelopmental disorders was considered a homotypic comorbidity, and co-occurrence with disorders or diseases from the other diagnostic categories (i.e., mental and behavioral disorders, diseases of the nervous system, injuries, other medical or physical diagnoses) was considered a heterotypic comorbidity. Both homotypic and heterotypic comorbidity were more common in the LD group. Co-occurring neurodevelopmental disorders were the most prominent comorbid disorders, but mental and behavioral disorders, diseases of the nervous system, and injuries were also pronounced in the LD group. Accumulation of diagnoses across the diagnostic categories was more common in the LD group. No differences were found among the RD, MD, and RD+MD subgroups. The findings are relevant from the theoretical perspective, as well as for clinical and educational practice, as they provide understanding regarding individual distress and guiding for the planning of support.

Postural and Proprioceptive Deficits Clinically Assessed in Children with Reading Disabilities: A Case-Control Study.

Several studies have reported motor deficiencies in children with dyslexia, in line with the cerebellar deficit theory. In the present study, we explored whether tests used by physiotherapists during clinical evaluation were able to report motor deficits in a group of fifty-six dyslexic children (mean age 10.9 ± 0.2 years old) compared to a group of thirty-eight non-dyslexic children (mean age 11.2 ± 0.4 years old). The occurrence of instability on an unstable support; spinal instability in the sagittal, frontal and horizontal plane; head-eye discoordination; and poor eye stability were clinically assessed in the two groups of children. All such measures were found to be significantly more frequent in dyslexic than in non-dyslexic children (p < 0.001, p < 0.05, p < 0.001 and p < 0.001, respectively, for occurrence of instability on an unstable support, spinal instability, head-eye discoordination and poor eye stability). These results, firstly, confirmed the poor motor control of dyslexic children, suggesting deficient cerebellar integration. Secondly, for the first time, we reported that simple tests that can be done by pediatricians and/or during a clinical routine evaluation could be useful to discriminate children with reading difficulties. The tests used in this study could be a reference for a first exploration of motor deficiencies in children with dyslexia that can be easily assessed by clinicians and/or physiotherapists.

Heterogeneity in Reading Achievement and Mindset of Readers with Reading Difficulties.

Recent research has focused on evaluating the relation between mindset and reading achievement. We used exploratory factor mixture models (E-FMMs) to examine the heterogeneity in reading achievement and mindset of 650 fourth graders with reading difficulties. To build E-FMMs, we conducted confirmatory factor analyses to examine the factor structure of scores of (a) mindset, (b) reading, and (c) mindset/reading combined. Our results indicated (a) a 2-factor model for mindset (General Mindset vs. Reading Mindset), (b) a 2-factor model for reading (Word Reading vs. Comprehension; four covariances), and (c) a combined model with significant correlations across mindset and reading factors. We ran E-FMMs on the combined model. Overall, we found three classes of students. We situate these results within the existing literature and discuss implications for practice and research.

Examination of common and unique brain regions for atypical reading and math: a meta-analysis.

The purpose of this study is to identify consistencies across functional neuroimaging studies regarding common and unique brain regions/networks for individuals with reading difficulties (RD) and math difficulties (MD) compared to typically developing (TD) individuals. A systematic search of the literature, utilizing multiple databases, yielded 116 functional magnetic resonance imaging and positron emission tomography studies that met the criteria. Coordinates that directly compared TD with either RD or MD were entered into GingerALE (Brainmap.org). An activation likelihood estimate (ALE) meta-analysis was conducted to examine common and unique brain regions for RD and MD. Overall, more studies examined RD (n = 96) than MD (n = 20). Across studies, overactivation for reading and math occurred in the right insula and inferior frontal gyrus for atypically developing (AD) > TD comparisons, albeit in slightly different areas of these regions; however, inherent threshold variability across imaging studies could diminish overlying regions. For TD > AD comparisons, there were no similar or overlapping brain regions. Results indicate there were domain-specific differences for RD and MD; however, there were some similarities in the ancillary recruitment of executive functioning skills. Theoretical and practical implications for researchers and educators are discussed.

Exploring reading profiles of rural school students.

