Measures Of Phonological Processing Research Articles

Mapping the intersection of language and reading: the neural bases of the primary systems hypothesis

The primary systems framework has been used to relate behavioural performance across many different language activities to the status of core underpinning domain-general cognitive systems. This study provided the first quantitative investigation of this account at both behavioural and neural levels in a group of patients with chronic post-stroke aphasia. Principal components analysis was used to distil orthogonal measures of phonological and semantic processing, which were then related to reading performance and the underlying lesion distributions using voxel-based correlational methodology. Concrete word reading involved both a ventral semantic pathway, and inferior and anterior aspects of the dorsal phonological pathway. word reading overlapped with the ventral semantic pathway but also drew more extensively on the superior and posterior aspects of the dorsal phonological pathway. Nonword reading was related to phonological processing along the dorsal pathway and was also supported by a more superior set of regions previously associated with speech motor output. The use of continuous measures of behavioural performance and neural integrity allowed us to elucidate for the first time both the lesion and behavioural correlates for the semantic and phonological components of the primary systems hypothesis and to extend these by identifying the importance of an additional dorsal speech motor output system. These results provide a target for future neuroanatomically constrained computational models of reading.

Structural properties of the ventral reading pathways are associated with morphological processing in adult English readers

Morphological processing, the ability to extract information about word structure, is an essential component of reading. Functional MRI studies have identified several cortical regions involved in morphological processing, but the white matter pathways that support this skill remain unknown. Here, we examine the relationship between behavioral measures of morphological processing and microstructural properties of white matter pathways. Using diffusion MRI (dMRI), we identified the major ventral and dorsal reading pathways in a group of 45 adult English readers. The same participants completed a behavioral battery that included a morphological task and measures of phonological and orthographic processing. We found significant correlations between morphological processing skill and microstructural properties of the ventral, but not dorsal, pathways. These correlations were detected primarily in the left hemisphere, and remained significant after controlling for phonological or orthographic measures, suggesting some level of cognitive specificity. Morphological processing of written words thus appears to rely on ventral pathways, primarily in the left hemisphere. This finding supports the contribution of morphological processing to lexical access and comprehension of complex English words.

Preliteracy impairments in children with neurofibromatosis type 1.

This cross-sectional study aimed to examine the preliteracy abilities of young children with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) and to identify which of these abilities best predicted conventional literacy (spelling). Forty-two children with NF1 (23 males, 19 females; mean age [SD] 5y 6mo [6mo]) were compared with 32 unaffected children (15 males, 17 females; mean age [SD] 5y 4mo [6mo]). All children completed a comprehensive cognitive assessment including measures of phonological processing (phonological awareness, phonological memory, rapid automatic naming) and letter-sound knowledge. Children with NF1 performed significantly poorer than the comparison group across all cognitive and preliteracy domains, with specific weaknesses evident in phonological awareness (F1,68 =14.13, p<0.001, partial η2 =0.17), phonological memory (F1,68 =13.87, p<0.001, partial η2 =0.17), and letter-sound knowledge (F1,71 =5.65, p=0.020, partial η2 =0.07). Within the group with NF1 group, over a third of children demonstrated impairment in at least one phonological processing domain and the risk of phonological impairment was 5.60 times that of unaffected children. Children's letter-sound knowledge was the strongest predictor of conventional literacy (spelling). This study establishes that preliteracy deficits are present and detectable in young children with NF1. As a result of the high incidence of preliteracy impairment, we recommend screening phonological awareness and letter-sound knowledge to identify risk of future learning disorders. Young children with neurofibromatosis type 1 are at elevated risk of preliteracy deficits. The most affected domains are phonological awareness and phonological memory. Letter-sound knowledge is the strongest predictor of conventional literacy (spelling).

