Reading and spelling skills of prematurely born children in light of the underlying cognitive factors

Rózsa Gráf,Andrea Harnos,Gábor Boross,Anett Nagy,Magda Kalmár

doi:10.1007/s10339-020-01001-6

Abstract

Prematurity is a serious risk factor for learning difficulties. Within the academic skills reading has the greatest impact on the prospects of the students; therefore, studying the reading skills in the risk populations is very important. The aim of our study was to investigate reading and spelling skills of prematurely born children. Our target group consisted of 8–11-year-old children (n = 23) who were born preterm with very low birthweights (VLBW). For comparison 57 full-term children (27 good readers and 30 dyslexics) were included in the study sample. To assess the reading and spelling abilities the Hungarian version of the 3DM (Dyslexia Differential Diagnosis) was used. Cognitive abilities were tested using the Hungarian adaptation of the WISC-IV and the Rey Complex Figure Test. The data were analyzed with a novel statistical approach using the R program. In the cognitive measures the mean performances of all three groups fell within the normal range. In the WISC-IV Full-scale IQ as well as in some other cognitive measures the good readers significantly outperformed both the dyslexics and the preterms. The findings of the study did not confirm our expectation that VLBW prematurity should lead to developmental disadvantages in the acquisition of reading and spelling skills since in the reading and spelling performances of the good readers and the preterms did not differ, while both the good readers and the preterms scored higher than the dyslexics. The results suggest that the cognitive assets of the preterm children contributing to their reading and spelling performances were their good spatial–visual memory, working memory, and processing speed. The identification of the cognitive mechanisms underlying reading and spelling abilities is of crucial importance for designing intervention for children with deficits in these academic skills.

Highlights

BackgroundPremature birth is the most common perinatal risk; the heightened research interest in the development of preterm children is not surprising
In the WISC-IV Full Scale IQ (FSIQ) the good readers significantly outperformed both the dyslexics (p < 0.001) and the preterms (p < 0.031), and the same was true for the Verbal Comprehension Index (VCI) (p = 0.032, p = 0.047) and the Perceptual Reasoning Index (PeRI) (p < 0.002, p < 0.013)
In most of the WISC-IV measures there was no difference between the preterms and the dyslexics with the only exception of the Processing Speed Index (PrSI) in which case the preterms scored better (p < 0.05)

Summary

Introduction

Premature birth (before the 37 week of gestation) is the most common perinatal risk; the heightened research interest in the development of preterm children is not surprising. School-age preterm children even with normal IQs and without neurological impairment often display cognitive dysfunctions mainly related to visual processing and executive functions (Larsson et al 2005). Reading deficits hamper school performance across various domains and, often lead to the need of special education as well as to failures in the adult life (Kovachy et al 2014; Samuelsson et al 2006). Studying the reading skills in the risk populations is a research issue of special importance

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