Risk For Learning Difficulties Research Articles

Is There an Association Between Cesarean Section Delivery with Specific Learning Disabilities (SLD) or/and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)? A Cross-Sectional Study in Greek Population

Background/Objective: Learning difficulties (LDs) are lifelong neurodevelopmental disorders with multifactorial causes, including perinatal factors like mode of delivery. This study aims to explore whether cesarean section (CS) delivery is linked to the occurrence of specific learning disabilities (SLDs), attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), or their comorbidity. Methods: An online questionnaire was distributed via Google Forms to Greek mothers and parents of children with and without diagnoses, shared through school-related groups and various Greek pages focused on child development, special education, and learning difficulties. Conducted over eight months (October 2023–May 2024), this cross-sectional study involved 256 children, 137 with LDs diagnoses, and 119 controls. Results: In total, 59.9% of CS-born children had a diagnosis, compared to 40.1% of those born vaginally (X²(1) = 4.19, p = 0.045). CS delivery was associated with a 68% increased likelihood of LDs (OR = 1.68, 95% CI [1.02, 2.76]), with higher risks for ADHD (OR = 2.25, 95% CI [1.06, 4.79]) and comorbid SLD/ADHD diagnoses (OR = 2.75, 95% CI [1.17, 6.46]). Stratified analyses showed birthweight and gestational age as effect modifiers rather than confounders. Key postnatal risk factors identified were family history (OR = 4.65, 95% CI [2.41, 8.94]) and language acquisition difficulties (OR = 5.28, 95% CI [1.36, 20.47]). Conclusions: The findings suggest a possible association between CS and LDs, along with a novel link between CS and increased comorbidities. These results underscore the need for further research and provide valuable insights into how CS delivery may influence the risk of LDs, depending on the type of diagnosis.

Evaluating the Reliability of Name Writing Rubric Scoring

Early literacy screening tools are often a critical component of schools’ intervention frameworks. As the use of screening tools becomes more prevalent for identifying students who may be at risk for learning difficulties and in need of additional instruction, it is important to continuously evaluate teachers’ implementation of these screening tools and to improve efforts to support their implementation. Measures of name writing as a part of a screening tool can pose specific implementation challenges due to the subjectivity that rubric scoring allows. As such, this study aimed to evaluate the reliability of a rubric used by pre-kindergarten teachers to score a name writing task, as part of a larger screening tool, in the context of their own classrooms, and to examine scoring patterns between researchers and teachers on the name writing rubric. Results revealed that researchers had higher interrater reliability among themselves than the reliability between researchers and teachers. Although there was not a substantial difference between the two groups, it is worthwhile to examine the implementation of screening tool scoring systems in the field to ensure proper identification of and intervention for students who may be at risk for learning difficulties. Implications for researchers and teachers are discussed.

An Evaluation of the Structure of Attention in Adolescence

ABSTRACT This study evaluated the factor structure of attention, considering internal and external attention, and juxtaposed alongside processing speed (PS) and working memory (WM). We expected the hypothesized model to fit better than unitary or method factors. We included 27 measures with 212 Hispanic middle schoolers from Spanish-speaking backgrounds, where a substantial proportion were at risk for learning difficulties. Confirmatory factor analytic models separated factors of PS and WM, but the final model did not align with theoretical predictions; rather only measurement factors emerged. Findings extend and refine our understanding of the structure of attention in adolescents.

Predicting future poor readers from pre-reading visual skills: A longitudinal study