This study investigates the reading profiles of rural Grade 5 and 6 students (N = 262), a sample with a high proportion of English language learners. We administered a battery of reading and cognitive assessments to classify students' reading profiles and evaluate if performance on cognitive measures predicted membership in particular profiles. Data were analyzed using latent profile analysis. Latent profile analysis showed four distinct reading profiles in our sample: students with severe reading disabilities (< 2%), students at high risk of reading disability (14%), students at some-risk of reading disability (46%), and students who are typical readers (38%). Lower performance on cognitive measures was associated with group membership in the severe reading profile group compared to the group of students at some-risk of reading failure. In contrast, higher performance on cognitive measures was associated with group membership in the typical reader group compared to students at some-risk of reading failure. In keeping with the findings from past studies documenting reader profiles, we found heterogeneity in the reading profiles of rural upper-elementary grade students. We discuss the need for multicomponent interventions that target all areas of reading with some flexibility in the dosage of each reading component dependent on the reader profiles established prior to intervention.

Educational Technology in Support of Elementary Students With Reading or Language-Based Disabilities: A Cluster Randomized Control Trial.

Experts laud the potential of educational technology (edtech) to promote reading among students with disabilities, but supporting evidence is lacking. This study evaluated the effectiveness of the Lexia® Core5® Reading edtech program (Core5) on the Measures of Academic Progress® (MAP) Growth Reading™ and easyCBM oral reading fluency performance of students with reading or language-based disabilities in Grades K to 5. Core5 systematically addresses multiple reading domains and previously was effective in general education. We hypothesized treatment students using Core5 would outperform controls on the reading assessments. This was a cluster randomized effectiveness evaluation, with condition assignment by school (three treatment and two business-as-usual control schools). Participating students in Grades K to 5 (N = 115; nTreatment = 65) were flagged by their Chicago-area district as needing reading intervention and had Individualized Education Program (IEP) designations of specific learning disability, speech or language impairment, or developmental delay. Treatment students used Core5 to supplement Tier 1 instruction for an average of 58.76 minutes weekly for 24.58 weeks. Regressions revealed treatment students outperformed controls on MAP (B = 3.85, CI = 0.57-7.13, p = .022, d = .24), but there were no differences for oral reading fluency. MAP findings confirm edtech can effectively supplement reading instruction for this population.

Planning processing in ADHD with comorbid reading disabilities is worse than in ADHD: Based on Das-Naglieri Cognitive Assessment System.

Objective: To explore and compare the cognitive processing weakness of children with Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and comorbid reading disabilities (RD) (ADHD+RD) and children with ADHD only using the Das-Naglieri Cognitive Assessment System (DN:CAS). Methods: Eighty-eight children with ADHD who visited the hospital for the first time from September 2021 to November 2021 and had a Full scale intelligence quotient (IQ) of ≥85 on the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children revised in China (C-WISC) were selected (Age: 6-12 years; Grade: 2-6). Based on comorbidity with RD and the subtypes of ADHD (e.g., Inattention dominant type, ADHD-I, Hyperactivity/Impulse dominant type, ADHD-H and Combined type, ADHD-C), these children were divided into the ADHD+RD group (n = 30) and ADHD group (n = 58) as well as the corresponding subgroups. Clinical data on gender, age, grade, IQ scores, and DN:CAS processing scores were compared between both groups/subgroups. Spearman's correlation test was used for correlation analysis of results of interest. Results: No differences in age, grade, male-to-female ratio, verbal IQ, performance IQ, and full scale IQ were observed between the ADHD+RD group and ADHD group as well as the corresponding subgroups (P > 0.05). Children in the ADHD-C+RD subgroup had lower scores in Planning processing of DN:CAS than those in the ADHD-C subgroup (P = 0.040). However, there were no significant difference between the ADHD-I+RD subgroup and ADHD-I subgroup in Planning scores of DN:CAS assessment; The grade of ADHD-C+RD and ADHD-I+RD subgroups were positively correlated with the Planning scores of DN: CAS (r = 0.599, P = 0.030 and r = 0.508, P = 0.044, respectively). The grade of ADHD-C subgroup was positively correlated with the Planning and Simultaneous processing scores of DN: CAS (r = 0.409, P = 0.042 and r = 0.406, P = 0.044, respectively). Conclusion: Our study confirmed that children of ADHD-C with comorbid RD have a more severe Planning processing weakness compared to children with ADHD-C only. Among the children of ADHD-C+RD, ADHD-I+RD and ADHD-C, such a Planning processing impairment may improve with increasing educational skills.

