Morphosyntax in Poor Comprehenders

Morphological Assessment Features and their Relations to Reading: A Meta-Analytic Structural Equation Modeling Study

Morphemes are the smallest meaningful unit of language (e.g., affixes, base words) that express grammatical and semantic information. Additionally, morphological knowledge is significantly related to children's word reading and reading comprehension skills. Researchers have broadly assessed morphological knowledge by using a wide range of tasks and stimuli, which has influenced the interpretation of the relations between morphological knowledge and reading outcomes. This review of 103 studies used meta-analytic structural equation modeling (MASEM) to investigate the relations between commonly occurring morphological knowledge assessment features (e.g., written versus oral, spelling versus no spelling) in the literature to reading outcomes, including word reading and reading comprehension. Meta-regression techniques were used to examine moderators of age and reading ability. Morphological assessments that used a written modality (e.g., reading, writing) were more predictive of word reading outcomes than those administered orally. Assessments of morphological spelling were more predictive of both word reading and reading comprehension outcomes than those that did not examine spelling accuracy. Age was a significant moderator of the relation between morphology and word reading, such that the relation was stronger for the younger than the older children. Younger children also demonstrated higher relations between multiple task dimensions and reading comprehension, including oral tasks, tasks without decoding, and tasks that provided context clues. These findings have important implications for future morphological intervention studies aimed to improve children's reading outcomes, in particular the use of orthography and spelling within the context of teaching morphology.

Reading comprehension differences between children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and low cognitive abilities and children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and intact cognitive skills: the roles of decoding, fluency and morphosyntax

Introduction

Reading comprehension is one of the most important skills learned in school and it has an important contribution to the academic success of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Though previous studies have investigated reading comprehension difficulties in ASD and highlighted factors that contribute to these difficulties, this evidence has mainly stemmed from children with ASD and intact cognitive skills. Also, much emphasis has been placed on the relation between reading comprehension and word recognition skills, while the role of other skills, including fluency and morphosyntax, remains underexplored. This study addresses these gaps by investigating reading comprehension in two groups of school-aged children with ASD, one with intact and one with low cognitive abilities, also exploring the roles of word decoding, fluency and morphosyntax in each group's reading comprehension performance.

Methods

The study recruited 16 children with ASD and low cognitive abilities, and 22 age-matched children with ASD and intact cognitive skills. The children were assessed on four reading subdomains, namely, decoding, fluency, morphosyntax, and reading comprehension.

Results

The children with ASD and low cognitive abilities scored significantly lower than their peers with intact cognitive abilities in all reading subdomains, except for decoding, verb production and compound word formation. Regression analyses showed that reading comprehension in the group with ASD and intact cognitive abilities was independently driven by their decoding and fluency skills, and to a lesser extent, by morphosyntax. On the other hand, the children with ASD and low cognitive abilities mainly drew on their decoding, and to a lesser extent, their morphosyntactic skills to perform in reading comprehension.

Discussion

The results suggest that reading comprehension was more strongly affected in the children with ASD and low cognitive abilities as compared to those with intact cognitive skills. About half of the children with ASD and intact cognitive skills also exhibited mild-to-moderate reading comprehension difficulties, further implying that ASD may influence reading comprehension regardless of cognitive functioning. Finally, strengths in decoding seemed to predominantly drive cognitively-impaired children's reading performance, while the group with ASD and intact cognitive skills mainly recruited fluency and metalinguistic lexical skills to cope with reading comprehension demands, further suggesting that metalinguistic awareness may be a viable way to enhance reading comprehension in ASD.

Expository discourse skills of students with reading comprehension difficulties

Purpose: The ability to produce expository discourse (the use of language to convey information) is important for classroom participation and access to the curriculum, particularly during the middle school years. This study investigated the spoken expository discourse skills of students with reading comprehension (RC) difficulties compared to their peers with average reading skills.Method: In this study, we administered a modified favourite game or sport (M-FGS) task developed by Heilmann and Malone to 48 students who were in their fifth year of schooling (9.33 - 11.11 years of age). Expository language samples were transcribed and analysed on measures of (a) microstructure: syntax (MLU in words) and vocabulary (number of different words [NDW]); and (b) macrostructure (Expository Scoring Scheme [ESS]).Result: Compared to their peers with average RC skills, students with RC difficulties demonstrated significant difficulties at the micro- and macro-structure levels. Subgroup analysis revealed the importance of spoken language comprehension proficiency (at text level) for expository discourse skills.Conclusion: The results from this small-scale investigation demonstrated the usefulness of the M-FGS task in describing challenges in expository discourse of students with RC difficulties, with clear implications for intervention.