Reading is essential for learning, from literature to physics, from paper to screens on e-readers and smart phones. Even if it is well known that learning to read implies good language skills, children also need to develop good oculomotor and visual-perception skills. Thereby, any deficits in visual processing may affect learning. The possible impact of visual deficits is rarely considered, especially with regard to eye movements and visual perception. Hence, these deficits are usually discovered much later or remain undiagnosed. The present study aimed at assessing the usefulness of visual processing related measures in the early detection of reading difficulties. Visual skill differences that are apparent early in kindergarten might provide predictive insights into risk for learning difficulties at school entry. We used a prospective, longitudinal approach where visual processes (assessed with the Developmental Eye Movement (DEM) test) were measured in 51 preschoolers, and the impact of these processes on future reading development was explored one year later, in Grade 1. Results showed that (1) 31% of our sample of preschoolers showed visual processing impairments (without any clinical complaints) and (2) reading accuracy and speed in first graders were significantly correlated with visual skills assessed in kindergarten, thus confirming the significant role of oculomotor and visual-perception processes in the acquisition of reading skills. These suggests the potential for these measures to be used clinically for identifying children at risk for low academic achievement, enabling appropriate targeting of early interventions.

Comorbid Learning Difficulties in Reading and Mathematics: The Role of Intelligence and In-Class Attentive Behavior.

The goal was to identify the domain-general cognitive abilities and academic attitudes that are common and unique to reading and mathematics learning difficulties that in turn will have implications for intervention development. Across seventh and eighth grade, 315 (155 boys) adolescents (M age = 12.75 years) were administered intelligence, verbal short-term and working memory, and visuospatial memory, attention, and ability measures, along with measures of English and mathematics attitudes and mathematics anxiety. Teachers reported on students’ in-class attentive behavior. A combination of Bayesian and multi-level models revealed that intelligence and in-class attentive behavior were common predictors of reading accuracy, reading fluency, and mathematics achievement. Verbal short-term memory was more critical for reading accuracy and fluency, whereas spatial ability and mathematics self-efficacy were more critical for mathematics achievement. The combination of intelligence and in-class attentive behavior discriminated typically achieving students from students with comorbid (D = 2.44) or mathematics (D = 1.59) learning difficulties, whereas intelligence, visuospatial attention, and verbal short-term memory discriminated typically achieving students from students with reading disability (D = 1.08). The combination of in-class attentive behavior, verbal short-term memory, and mathematics self-efficacy discriminated students with mathematics difficulties from their peers with reading difficulties (D = 1.16). Given the consistent importance of in-class attentive behavior, we conducted post hoc follow-up analyses. The results suggested that students with poor in-class attentive behavior were disengaging from academic learning which in turn contributed to their risk of learning difficulties.

Learning difficulties and auditory processing deficits in a clinical sample of primary school-aged children

Objective: The current study examined the relationship between learning and auditory processing (AP) ability in a clinical sample of children with and without learning difficulties (LD).Design: A non-randomised, cross-sectional, single measure research design was used.Study sample: The participants consisted of 50 children (7.7–10.8 years) who had been referred for a clinical AP assessment based on having been referred from a school-based AP screening. These children had previously been identified as having (n = 14) or not having (n = 36) LD.Results: Children with LD performed significantly worse than children without LD on frequency patterns with linguistic reports (FPlinR and FPlinL), dichotic digits (DD) and Auditory Word Memory – Forward (ANMF) tests, with significant correlations being observed between these variables and the learning score. The multiple linear regression showed that FPlinR, DDR and ANMF scores explained 50% of the variance in the learning score.Conclusion: The present study’s results are most consistent with risk factor models linking AP to learning abilities in children where reduced AP abilities could put children at greater risk for LD. Further investigations into the potential relationships between AP, cognition, speech and language development, and learning ability in children are warranted.

Cognitive predictors of difficulties in math and reading in pre-kindergarten children at high risk for learning disabilities.

