The written expression of children with reading disabilities: A comparison of written and dictated narratives

Abstract

There has been extensive research into the area of learning and in particular reading disabilities over the past thirty years. However, despite a significant body of research into the written expression difficulties experienced by children with learning disabilities (LD) in general, very little research has focussed on the written expression ability of children with specific reading disabilities (SRD). This study compared the narrative story writing of 18 students with SRD and 18 typically achieving (TA) students between the ages of 8 and 10 years. Story samples were obtained in response to a standard stimulus using two production modes ‐ handwriting and dictation. The spontaneous writing sub‐tests of the Test of Written Language III (Hammill & Larsen, 1996) were used for assessment and measurement. Measures of fluency, mature vocabulary and story construction were examined for both modes of production. No group differences were found for any of the measures in the dictated production mode, however significant differences were found on measures of fluency and story construction in the handwritten mode. Children with SRD wrote significantly fewer words and scored significantly lower on measures of story construction in comparison to their typically achieving peers. No group differences were found in relation to mature vocabulary usage. Implications for future study and educational practice are identified and discussed.