Gender effects on phonological processing and reading development in Northern Sotho children learning to read in English: A case study of Grade 3 learners

Gender differences in reading development are a global phenomenon, with girls typically performing better than boys. Some studies have reported gender differences favouring girls in reading comprehension in South Africa, but little systematic evidence exists about gender differences in the cognitive-linguistic abilities that underlie reading development. This study investigated the effect of gender on phonological processing and reading development in Northern Sotho–English bilingual children. Grade 3 learners who received their literacy instruction in English were tested on various phonological processing and reading measures. Phonological awareness was assessed using phoneme isolation and elision tasks. Phonological working memory was assessed using memory for digits and non-word repetition tests while rapid automatised naming was tested using rapid letter, rapid digit, rapid object and rapid colour naming tasks. Reading achievement was assessed with various word reading tasks and with a fluent reading task. A multivariate analysis of variance revealed that gender had a significant effect on the phonological processing and reading abilities of Northern Sotho– English bilingual children. Girls performed significantly better than boys on all the reading measures, as well as on some aspects of phonological processing. The findings provide behavioural evidence in support of biological theories of gender differences, in that girls seemed to have developed some of the cognitive-linguistic skills associated with reading before boys. The girls also coped better with tasks that required increased cognitive processing. This study suggests that sex differences in reading development cannot be ignored in South Africa and need to be addressed in future curriculum development.

Emergent Literacy Skills in Preschool Children With Hearing Loss Who Use Spoken Language: Initial Findings From the Early Language and Literacy Acquisition (ELLA) Study.

The purpose of this study was to compare change in emergent literacy skills of preschool children with and without hearing loss over a 6-month period. Participants included 19 children with hearing loss and 14 children with normal hearing. Children with hearing loss used amplification and spoken language. Participants completed measures of oral language, phonological processing, and print knowledge twice at a 6-month interval. A series of repeated-measures analyses of variance were used to compare change across groups. Main effects of time were observed for all variables except phonological recoding. Main effects of group were observed for vocabulary, morphosyntax, phonological memory, and concepts of print. Interaction effects were observed for phonological awareness and concepts of print. Children with hearing loss performed more poorly than children with normal hearing on measures of oral language, phonological memory, and conceptual print knowledge. Two interaction effects were present. For phonological awareness and concepts of print, children with hearing loss demonstrated less positive change than children with normal hearing. Although children with hearing loss generally demonstrated a positive growth in emergent literacy skills, their initial performance was lower than that of children with normal hearing, and rates of change were not sufficient to catch up to the peers over time.

Cluster-Randomized Controlled Trial Evaluating the Effectiveness of Computer-Assisted Intervention Delivered by Educators for Children With Speech Sound Disorders.

The aim was to evaluate the effectiveness of computer-assisted input-based intervention for children with speech sound disorders (SSD). The Sound Start Study was a cluster-randomized controlled trial. Seventy-nine early childhood centers were invited to participate, 45 were recruited, and 1,205 parents and educators of 4- and 5-year-old children returned questionnaires. Children whose parents and educators had concerns about speech were assessed (n = 275); 132 children who were identified with phonological pattern-based errors underwent additional assessment. Children with SSD and no difficulties with receptive language or hearing, typical nonverbal intelligence, and English as their primary language were eligible; 123 were randomized into two groups (intervention n = 65; control n = 58), and 3 withdrew. The intervention group involved Phoneme Factory Sound Sorter software (Wren & Roulstone, 2013) administered by educators over 9 weeks; the control group involved typical classroom practices. Participants were reassessed twice by a speech-language pathologist who was unaware of the initial assessment and intervention conditions. For the primary outcome variable (percentage of consonants correct), the significant mean change from pre- to postintervention for the intervention group (mean change = +6.15, p < .001) was comparable in magnitude to the significant change for the control group (mean change = +5.43, p < .001) with a small between-groups effect size for change (Cohen's d = 0.08). Similar results occurred for measures of emergent literacy, phonological processing, participation, and well-being. Computer-assisted input-based intervention administered by educators did not result in greater improvement than typical classroom practices.