Cognitive skill differences that are apparent early in pre-kindergarten (pre-K) might provide predictive insights into risk for learning difficulties at school entry, particularly around early markers of risk for comorbid difficulties in early math and literacy. Domain-specific abilities (approximate number system or ANS acuity, phonological awareness) and domain-general abilities (working memory, vigilance, executive attention, and nonverbal IQ) were assessed in 493 children at the beginning of pre-K, to better understand how each uniquely contributes to risk for math difficulties (MD), and comorbid math and reading difficulties (MDRD). At the end of pre-K, standardized math and reading tests were used to form three risk groups (MD, MDRD, not-at-risk) with two severity cut points for math and reading (≤25th, ≤16th percentiles). Discriminant function analysis was used to determine whether and in what ways the groups differed on the cognitive variables. Both MD and MDRD-risk groups differentiated from the not-at-risk group on all variables except for ANS acuity, a finding that was convergent across severity cut points. The only significant contrast for ANS acuity emerged between the most severe MD only group and the not-at-risk group. Only vigilance or sustained attention supported the differentiation of MD risk from MDRD risk. Consistent with school-age studies of comorbidity, MDRD risk was also associated with the lowest levels of math and cognitive skills in this pre-kindergarten sample. Results reveal a potential specific role for sustained attention as an early risk factor for comorbid MDRD, a severe form of learning disability. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved)

Reading Instruction for English Learners With Learning Disabilities: What Do We Already Know, and What Do We Still Need to Learn?

This paper reviews findings from four research syntheses that report the effects of academic language and/or reading interventions on language and reading outcomes for English learners who have or are at risk for learning difficulties. Studies included in the syntheses varied in research design and addressed multiple areas of reading and language. There was disagreement between syntheses as to the extent of research evidence in favor of particular instructional practices. For ELs with learning difficulties in kindergarten and first grade, however, there was strong consensus that multiple-component reading instruction that includes phonological awareness and phonics instruction is associated with improved word reading outcomes. It may also be beneficial to provide oral language, vocabulary, and reading comprehension instruction; nevertheless, there is a need for future research on instructional interventions that aim to improve reading comprehension outcomes for this population.

Exploring the elementary students learning difficulties risks on mathematics based on students mathematic anxiety, mathematics self-efficacy and value beliefs using rasch measurement

The learning process sets up the individual differences during material transfer. In mathematics subjects, these changes point to student struggles in following the movement of the material and raise the learning obstacles. However, the identification of the mathematics learning difficulties condition is done after the final test, instead through the study of students who have learning difficulties risks. This study examines the compromise of learning difficulties in mathematics in terms of several aspects that can trigger it, which are mathematical anxiety, self-efficacy mathematics, and value beliefs. This preliminary study consisted of 127 elementary school students from 3rd to 6th grades. The result of this study shows that students are more dominant to experience cognitive anxiety towards mathematics, especially when working on issues with high difficulty levels. In addition, students are at compromise of learning disabilities if they have low self-efficacy levels, especially if it concerns to the circumstantial use of mathematics. The risk of learning difficulties is also dominant experienced by students who do not spend time effectively in learning mathematics. The attention of the learning difficulties risks on mathematics is essential to ward off the failure of students to optimize their potential in the learning process.

Screening for Learning Difficulty Using Teacher Ratings on the Colorado Learning Difficulties Questionnaire

The present study examined clinical utility of teacher ratings on the Colorado Learning Difficulties Questionnaire (CLDQ) learning difficulties screening within a referred, school-aged sample ( N =519, 5-18 years). Of this sample, 419 youth had CLDQ reading scale scores from a reading or general education teacher, and 338 had CLDQ math scale ratings from a math or general education teacher. Sensitivity, specificity and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were examined for specific reading and math difficulties (achievement SS<85). Cut-scores were identified to maximize sensitivity (reading: 60–91%; math: 85–89%), but specificity was low (reading: 60–64%, math: 47–48%); AUCs ranged from .70-.87 for reading and .75-.77 for math. Discrimination was comparable in an elementary subsample. Conditional probabilities suggested CLDQ ratings more accurately predicted children without learning difficulties (i.e., true negatives) than with learning difficulties. Parent and teacher ratings were well correlated ( r =.71), but addition of teacher ratings improved classification accuracy and model fit ( p <.001) across domains. Furthermore, CLDQ teacher ratings were helpful in reducing false positives based upon parent ratings alone. Findings suggest teacher ratings via CLDQ can be used to screen children at risk for learning difficulties, with teacher ratings showing added value over and above parent ratings. Subscribe to LDMJ