The Prevalence and Associated Risk Factors of Children With Reading Disabilities in a Multiethnic City: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Numerous studies have been conducted to explore the risk factors for reading disabilities (RDs) among children. Based on these studies, factors such as gender, socioeconomic status, and the home literacy environment have been widely found to be associated with children who have RDs. However, children from a multiethnic city are seldom investigated. This study aimed to explore the prevalence of RDs and the potential environmental risk factors in Shihezi, Xinjiang, where people of multiple ethnicities, including Han and ethnic minority children, live and study together. A cross-sectional study was conducted in the city of Shihezi. A two-stage sampling strategy was applied to randomly select six primary schools in the city. In total, 6,539 students in grades two to six participated in this study. There were 6,065 valid questionnaires obtained for further analyses. We used the Dyslexia Checklist for Chinese Children and the Pupil Rating Scale to screen for the children with RDs. The χ2 test and multivariate logistic regression were employed to reveal the potential risk factors of RDs. The prevalence of children with RDs was 3.38% in Shihezi City and was significantly different between Han (3.28%) and Uighur (7.42%) children (P < 0.05). There was no significant difference in the prevalence of RDs between Han and Hui children. Among these children with RDs, the gender ratio of boys to girls was nearly 2:1. Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that gender (P < 0.01), learning habits (P < 0.01), and the home literacy environment (P < 0.01) were associated with RD. The results may be useful in the early identification and intervention of children with RDs, especially among ethnic minorities.

How you read affects what you gain: Individual differences in the functional organization of the reading system predict intervention gains in children with reading disabilities.

There is now considerable evidence regarding the types of interventions that are effective at remediating reading disabilities on average. It is generally unclear, however, what predicts the magnitude of individual-level change following a given intervention. We examine new predictors of intervention gains that are theoretically grounded in computational models of reading and focus on individual differences in the functional organization of the reading system. Specifically, we estimate the extent to which children with reading disabilities (n=118 3rd-4th graders) rely on two sources of information during an oral word reading task - print-speech correspondences and semantic imageability - before and after a phonologically-weighted intervention. We show that children who relied more on print-speech regularities and less on imageability pre-intervention had better intervention gains. In parallel, children who over the course of the intervention exhibited greater increases in their reliance on print-speech correspondences and greater decreases in their reliance on imageability had better intervention outcomes. Importantly, these two factors were differentially related to specific reading task outcomes, with greater reliance on print-speech correspondences associated with pseudoword naming, while (lesser) reliance on imageability related to word reading and comprehension. We discuss the implications of these findings for theoretical models of reading acquisition and educational practice.

An Intervention in Reading Disabilities Using a Digital Tool During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

In the last decade, ICT-based interventions for developing reading skills in children with reading disabilities have become increasingly popular. This study had three goals: (a) to assess the existence of gains in word reading, oral reading fluency and listening comprehension after a Tier 2 intervention using the digital tool "I'm still learning," which was delivered partially in a remote modality during the COVID-19 pandemic; (b) to investigate whether the gains depended on the students' gender, the number of sessions attended and the interventionist; and (c) to investigate parents' perceptions about the suitability and perceived effects of the intervention. A single group design with pre-test and post-test was used. The intervention was delivered to second graders (N = 81) flagged as being at-risk for reading disabilities in a universal screening. The analyses showed significant gains in all three outcome variables after the intervention. The gains did not depend on students' gender, number of intervention sessions attended or interventionist. Parents' perceptions of the remote intervention were positive. The study findings highlight the potentialities of using technology-based interventions to foster reading skills and suggest that these may be especially useful during lockdowns.

Language Difficulties in School-Age Children With Developmental Dyslexia.

Developmental dyslexia (DD) is a common reading disability, affecting 5% to 11% of children in North America. Children classified as having DD often have a history of early language delay (ELD) or language impairments. Nevertheless, studies have reported conflicting results as to the association between DD-ELD and the extent of current language difficulties in children with DD. To examine these relationships, we queried the parents of school-age children with reading difficulties on their child's early and current language ability. Siblings were also examined. Children were directly assessed using quantitative tests of language and reading skills. To compare this study with the literature, we divided the sample (N = 674) into three groups: DD, intermediate readers (IR), and skilled readers (SR). We found a significant association between DD and ELD, with parents of children in the DD/IR groups reporting their children put words together later than the SR group. We also found a significant association between DD and language difficulties, with children with low reading skills having low expressive/receptive language abilities. Finally, we identified early language predicted current language, which predicted reading skills. These data contribute to research indicating that children with DD experience language difficulties, suggesting early recognition may help identify reading problems.