Language Development and Impairment in Children With Mild to Moderate Sensorineural Hearing Loss.

The goal of this study was to examine language development and factors related to language impairments in children with mild to moderate sensorineural hearing loss (MMHL). Ninety children, aged 8-16 years (46 children with MMHL; 44 aged-matched controls), were administered a battery of standardized language assessments, including measures of phonological processing, receptive and expressive vocabulary and grammar, word and nonword reading, and parental report of communication skills. Group differences were examined after controlling for nonverbal ability. Children with MMHL performed as well as controls on receptive vocabulary and word and nonword reading. They also performed within normal limits, albeit significantly worse than controls, on expressive vocabulary, and on receptive and expressive grammar, and worse than both controls and standardized norms on phonological processing and parental report of communication skills. However, there was considerable variation in performance, with 26% showing evidence of clinically significant oral or written language impairments. Poor performance was not linked to severity of hearing loss nor age of diagnosis. Rather, outcomes were related to nonverbal ability, maternal education, and presence/absence of family history of language problems. Clinically significant language impairments are not an inevitable consequence of MMHL. Risk factors appear to include lower maternal education and family history of language problems, whereas nonverbal ability may constitute a protective factor.

Language in individuals with left hemisphere tumors: Is spontaneous speech analysis equally good as formal testing?

Language in individuals with left hemisphere tumors: Is spontaneous speech analysis equally good as formal testing?

The Role of Categorical Speech Perception and Phonological Processing in Familial Risk Children With and Without Dyslexia.

This study assessed whether a categorical speech perception (CP) deficit is associated with dyslexia or familial risk for dyslexia, by exploring a possible cascading relation from speech perception to phonology to reading and by identifying whether speech perception distinguishes familial risk (FR) children with dyslexia (FRD) from those without dyslexia (FRND). Data were collected from 9-year-old FRD (n = 37) and FRND (n = 41) children and age-matched controls (n = 49) on CP identification and discrimination and on the phonological processing measures rapid automatized naming, phoneme awareness, and nonword repetition. The FRD group performed more poorly on CP than the FRND and control groups. Findings on phonological processing align with the literature in that (a) phonological processing related to reading and (b) the FRD group showed the lowest phonological processing outcomes. Furthermore, CP correlated weakly with reading, but this relationship was fully mediated by rapid automatized naming. Although CP phonological skills are related to dyslexia, there was no strong evidence for a cascade from CP to phonology to reading. Deficits in CP at the behavioral level are not directly associated with dyslexia.

Cognitive, Linguistic, and Motor Abilities in a Multigenerational Family with Childhood Apraxia of Speech.

ObjectiveThis study describes the phenotype in a large family with a strong, multigenerational history of severe speech sound disorder (SSD) persisting into adolescence and adulthood in approximately half the cases. Aims were to determine whether a core phenotype, broader than speech, separated persistent from resolved SSD cases; and to ascertain the uniqueness of the phenotype relative to published cases.MethodEleven members of the PM family (9–55 years) were assessed across cognitive, language, literacy, speech, phonological processing, numeracy, and motor domains. Between group comparisons were made using the Mann–WhitneyU-test (p < 0.01). Participant performances were compared to normative data using standardized tests and to the limited published data on persistent SSD phenotypes.ResultsSignificant group differences were evident on multiple speech, language, literacy, phonological processing, and verbal intellect measures without any overlapping scores. Persistent cases performed within the impaired range on multiple measures. Phonological memory impairment and subtle literacy weakness were present in resolved SSD cases.ConclusionA core phenotype distinguished persistent from resolved SSD cases that was characterized by a multiple verbal trait disorder, including Childhood Apraxia of Speech. Several phenotypic differences differentiated the persistent SSD phenotype in the PM family from the few previously reported studies of large families with SSD, including the absence of comorbid dysarthria and marked orofacial apraxia. This study highlights how comprehensive phenotyping can advance the behavioral study of disorders, in addition to forming a solid basis for future genetic and neural studies.

