Differences Between Children With Dyslexia Who Are and Are Not Gifted in Verbal Reasoning

Abstract

New findings are presented for children in grades 1 to 9 who qualified their families for a multi-generational family genetics study of dyslexia (impaired word decoding/spelling) who had either superior verbal reasoning (n=33 at or above 1 2/3 standard deviation, superior or better range; 19% of these children) or average verbal reasoning (n=31 below population mean, but above - 2/3 standard deviation, average range; 18% of these children). Evidence-based rationale and results supporting the tested hypotheses are provided: (a) twice exceptional students with superior verbal reasoning and dyslexia significantly outperformed those with average verbal reasoning and dyslexia on reading, spelling, morphological, and syntactic skills, (b) but not on verbal working-memory behavioral markers of genetically based dyslexia related to impaired phonological and orthographic word-form storage and processing, naming orthographic symbols (phonological loop), writing orthographic symbols (orthographic loop), and supervisory attention (focus, switch, sustain, or monitor attention). Superior verbal reasoning may mask dyslexia if only very low achievement is used to identify this disorder of oral word reading and written spelling. Instruction for twice exceptional students who have dyslexia, but are also verbally gifted, should focus not only on oral word reading and written spelling but also the impaired working memory components within intellectually engaging lesson sets. These findings for gifted students with dyslexia are situated within the broader context of the many kinds of twice exceptionalities related to specific learning disabilities that exist in school-age children and youth.