1. Precursors and consequences of phonemic length discrimination ability problems in children with reading disabilities and familial risk for dyslexia
- Author
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Pennala, Riitta, Eklund, Kenneth, Hamalainen, Jarmo, Martin, Maisa, Richardson, Ulla, Leppanen, Paavo H.T., and Lyytinen, Heikki
- Subjects
Phonemics ,Reading skills -- Research ,Dyslexia -- Genetic aspects ,Speech perception -- Research ,Speech disorders in children -- Physiological aspects ,Health - Abstract
Purpose: The authors investigated the importance of phonemic length discrimination ability on reading and spelling skills among children with reading disabilities and familial risk for dyslexia and among children with typical reading skills, as well as the role of prereading skills in reading and spelling development in children with reading disabilities. Method: Finnish children with reading disabilities and discrimination problems (RDDP, n = 13), children with reading disabilities and typical discrimination abilities (RDTD, n = 27), and children with typical reading skills (TR, n = 140) were assessed between the ages of 1 and 6.5 years for language, phonological awareness, IQ, verbal memory, and rapid automatized naming. IQ, discrimination ability, and reading and spelling skills were assessed in the second grade. Statistical differences were examined at the group level. Results: The RDDP group was poorer in spelling accuracy compared with the other groups. The RDDP group's prereading skills were poorer than those of the RDTD group. In regression analyses, the RDDP group's poor spelling skills were partially explained by their discrimination ability. Conclusion: Prereading skills are connected to poor reading skills, but phonemic length discrimination ability plays a critical role in spelling accuracy problems among children with reading disabilities and with familial risk for dyslexia. Key Words: speech perception, dyslexia, phonemic length discrimination, children, dyslexia, phonology, reading, writing, speech perception, phonemic length discrimination, Dyslexia is characterized by difficulties with accurate and/or fluent word recognition, decoding, and spelling, as well as problems in reading comprehension despite normal intellectual functions, adequate learning opportunities, and a [...]
- Published
- 2013
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