Cognition and literacy in English language learners at risk for reading disabilities: A latent transition analysis.

This study investigated the prevalence and stability of latent classes at risk for reading disabilities (RD) in elementary-aged children whose first language is Spanish. To this end, children (N = 489) in Grades 1, 2, and 3 at Wave 1 were administered a battery of reading, vocabulary, and cognitive measures (short-term memory [STM], working memory [WM], rapid naming, random letter and number generation, and teacher ratings of inattention) in both Spanish and English. These same measures were administered 1 and 2 years later. Four important findings occurred. First, 4 latent classes emerged (nonbalanced bilinguals-good readers, balanced bilinguals-good readers, reading disabled, and classroom inattentive children) across all 3 testing waves. Second, probability estimates indicated that 23% of the total sample was at risk, and approximately 10% of the inattentive class transitioned into the RD risk class by Wave 3. Third, phonological process were primary predictive of latent classes at Wave 1, whereas working memory measures emerged as predictive at Waves 2 and 3. Finally, the best model for correctly predicting the odds of being correctly classified as RD at the final testing wave included measures of Spanish phonological processing, Spanish naming speed, English and Spanish oral language, English verbal WM, and visual-spatial WM. The results support the notion that statistically distinct and stable latent classes emerge under the umbrella of reading proficiency, and that children at risk for RD can be separated among a heterogeneous sample of children who are English language learners. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)

Decoding skills in children with language impairment: contributions of phonological processing and classroom experiences.

Children with language impairment (LI) often demonstrate difficulties with word decoding. Research suggests that child-level (i.e., phonological processing) and environmental-level (i.e., classroom quality) factors both contribute to decoding skills in typically developing children. The present study examined the extent to which these same factors influence the decoding skills of children with LI, and the extent to which classroom quality moderates the relationship between phonological processing and decoding. Kindergarten and first-grade children with LI (n = 198) were assessed on measures of phonological processing and decoding twice throughout the academic year. Live classroom observations were conducted to assess classroom quality with respect to emotional support and instructional support. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that of the 3 phonological processing variables included, only phonological awareness significantly predicted spring decoding outcomes when controlling for children's age and previous decoding ability. One aspect of classroom quality (emotional support) was also predictive of decoding, but there was no significant interaction between classroom quality and phonological processing. This study provides further evidence that phonological awareness is an important skill to assess in children with LI and that high-quality classroom environments can be positively associated with children's decoding outcomes.

Developmental dyslexia and phonological processing in European Portuguese orthography.

This study analysed the performance of phonological processing, the diagnostic accuracy and the influence on reading in children who were native speakers of an orthography of intermediate depth. Portuguese children with developmental dyslexia (DD; N=24; aged 10-12 years), chronological age (CA)-matched controls (N=24; aged 10-12 years) and reading level (RL)-matched controls (N=24; aged 7-9 years) were tested on measures of phonological processing (phonological awareness, naming speed and verbal short-term memory) and reading. The results indicated that the children with DD performed significantly poorer in all measures compared with the CA and RL. Phonological awareness and naming speed showed a high accuracy (receiver operating characteristics curve analysis) for discriminating the children with DD from the CA and RL, whereas the presence of abnormally low scores in phonological awareness and naming speed was more frequent in the DD group than in the controls and the normative population. Hierarchical linear regression analyses revealed that phonological awareness was the most important predictor of all reading accuracy measures, whereas naming speed was particularly related to text reading fluency.

The relationship of phonological ability, speech perception, and auditory perception in adults with dyslexia.