Reading Comprehension in Both Spanish and English as a Foreign Language by High School Spanish Students

Several studies have highlighted that reading comprehension is determined by different linguistic skills: semantics, syntax, and morphology, in addition to one's own competence in reading fluency (accuracy, speed, and prosody). On the other hand, according to the Linguistic Interdependence Hypothesis, linguistic skills developed in one's own native language (L1) facilitate the development of these skills in a second one (L2). In this study, we wanted to explore the linguistic abilities that determine reading comprehension in Spanish (L1) and in English (L2) in Secondary Education students. To do this, 73 Secondary Education Students (1st and 3rd year) participated in this study. The students carried out a battery of tasks in English and Spanish, all of them related to reading comprehension (expository text) and different linguistic skills, which included syntactic awareness tasks, synonymy judgment tasks (vocabulary), and morphological awareness tasks. The results indicated a positive correlation between linguistic competencies in both languages (indicating a transfer effect between languages), which were determined by school year, with a lower performance in the 1st year than in the 3rd year. Moreover, we found more skills with correlations in English reading comprehension than in Spanish. Finally, reading comprehension in L1 was mainly explained English reading comprehension, while English reading comprehension was predicted by grade, and syntactic awareness, as well as Spanish reading comprehension. This could be explained by the different levels of exposure to L1 and L2 of sample subjects, as the linguistic variables have different influences on the reading comprehension of both languages.

The Relationship Between Reading Strategy and Reading Comprehension: A Meta-Analysis

This study synthesized the correlation between reading strategy and reading comprehension of four categories based on Weinstein and Mayer's reading strategy model. The current meta-analysis obtained 57 effect sizes that represented 21,548 readers, and all selected materials came from empirical studies published from 1998 to 2019. Results showed that reading strategies in all the four categories had a similar correlation effect size with reading comprehension. The correlation between monitoring strategy and reading comprehension was significantly larger in first language scripts than second language scripts. Affective strategy and elaboration strategy had an independent effect on reading comprehension, which was not significantly moderated by selected moderators. Results suggested that the reading strategies of all the four categories may have a similar contribution to text comprehension activities.

Efficacy of Online Learning Modules for Teaching Dialogic Reading Strategies and Phonemic Awareness

Purpose The purpose of this study was to create and evaluate online learning modules designed to teach speech-language pathologists (SLPs) dialogic reading strategies and phonemic awareness skills. Method School-based SLPs (n = 28) were assigned to complete one of two online learning modules. One module taught dialogic reading strategies, and the other taught phonemic awareness. Participants in the dialogic reading group served as controls for the phonemic awareness group and vice versa. Participants completed a pretest that assessed phonemic awareness skill and knowledge of dialogic reading strategies to control for prior knowledge and skill, completed their assigned module, and then completed a posttest that assessed phonemic awareness skill and knowledge of dialogic reading strategies. Results Data were analyzed using multiple regression. The independent variables were pretest score, group, and the pretest score by group interaction. The dependent variable in the first model was posttest score on the dialogic reading measure. The dependent variable in the second model was posttest score on the phonemic awareness measure. There was a statistically significant group by posttest score interaction in the dialogic reading model, indicating that the dialogic reading module was effective for improving knowledge of dialogic reading strategies. There was not a statistically significant group by posttest score interaction in the phonemic awareness module, indicating that the phonemic awareness module was not effective for improving phoneme segmentation skill and phoneme manipulation skill. Conclusions Online learning modules may be effective for establishing knowledge needed for evidence-based practice in speech-language pathology. Additional research is warranted to determine whether online learning modules can be used to change clinician intervention behavior.

