Literacy Skill Development of Children With Familial Risk for Dyslexia Through Grades 2, 3, and 8.

This study followed the development of reading speed, reading accuracy, and spelling in transparent Finnish orthography in children through Grades 2, 3, and 8. We compared 2 groups of children with familial risk for dyslexia--1 group with dyslexia (Dys_FR, n = 35) and 1 group without (NoDys_FR, n = 66) in Grade 2--with a group of children without familial risk for dyslexia (controls, n = 72). The Dys_FR group showed persistent deficiency, especially in reading speed, and, to a minor extent, in reading and spelling accuracy. The Dys_FR children, contrary to the other 2 groups, relied heavily on letter-by-letter decoding in Grades 2 and 3. In children not fulfilling the criteria for dyslexia in Grade 2, the familial risk did not substantially affect the subsequent development of literacy skills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]