The effects of educational computer game on low-performing children’s early numeracy skills – an intervention study in a preschool setting

The aim of this study was to determine the effects of an educational computer game, Lola’s World, on low-performing children’s early numeracy skills. Four preschools with 33 children from families of low socio-economic status (Mage = 5.5 years) took part in this study. Of the 33 children, 23 were split randomly into two groups: an intervention group playing a numeracy game (Lola’s World) and an active control group playing an early reading skills game (Lola’s ABC party). The remaining 10 children served as a passive control group. The intervention phase lasted three weeks, during which time the children played the games daily for about 15 min. The children’s numeracy skills were measured using the Early Numeracy Test. Those children (n = 22) who exhibited low numeracy (i.e. at risk for learning difficulties in mathematics) were included in the analyses. The three groups did not differ in terms of parental educational levels or home languages. They were comparable in terms of nonverbal reasoning and the amount of time spent playing. The Lola’s World group improved its early numeracy performance from pretest to post-test. No between-group differences were found. The results are discussed in relation to providing game-based support for low-performing preschoolers.

A longitudinal study on predictors of early calculation development among young children at risk for learning difficulties

The purpose of this study was to explore domain-general cognitive skills, domain-specific academic skills, and demographic characteristics that are associated with calculation development from first grade to third grade among young children with learning difficulties. Participants were 176 children identified with reading and mathematics difficulties at the beginning of first grade. Data were collected on working memory, language, nonverbal reasoning, processing speed, decoding, numerical competence, incoming calculations, socioeconomic status, and gender at the beginning of first grade and on calculation performance at four time points: the beginning of first grade, the end of first grade, the end of second grade, and the end of third grade. Latent growth modeling analysis showed that numerical competence, incoming calculation, processing speed, and decoding skills significantly explained the variance in calculation performance at the beginning of first grade. Numerical competence and processing speed significantly explained the variance in calculation performance at the end of third grade. However, numerical competence was the only significant predictor of calculation development from the beginning of first grade to the end of third grade. Implications of these findings for early calculation instructions among young at-risk children are discussed.

A Randomized Control Trial of Working Memory Training With and Without Strategy Instruction

Researchers are increasingly interested in working memory (WM) training. However, it is unclear whether it strengthens comprehension in young children who are at risk for learning difficulties. We conducted a modest study of whether the training of verbal WM would improve verbal WM and passage listening comprehension and whether training effects differed between two approaches: training with and without strategy instruction. A total of 58 first-grade children were randomly assigned to three groups: WM training with a rehearsal strategy, WM training without strategy instruction, and controls. Each member of the two training groups received a one-to-one, 35-min session of verbal WM training on each of 10 consecutive school days, totaling 5.8 hr. Both training groups improved on trained verbal WM tasks, with the rehearsal group making greater gains. Without correction for multiple group comparisons, the rehearsal group made reliable improvements over controls on an untrained verbal WM task and on passage listening comprehension and listening retell measures. The no-strategy-instruction group outperformed controls on passage listening comprehension. When corrected for multiple contrasts, these group differences disappeared but were associated with moderate to large effect sizes. Findings suggest—however tentatively—that brief but intensive verbal WM training may strengthen the verbal WM and comprehension performance of young children at risk. Necessary caveats and possible implications for theory and future research are discussed.