Spoken Word Learning in Children With Developmental Language Disorder or Dyslexia

Purpose Word learning difficulties have been documented in multiple studies involving children with dyslexia and developmental language disorder (DLD; see also specific language impairment). However, no previous studies have directly contrasted word learning in these two frequently co-occurring disorders. We examined word learning in second-grade students with DLD-only and dyslexia-only as compared to each other, peers with both disorders (DLD + dyslexia), and peers with typical development. We hypothesized that children with dyslexia-only and DLD-only would show differences in word learning due to differences in their core language strengths and weaknesses. Method Children (N = 244) were taught eight novel pseudowords paired with unfamiliar objects. The teaching script included multiple exposures to the phonological form, the pictured object, a verbal semantic description of the object, and spaced retrieval practice opportunities. Word learning was assessed immediately after instruction with tasks requiring recall or recognition of the phonological and semantic information. Results Children with dyslexia-only performed significantly better on existing vocabulary measures than their peers with DLD-only. On experimental word learning measures, children in the dyslexia-only and DLD + dyslexia groups showed significantly poorer performance than typically developing children on all word learning tasks. Children with DLD-only differed significantly from the TD group on a single word learning task assessing verbal semantic recall. Conclusions Overall, results indicated that children with dyslexia display broad word learning difficulties extending beyond the phonological domain; however, this contrasted with their relatively strong performance on measures of existing vocabulary knowledge. More research is needed to understand relations between word learning abilities and overall vocabulary knowledge and how to close vocabulary gaps for children with both disorders. Supplemental Material https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.14832717.

Literacy-supporting skills in college students with specific reading comprehension deficit and developmental language disorder

Specific reading comprehension deficit (S-RCD) and developmental language disorder (DLD) are both commonly occurring developmental disorders of language. The ways in which these disorders do and do not overlap during childhood are a matter of debate (Nation & Norbury, 2005). Moreover, in both populations, the challenges faced by individuals in adulthood are understudied. Here, we combined data across cohorts of college students, and classified individuals with only S-RCD (n = 20), only DLD (n = 55), and co-occurring S-RCD and DLD (n = 13). Individuals with good language and reading skills, who matched those with S-RCD on decoding, comprised our typical language and reading group (TD; n = 20). Beyond the measures used for classification, group-level differences were identified in sentence-level reading fluency, phonological processing, verbal working memory, and rapid automatized naming. We found that skill profiles differed across groups; however, we found no evidence of weaknesses beyond the core deficit in reading comprehension observed in those with only S-RCD. In contrast, when S-RCD co-occurs with DLD, weaknesses are observed in phonological processing, as well as reading fluency and verbal working memory. These findings suggest that some adults with S-RCD have co-occurring DLD as a core weakness. These findings, as well as differences between individuals with S-RCD and DLD, are further discussed.

Annual Research Review: Reading disorders revisited - the critical importance of oral language

This paper discusses research on reading disorders during the period since their classification within the overarching category of neurodevelopmental disorders (Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 53, 2012, 593). Following a review of the predictors of learning to read across languages, and the role of language skills as critical foundations for literacy, profiles of reading disorders are discussed and putative causal risk factors at the cognitive, biological, and environmental levels of explanation considered. Reading disorders are highly heritable and highly comorbid with disorders of language, attention, and other learning disorders, notably mathematics disorders. The home literacy environment, reflecting gene-environment correlation, is one of several factors that promote reading development and highlight an important target for intervention. The multiple deficit view of dyslexia (Cognition, 101, 2006, 385) suggests that risks accumulate to a diagnostic threshold although categorical diagnoses tend to be unstable. Implications for assessment and intervention are discussed.

Reading Comprehension in School-Age Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder: Examining the Many Components That May Contribute

Purpose

Reading comprehension is consistently poor in many school-age children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The purpose of this tutorial is to provide an overview from a multicomponent view on the many predictors that may contribute to reading comprehension difficulties in ASD.

Method

This tutorial reviews current literature on profiles and predictors of reading comprehension in ASD. The review is situated from a multicomponent theoretical view based on the “direct and indirect effects of reading” model that builds on the familiar “simple view of reading.” Each component, including word reading, listening comprehension, morphosyntax, vocabulary, working memory, comprehension monitoring, inferencing, and theory of mind, is separately reviewed, with consideration of the current evidence for their contribution to reading comprehension in ASD. At the end of each section, key takeaways are provided. To conclude, a summary with general clinical implications, case examples, and recommendations for future research across all components is offered.

