On the diagnostics of structural deficits in dyslexia in clinical work: relationship between different achievement indicators

Abstract

The aim of the study is to research the relationship between different indicators used in the diagnosis of reading and writing disabilities in clinical work. In addition to being tested for intelligence and writing ability, a total of 141 children in second and fourth grade were submitted to tests assessing their ability for speech intelligibility in noise, dichotic listening, phoneme discrimination, as well as auditory short-term memory for digits and non-words. In a partial sample of 40 children with average intelligence manifesting at least a standard deviation between their ability to write and their IQ a regression analysis was introduced to assess the predictive power of applied indicators for writing ability. Next to IQ testing, phoneme analysis as used in the Heidelberg Test of Phoneme Discrimination accorded for the variance in writing ability. However, the relationship between these indicators proved to be most important for the beginning of learning the written language. The diagnostic procedures used in clinical work are critically evaluated whereby the tests to assess speech intelligibility in noise and dichotic listening, as well as short-term memory appear to be clinically relevant too, however a standardized procedure and age-relevant norms are still needed.