Is There a Distinct Form of Developmental Dyslexia in Children With Specific Language Impairment?

Abstract

The aim of this study was to identify quantitative and qualitative differences between the reading and writing skills of children with developmental dyslexia and those of dyslexic children with a specific language impairment (SLI). It is suggested that although the etiology of developmental dyslexia and SLI may be diverse, dyslexic children with SLI and their language-intact peers are comparable on a behavioral level. Three groups of second-grade children were compared on reading and writing tests with single words and nonwords: 15 dyslexic children with a history of SLI (SLI group), 15 dyslexic children with a typical pattern of language development (non-SLI group), and a control group of 30 children with no clinical history of learning disabilities or communication disorders. Analysis of the results revealed the performances of both SLI and non-SLI dyslexic groups to be comparable in terms of speed, accuracy, and error typology. This study confirms that there are parallels between dyslexic children with language disorders and their dyslexic peers with intact language skills, at least in terms of their performance on reading and writing tests.