Improving English reading fluency and comprehension for children with reading fluency disabilities.

In the English language, students who read words accurately but have impairments in reading fluency are under-studied. The associated difficulties they have with comprehending text make it particularly important to delineate effective interventions for these students. Counter to suggestions that these readers need interventions focused on text reading, we examined the effects of a decoding-focused intervention. The intervention targeted decoding-related skills, including speeded training on sublexical spelling patterns. We examined the efficacy of this program for students with fluency-defined disabilities, and compared gains to those for students with accuracy-defined disabilities. In the initial phase of the program, readers with fluency-defined disabilities made greater gains in fluency, while readers with accuracy-defined disabilities made larger gains in word reading accuracy. The mean fluency score for readers with fluency-defined disabilities came within the average range across the intervention, as did reading comprehension for both groups. Readers' mastery on speeded learning of sublexical spelling patterns predicted unique variance in fluency outcomes, beyond variance accounted for by pre-test fluency and word reading accuracy. The results support intervention approaches focused on decoding-related skills for students who have fluency-defined disabilities and are consistent with theories of reading fluency that identify a role for automaticity with sublexical spelling patterns.

Effects of Reading Interventions Implemented for Upper Elementary Struggling Readers: A Look at Recent Research.

In this study, we conducted a review of reading intervention research (1988-2019) for upper elementary struggling readers and examined intervention area (e.g., foundational, comprehension, or multicomponent) and intensity (e.g., hours of intervention, group size, and individualization) as possible moderators of effects. We located 33 studies containing 49 treatment-comparison contrasts, found small effects for foundational reading skills (g = 0.22) and comprehension (g = 0.21), and decreased effects when considering standardized measures only. For intervention area, only multicomponent interventions predicted significant effects for both comprehension and foundational outcomes. For intensity, we did not find systematic evidence that longer or individualized interventions were associated with larger effects. However, interventions implemented in very small groups predicted larger comprehension outcomes. Overall, more research examining the quality of school provided reading instruction and how the severity of reading difficulties may impact effects of more intensive interventions is needed.

Theory-driven classification of reading difficulties from fMRI data using Bayesian latent-mixture models.

Decades of research have led to several competing theories regarding the neural contributors to impaired reading. But how can we know which theory (or theories) identifies the types of markers that indeed differentiate between individuals with reading disabilities (RD) and their typically developing (TD) peers? To answer this question, we propose a new analytical tool for theory evaluation and comparison, grounded in the Bayesian latent-mixture modeling framework. We start by constructing a series of latent-mixture classification models, each reflecting one existing theoretical claim regarding the neurofunctional markers of RD (highlighting network-level differences in either mean activation, inter-subject heterogeneity, inter-region variability, or connectivity). Then, we run each model on fMRI data alone (i.e., while models are blind to participants' behavioral status), which enables us to interpret the fit between a model's classification of participants and their behavioral (known) RD/TD status as an estimate of its explanatory power. Results from n=127 adolescents and young adults (RD: n=59; TD: n=68) show that models based on network-level differences in mean activation and heterogeneity failed to differentiate between TD and RD individuals. In contrast, classifications based on variability and connectivity were significantly associated with participants' behavioral status. These findings suggest that differences in inter-region variability and connectivity may be better network-level markers of RD than mean activation or heterogeneity (at least in some populations and tasks). More broadly, the results demonstrate the promise of latent-mixture modeling as a theory-driven tool for evaluating different theoretical claims regarding neural contributors to language disorders and other cognitive traits.

Anxiety and depression among Chinese children with and without reading disabilities.

This study aims to compare anxiety and depression among male and female Chinese children with and without reading disabilities (RDs) and to examine the diverse impacts of anxiety and depression on children's reading comprehension. A total of 132 Chinese children from third to sixth grade living in Taiwan were recruited; half had RD, and the other half were typically developing children. Our results from the first analysis revealed that the anxiety level of female children with RD was significantly higher than that of the other three groups of participants, while the depression level of typically developing children was significantly lower than that of children with RD in general. Additionally, our results regarding the predictive abilities of gender and anxiety for reading comprehension as well as the moderating effect of gender on the ability of anxiety to predict reading comprehension were all statistically significant for the typically developing group but not the RD group. These differences between these two groups were further confirmed by multi-group analysis. Our results enhance the existing knowledge on Chinese children with RD and can increase practitioners' awareness of the possibility of higher levels of anxious and depressive symptoms among these children.