This study investigated whether auditory, speech perception, and phonological skills are tightly interrelated or independently contributing to reading. We assessed each of these three skills in 36 adults with a past diagnosis of dyslexia and 54 matched normal reading adults. Phonological skills were tested by the typical threefold tasks, i.e., rapid automatic naming, verbal short-term memory and phonological awareness. Dynamic auditory processing skills were assessed by means of a frequency modulation (FM) and an amplitude rise time (RT); an intensity discrimination task (ID) was included as a non-dynamic control task. Speech perception was assessed by means of sentences and words-in-noise tasks. Group analyses revealed significant group differences in auditory tasks (i.e., RT and ID) and in phonological processing measures, yet no differences were found for speech perception. In addition, performance on RT discrimination correlated with reading but this relation was mediated by phonological processing and not by speech-in-noise. Finally, inspection of the individual scores revealed that the dyslexic readers showed an increased proportion of deviant subjects on the slow-dynamic auditory and phonological tasks, yet each individual dyslexic reader does not display a clear pattern of deficiencies across the processing skills. Although our results support phonological and slow-rate dynamic auditory deficits which relate to literacy, they suggest that at the individual level, problems in reading and writing cannot be explained by the cascading auditory theory. Instead, dyslexic adults seem to vary considerably in the extent to which each of the auditory and phonological factors are expressed and interact with environmental and higher-order cognitive influences.

Phonemic restoration in developmental dyslexia

The comprehension of fluent speech in one's native language requires that listeners integrate the detailed acoustic-phonetic information available in the sound signal with linguistic knowledge. This interplay is especially apparent in the phoneme restoration effect, a phenomenon in which a missing phoneme is “restored” via the influence of top-down information from the lexicon and through bottom-up acoustic processing. Developmental dyslexia is a disorder characterized by an inability to read at the level of one's peers without any clear failure due to environmental influences. In the current study we utilized the phonemic restoration illusion paradigm to examine individual differences in phonemic restoration across a range of reading ability, from very good to dyslexic readers. Results demonstrate that restoration occurs less in those who have high scores on measures of phonological processing. Based on these results, we suggest that the processing or representation of acoustic detail may not be as reliable in poor and dyslexic readers, with the result that lexical information is more likely to override acoustic properties of the stimuli. This pattern of increased restoration could result from a failure of perceptual tuning, in which unstable representations of speech sounds result in the acceptance of non-speech sounds as speech. An additional or alternative theory is that degraded or impaired phonological processing at the speech sound level may reflect architecture that is overly plastic and consequently fails to stabilize appropriately for speech sound representations. Therefore, the inability to separate speech and noise may result as a deficit in separating noise from the acoustic signal.

The influence of learning a second language in primary school on developing first language literacy skills

ABSTRACTThis study investigated whether learning a second language (L2) has a facilitative effect on first language (L1) literacy and whether there is an advantage to learning an L2 with transparent grapheme–phoneme correspondences. One hundred fifty Year 3 children were randomly assigned into one of three groups: L2 Italian, L2 French, and control. Children were pretested on measures of English (L1) spelling, reading and phonological processing. The L2 groups then received 15 weeks of L2 instruction in Italian or French, respectively. The L2 groups outperformed the control group on posttest measures of English reading accuracy and different aspects of phonological processing. In addition, there was an advantage for the L2 Italian group as their scores were higher than the L2 French group on English reading accuracy and phonological processing.

The differential roles of paired associate learning in Chinese and English word reading abilities in bilingual children

Paired associated learning (PAL) is a critical skill for making arbitrary associations among print, pronunciation and meaning in reading development. Extended from past research of PAL, this study investigated whether PAL operated flexibly to linguistic demands of languages, by examining word reading abilities in Chinese–English bilingual children. One hundred and twenty-one 8-year-old Chinese–English bilingual children in Hong Kong were included. Children were administered nonverbal reasoning and PAL tasks (condition 1: visual-pronunciation PAL pair; condition 2: visual-semantics PAL pair), as well as Chinese and English measures of phonological processing and word reading. Results of hierarchical regression analysis showed that PAL performance contributed to word reading, after the effects of nonverbal reasoning and phonological processing were accounted for. Specifically, visual-semantics PAL predicted Chinese word reading, while visual-pronunciation PAL predicted English word reading. These findings have indicated that visual–verbal PAL and phonological processing represent unique mechanisms important to reading in Chinese and English. The differential roles of visual-pronunciation and visual-semantics mappings suggest cognitive processes in reading acquisition, like PAL, might be flexible in bilinguals. Different mechanisms could be utilized in learning to read various scripts depending on the scripts’ characteristics.