Conclusions

Reading comprehension in ASD may be affected by any one or several components in any given individual. Speech-language pathologists have expertise and play a critical role in assessing and intervening on these components. The age and language status (language impaired or not) of a child are emerging as important factors for what to assess and consider for intervention. However, more research is needed that intentionally examines language status, evaluates reading comprehension at targeted ages or narrower age ranges, and/or examines language and reading development longitudinally.

Promoting Reading Achievement in Children With Developmental Language Disorders: What Can We Learn From Research on Specific Language Impairment and Dyslexia?

Purpose Specific language impairment (SLI; see also developmental language disorder) and dyslexia are separate, yet frequently co-occurring disorders that confer risks to reading comprehension and academic achievement. Until recently, most studies of one disorder had little consideration of the other, and each disorder was addressed by different practitioners. However, understanding how the two disorders relate to each other is important for advancing theories about each disorder and improving reading comprehension and academic achievement. The purpose of this clinical focus article is to integrate research on SLI and dyslexia as well as advocate for the consideration of comorbidities in future research and clinical practice. Method The first section reviews definitions as well as inclusionary and exclusionary criteria for SLI and dyslexia. The second section reviews research demonstrating that SLI and dyslexia are different disorders that often co-occur. Studies examining language, working memory, and academic achievement in children with separate versus co-occurring SLI and dyslexia are reviewed. The final section compares and contrasts school identification frameworks for children with SLI and dyslexia and considers the potential benefits of incorporating broad language skills into response to intervention (RTI) assessment frameworks. Conclusions Children with weak language skills are at a high risk of experiencing reading problems, but language difficulties are often hidden from view. Directly addressing language skills within school RTI frameworks can help improve the identification and treatment of children with SLI and dyslexia as well as support improved reading comprehension and academic achievement for all students. Presentation Video https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.13063793.

Predicting Dyslexia in Children With Developmental Language Disorder

Purpose In this study, we examine how well kindergarten letter identification and phonological awareness predict 2nd grade word reading and dyslexia in children with developmental language disorder (DLD) and their age- and grade-matched peers with typical language (TL). Method We employ (a) logistic regression to determine how letter identification and phonological awareness predict dyslexia, that is, dichotomous categorization of good or poor word reading, in children with DLD and TL and (b) quantile regression to determine how letter identification and phonological awareness are associated with word reading abilities on a continuum in these groups of children. Results Logistic regression revealed that letter identification was the only significant, unique kindergarten predictor of dyslexia in 2nd grade children with DLD, when compared to phonological awareness. In children with TL, both kindergarten letter identification and phonological awareness significantly predicted dyslexia in 2nd grade. Quantile regression revealed that kindergarten letter identification was a stronger predictor of 2nd grade word reading for average and lower achieving word readers with DLD and their peers with TL compared to higher performing readers. Phonological awareness was weakly associated with word reading across the full continuum of word reading abilities in children with DLD. Conclusion Letter identification is a more accurate predictor of poor word reading and dyslexia than phonological awareness in kindergarten children with DLD, which has important implications for recent U.S. legislation around early identification of dyslexia in all children.

Spoken fictional narrative and literacy skills of children with Down syndrome

BACKGROUND

Children with Down syndrome (DS) exhibit below average nonverbal intelligence and impaired language skills; however, their spoken narrative production is a relative strength.

AIMS

We examined expressive language skills produced during fictional narrative retells and analyzed the unique contribution of expressive language skills to word-level reading and reading comprehension of children with DS.

METHODS AND PROCEDURES

The microstructure and macrostructure of fifteen, 8- to 18-year-old children with DS's narrative retells were analyzed. Receptive vocabulary, word-level reading, and reading comprehension also were measured.