Academic Outcomes and Drug Addiction Among Young Moroccan Students

Introduction A recent study suggests that the correlation between substance use and academic performance was positive at the school level 1 . As well, it is widely discussed in the literature that regular cannabis use increases the risk of learning difficulties 2 . Objective to study the relationship between regular drug use and academic outcomes of young students of a vocational training institute in Mohammedia (North West of Morocco). Subjects and methods The present study is a cross-sectional study conducted among 441 Moroccan students of vocational institute in Mohammedia (NW of Morocco), aged 18 to 25 years. Addiction status is evaluated bythe CRAFFT-ADOSPA questionnaire and the academic achievements are recorded using the annual average (academic year: 2013-2014). Results The results showed that the most commonly used drug is cannabis. Moreover, out of a total of 441 students, 29.5%are regular drug users, 10.8% of them are girls. More, 24.5% of these addicted students had academic achievements below the average and, 69% of students ranked bottom of the class are among the drug addicts. Conclusion Academic achievements appeared to be negatively influenced by regular drug use among students. However, deeper statistical studies are needed. 1 Fernando H. Andrade, Co-occurrences between adolescent substance use and academicperformance: School context influences a multilevel-longitudinal perspective . Journal of Adolescence, Volume 37, Issue 6, August 2014, Pages 953-963. 2 Dominique Lopez et Daniel Sansfacon, Dommages sociaux lies a l'usage de drogues : focus sur les relationset difficultes familiales, revue toxibase n° 20 – 4e trimestre 2005.

Preterm Birth, Age at School Entry and Educational Performance

ObjectiveTo investigate if the lack of gestational age correction may explain some of the school failure seen in ex-preterm infants.DesignA cohort study based on the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC). The primary outcome was a low Key Stage 1 score (KS1) score at age 7 or having special educational needs (SEN). Exposure groups were defined as preterm (<37 weeks gestation, n = 722) or term (37–42 weeks, n = 11,268). Conditional regression models were derived, matching preterm to term infants on date of birth (DOB), expected date of delivery (EDD) or expected date of delivery and year of school entry. Multiple imputation was used to account for missing covariate data.ResultsWhen matching for DOB, infants born preterm had an increased odds of a low KS1 score (OR 1.73 (1.45–2.06)) and this association persisted after adjusting for potential confounders (OR 1.57 (1.25–1.97)). The association persisted in the analysis matching for EDD (fully adjusted OR 1.53 (1.21–1.94)) but attenuated substantially after additionally restricting to those infants who entered school at the same time as the control infants (fully adjusted OR 1.25 (0.98–1.60)). A compatible reduction in the population attributable risk fraction was seen from 4.60% to 2.12%, and year of school entry appeared to modify the association between gestational age and the risk of a poor KS1 score (p = 0.029).ConclusionsThis study provides evidence that the school year placement and assessment of ex-preterm infants based on their actual birthday (rather than their EDD) may increase their risk of learning difficulties with corresponding school failure.

Preschool teacher attachment, school readiness and risk of learning difficulties

Attachment is the emotional bond between children and their caregivers (parents or otherwise). Infants and young children usually have more than one selective attachment, and all of these attachment relationships, including those between children and teachers, have important effects on cognitive and social development. Secure attachment to a preschool teacher may help children to improve their preschool experience. Recent studies suggest that the adverse effect of inadequate preschool experiences can lead to skill deficiencies that mimic the effects of basic cognitive deficits. This study evaluates the relationships among attachment to preschool teachers, school readiness, and the risk for developing learning difficulties in preschoolers using three measures: the School Readiness 4-5 battery, the Precocious Identification of Learning Difficulties, and the Attachment Q Set. This study examined 152 preschoolers. The results showed that attachment to preschool teachers is related to linguistic development level, the psychomotor skills involved in school readiness, and learning difficulty risk.

Load and Order in Rapid Automatized Naming: A Large-Scale Prospective Study of Toddlers With Brain Injury

The rapid automatized naming task (RAN) is a well-established tool to evaluate risk of developmental disorders. Its potential use with 3-year-olds who are at risk for learning difficulties and factors affecting its dependent measures are not yet understood. This study investigated the effects of neonatal central nervous system compromise grouping (five levels, N = 617) on RAN task adapted for 3-year-olds, using two levels of information load and two presentation orders. Results showed that increased errors and slowed speed in toddlers are expected subsequent to severe neonatal CNS compromise. Furthermore, collaborative information may have a beneficial effect on processing speeds of toddlers born with severe, but not with moderate, neonatal CNS compromise. Finally, the study highlights the feasability of evaluating RAN performance in toddlers who are at a developmental risk for learning disabilities and the conditions of RAN that may facilitate performance of severely affected participants.