Summer Learning Loss among Elementary School Children with Reading Disabilities

This study investigated whether students with reading disabilities (RD) showed greater regression in reading skills than did non-RD students over the summer vacation. The RD group consisted of 30 students in grades 4 to 6 from a private school for students with learning disabilities and a comparison group of 30 average readers in grades 4 to 6 attending a public school. All students were tested in May/June and September on measures of reading achievement, phonological processing, and oral receptive vocabulary. Significant regression in the RD group’s scores was found on speed of sight word reading, speeded phonological decoding, and untimed sight word reading. These results suggested that students with RD tend to decline in areas that require automatic reading skills. Implications for students with RD in relation to periods of extended absence from formal literacy instruction are discussed.

Identifying Learning Disabilities Through a Cognitive Deficit Framework

Traditionally, students with learning disabilities (LD) have been identified using an aptitude–achievement discrepancy or response to intervention approach. As profiles of the cognitive deficits of discrepancy-defined students with LD have already been developed using these approaches, these deficits can in turn be used to identify LD using the discrepancy approach as a benchmark for convergent validity. Australian Grade 3 (N = 172) students were administered cognitive processing tests to ascertain whether scores in these tests could accurately allocate students into discrepancy-defined groups using discriminant function analysis. Results showed that 77% to 82% of students could be correctly allocated into LD, low achievement, and regular achievement groups using only measures of phonological processing, rapid naming, and verbal memory. Furthermore, verbal memory deficits were found, along with phonological processing and rapid naming deficits, in students that would be designated as low achieving by the discrepancy method. Because a significant discrepancy or lack of response to intervention is a result of cognitive deficits rather than the other way around, it is argued that LD should be identified via cognitive deficits.

Relationships among cognitive deficits and component skills of reading in younger and older students with developmental dyslexia

Processing speed deficits along with phonological awareness deficits have been identified as risk factors for dyslexia. This study was designed to examine the behavioral profiles of two groups, a younger (6-8 years) and an older (10-15 years) group of dyslexic children for the purposes of (1) evaluating the degree to which phonological awareness and processing speed deficits occur in the two developmental cohorts; (2) determining the strength of relationships between the groups' respective mean scores on cognitive tasks of phonological awareness and processing speed and their scores on component skills of reading; and (3) evaluating the degree to which phonological awareness and processing speed serve as concurrent predictors of component reading skills for each group. The mean scaled scores for both groups were similar on all but one processing speed task. The older group was significantly more depressed on a visual matching test of attention, scanning, and speed. Correlations between reading skills and the cognitive constructs were very similar for both age-groups. Neither of the two phonological awareness tasks correlated with either of the two processing speed tasks or with any of the three measures of reading. One of the two processing speed measures served as a concurrent predictor of word- and text-level reading in the younger, however, only the rapid naming measure functioned as a concurrent predictor of word reading in the older group. Conversely, phonological processing measures did not serve as concurrent predictors for word-level or text-level reading in either of the groups. Descriptive analyses of individual subjects' deficits in the domains of phonological awareness and processing speed revealed that (1) both linguistic and nonlinguistic processing speed deficits in the younger dyslexic children occurred at higher rates than deficits in phonological awareness and (2) cognitive deficits within and across these two domains were greater in the older dyslexic children. Our findings underscore the importance of using rapid naming measures when testing school-age children suspected of having a reading disability and suggest that processing speed measures that do not reply on verbal responses may serve as predictors of reading disability in young children prior to their development of naming automaticity.