RESULTS

Narrative microstructure analyses revealed restricted syntactic and semantic diversity. Further analyses of sentence complexity revealed that children with DS predominately produced prepositional phrases and produced more verbs than nouns. Narrative macrostructure analysis revealed participants use of episodic components; however, their stories did not include mental state references. Narrative microstructure contributed unique variance to word-level reading, whereas narrative macrostructure contributed unique variance to word-level reading and reading comprehension. Additionally, strong correlations were found between narrative skills and literacy skills.

CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS

Findings from this study support the use of narrative microstructure and macrostructure analyses as a valuable clinical tool to guide assessment and intervention planning for school-aged children with DS.

Understanding Dyslexia in the Context of Developmental Language Disorders

Purpose

The purpose of this tutorial is to discuss the language basis of dyslexia in the context of developmental language disorders (DLDs). Whereas most studies have focused on the phonological skills of children with dyslexia, we bring attention to broader language skills.

Method

We conducted a focused literature review on the language basis of dyslexia from historical and theoretical perspectives with a special emphasis on the relation between dyslexia and DLD and on the development of broader language skills (e.g., vocabulary, syntax, and discourse) before and after the identification of dyslexia.

Results

We present clinically relevant information on the history of dyslexia as a language-based disorder, the operational definitions used to diagnose dyslexia in research and practice, the relation between dyslexia and DLD, and the language abilities of children with dyslexia.

Conclusions

We discuss 3 clinical implications for working with children with dyslexia in school settings: (a) Children with dyslexia—with and without comorbid DLDs—often have language deficits outside the phonological domain; (b) intervention should target a child's strengths and weaknesses relative to reading outcomes, regardless of diagnostic labels; and (c) those who have dyslexia, regardless of language abilities at the time of diagnosis, may be at risk for slower language acquisition across their lifetime. Longitudinal studies are needed to assess multiple language skills early, at the time of the diagnosis of dyslexia, and years later to better understand the complex development of language and reading in children with dyslexia.

Identifying Children at Risk for Language Impairment or Dyslexia With Group-Administered Measures

PURPOSE

The study aims to determine whether brief, group-administered screening measures can reliably identify second-grade children at risk for language impairment (LI) or dyslexia and to examine the degree to which parents of affected children were aware of their children's difficulties.

METHOD

Participants (N = 381) completed screening tasks and assessments of word reading, oral language, and nonverbal intelligence. Their parents completed questionnaires that inquired about reading and language development.

RESULTS

Despite considerable overlap in the children meeting criteria for LI and dyslexia, many children exhibited problems in only one domain. The combined screening tasks reliably identified children at risk for either LI or dyslexia (area under the curve = 0.842), but they were more accurate at identifying risk for dyslexia than LI. Parents of children with LI and/or dyslexia were frequently unaware of their children's difficulties. Parents of children with LI but good word reading skills were the least likely of all impairment groups to report concerns or prior receipt of speech, language, or reading services.

CONCLUSIONS

Group-administered screens can identify children at risk of LI and/or dyslexia with good classification accuracy and in less time than individually administered measures. More research is needed to improve the identification of children with LI who display good word reading skills.

The Longitudinal Contribution of Early Morphological Awareness Skills to Reading Fluency and Comprehension in Greek

The purpose of this longitudinal study was to examine the role of three morphological awareness (MA) skills (inflection, derivation, and compounding) in word reading fluency and reading comprehension in a relatively transparent orthography (Greek). Two hundred and fifteen (104 girls; Mage = 67.40 months, at kindergarten) Greek children were followed from kindergarten (K) to grade 2 (G2). In K and grade 1 (G1), they were tested on measures of MA (two inflectional, two derivational, and three compounding), letter knowledge, phonological awareness, rapid automatized naming (RAN), and general cognitive ability (vocabulary and non-verbal IQ). At the end of G1 and G2, they were also tested on word reading fluency and reading comprehension. The results of hierarchical regression analyses showed that the inflectional and derivational aspects of MA in K as well as all aspects of MA in G1 accounted for 2-5% of unique variance in reading comprehension. None of the MA skills predicted word reading fluency, after controlling for the effects of vocabulary and RAN. These findings suggest that the MA skills, even when assessed as early as in kindergarten, play a significant role in reading comprehension development.

