Predicting responsiveness to intervention in dyslexia using dynamic assessment

Abstract

In the current study we examined the value of a dynamic test for predicting responsiveness to reading intervention for children diagnosed with dyslexia. The test consisted of a 20-minute training aimed at learning eight basic letter–speech sound correspondences within an artificial orthography, followed by a short assessment of both mastery of these correspondences and word reading ability in this unfamiliar script. Fifty-five (7- to 11-year-old) children diagnosed with dyslexia engaged in specialized intervention during approximately 10months and their reading and spelling abilities were assessed before and after. Our results indicated that the dynamic test predicted variance in reading skills at posttest, over and above traditional static measures, such as phonological awareness and rapid naming. These findings indicate that responsiveness to learning new letter–speech sound correspondences has a prognostic value for the success of specialized reading intervention.