Phonological Deficits in Developmental Dyslexia in a Second Grade Spanish-English Bilingual Child

Abstract

In this study we identify component reading skills in a 2nd grade dual language learner (DLL) experiencing unexpected reading and writing difficulty. We review research on language and literacy acquisition in DLL and English learners (ELs), and on developmental dyslexia. We consider the diagnostic process and treatment recommendations based on a componential model of reading. We formulate research questions along four lines of inquiry: (a) identifying a developmental dyslexia profile; (b) determining the presence of core language deficits; (c) examining psychological and ecological variables impacting reading; and (d) planning for intervention. Our findings reveal a profile of developmental phonological dyslexia with manifest deficits in phonological awareness in English and Spanish and impaired sublexical processes affecting reading and writing. Evidence for core linguistic deficits was evident across languages. These deficits could be traced to word-level reading processes and not to psychosocial and ecological variables.