A Preliminary Comparison of Reading Subtypes in a Clinical Sample of Children With Specific Language Impairment

Purpose

The purpose of this preliminary study was to (a) compare the pattern of reading subtypes among a clinical sample of children with specific language impairment (SLI) and children with typical language and (b) evaluate phonological and nonphonological language deficits within each reading impairment subtype.

Method

Participants were 32 children with SLI and 39 children with typical language in Grades 2 through 4. Each child was classified as demonstrating 1 of 4 reading subtypes on the basis of word-level and text-level skills: typical reading, dyslexia, specific reading comprehension impairment, or garden variety reading impairment. In addition, phonological and nonphonological language skills were evaluated.

Results

Children with SLI were more likely to exhibit reading impairments than children with typical language. Children with SLI were more likely to exhibit text-level deficits than children with typical language. Phonological language deficits were observed in children with word-level deficits, and nonphonological language deficits were observed in children with text-level deficits.

Conclusions

The results indicate that the patterns of reading subtypes differ among children with SLI and children with typical language. The findings highlight the importance of simultaneously but separately considering word-level and text-level skills in studies of reading impairment.

Understanding specific reading comprehension deficit: A review

A substantial population of children and adolescents struggle with reading comprehension despite adequate phonemic decoding (word-level reading) and intellectual ability. Individuals with this pattern of performance are considered to have specific reading comprehension deficit(S-RCD).Despite two decades of study on the profiles of behavioral performance associated with S-RCD, there is no current consensus on the causal mechanisms of the disorder. Recent progress in identifying such mechanisms includes studies that have utilized comprehension age match and longitudinal designs which have identified several comprehension subskills that are predictive of S-RCD development. However, disagreement persists over which deficits are core to S-RCD, which are comorbid and which are simply a consequence of poor comprehension. Further, almost no research on this disorder has sought to identify neurobiological endophenotypes that may enhance our understanding of causal mechanisms. Here, we offer a review of the literature on core language and higher-level language deficits associated with S-RCD, including studies that examine the neurobiological basis of this disorder. What emerges is a relatively consistent pattern of subclinical impairments across a range of comprehension subskills that may put pressure on the complex process of reading comprehension. These subskills include semantic and grammatical processing, inference making, and other higher-level language skills such as comprehension monitoring. This disorder also appears to have a neurobiological basis, though further study is needed to establish the precise disruption in neurocircuitry. Suggestions for further research include the continued use of online, temporally-sensitive measures such as eye-tracking and event-related potential, additional studies of the neurobiology of the disorder, as well as longitudinal tracking and identification of early behavioral and brain markers for S-RCD prior to formal schooling.

Compreensão oral e leitora e consciência sintática nas alterações de leitura e escrita

RESUMO Objetivo: investigar a presença de déficits de habilidades metassintáticas em escolares com dificuldades de aprendizagem e analisar possíveis correlações entre essas habilidades e as de leitura e a compreensão oral. Métodos: foram avaliadas 29 crianças, indicadas por seus professores, por não apresentarem queixas relacionadas à aprendizagem escolar - Grupo I (GI) e com queixas de comunicação, oral e/ou mediada pela escrita, que constituiram o Grupo II (GII). As idades das crianças variaram entre 9 anos e 11 anos e 7 meses, de 4º e 5º ano do Ensino Fundamental. As crianças foram avaliadas por meio de testes de compreensão oral, consciência sintática e morfossintática, taxa e acurácia de leitura e compreensão leitora. Para a análise estatística foram utilizados: teste não paramétrico de Mann-Whitney, para caracterização da amostra e comparação dos grupos com e sem queixa escolar quanto às variáveis, e Coeficiente de correlação de Spearman, usado para medir o grau de associação entre as variáveis em cada grupo. Resultados: observaram-se diferenças significantes entre os grupos, nas tarefas de compreensão oral, consciência sintática e morfossintática, de maneira geral, taxa e acurácia de leitura e na prova de compreensão leitora, com melhor desempenho do do GI em todas as tarefas. Conclusão: com estes resultados, enfatiza-se a relevância da estimulação de habilidades metassintáticas para o desenvolvimento da leitura e a inclusão de provas metassintáticas na avaliação da leitura, tanto quanto a utilização de atividades metassitáticas como recurso terapêutico.