Primary teachers' linguistic knowledge and perceptions of early literacy instruction

This study examined 120 Victorian preservice and inservice teachers' ability to implement evidence-based, early literacy instruction by examining whether teachers possessed positive perceptions of explicit instruction in sound-letter relationships, and a proficient knowledge of language structure. Teachers' confidence in teaching students of known risk for learning difficulties was also investigated. Findings indicated that while teachers report positive perceptions of explicit phonics-based instruction, they generally did not nominate this approach as their predominant early literacy instruction method. School sector also influenced early literacy instruction practices and linguistic knowledge: independent school teachers reported higher linguistic knowledge scores than their Catholic counterparts and were more likely than Catholic or state school teachers to report using phonics-based instruction to teach reading. Inservice and pre-service teachers did not demonstrate adequate knowledge of metalinguistics. Also, the majority of teachers did not report high levels of confidence in their ability to teach reading to diverse student populations.

EVALUATION OF LEARNING DIFFICULTIES IN EPILEPTIC CHILDREN WITH IDIOPATHIC GENERALIZED EPILEPSY AND WELL-CONTROLLED SEIZURES

INTRODUCTION: Children with symptomatic epilepsy have more learning difficulties (LDs) than those with idiopathic or cryptogenic epilepsies. However, there is little information on the prevalence of LDs in well-defined pediatric epileptic populations. OBJECTIVE: Our goal was to evaluate LDs in epileptic children. METHODS: We evaluated LDs in 37 epileptic children (18 boys and 19 girls; mean age: 8.29 ± 1.00 years) who had idiopathic generalized epilepsy (IGE) and were being treated with sodium-valproate monotherapy (22 with generalized tonic-clonic seizures and 15 with absence epilepsy). The mean duration of epilepsy and treatment was 3.48 ± 1.88 and 2.96 ± 1.80 years, respectively. All children attended mainstream schools, and their seizures were well controlled (without seizures for at least 6 months). We used the Athina Test for the Diagnosis of Learning Difficulties, a test that is partly based on the Illinois Test of Psycholinguistic Abilities, standardized in healthy Greek children. RESULTS: Children with IGE performed significantly poorer in all subtests except the auditory closure subtest (Table 1). No significant difference was found between the 2 subgroups. A negative correlation was found between disease duration and the score in auditory memory (r = −0.368; P = .025). CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest an increased risk of LDs in children with IGE and well-controlled seizures. Early detection of the cognitive impact of IGE and subsequent intervention are needed to prevent educational underachievement. TABLE 1.Athina Test for the Diagnosis of LDsSubjects With Inadequate Performance, % P Children With IGEHealthy ChildrenAuditory memory64.99.0.000Visual memory43.29.0.000Grammatic closure43.29.0.000Auditory closure16.29.0.125Graphophonological awareness32.49.0.000Visual-motor coordination43.225.0.010

Comportamento matemático: relações ordinais e inferência transitiva em pré-escolares

Um repertório matemático elementar pode ser diretamente ensinado a pré-escolares em risco de dificuldades de aprendizagem. Nesta pesquisa, examinou-se o controle do comportamento por relações ordinais em 14 crianças (idade média: 5 anos e 1 mês) com baixo rendimento escolar numa escola municipal de Vitória. Inicialmente, os estudantes foram avaliados de modo individualizado, em seguida aplicou-se um procedimento de ensino informatizado para ensinar desempenhos ordinais e avaliou-se a ocorrência de desempenhos gerativos. Todas as crianças alcançaram o critério de ensino, estabelecendo-se o controle do comportamento por relações ordinais. Na avaliação da transferência de funções de estímulo 14 crianças ordenaram novas seqüências de estímulos com o procedimento informatizado e oito crianças com o procedimento não informatizado. Conclui-se que habilidades básicas para o aprendizado da matemática podem ser diretamente ensinadas, apesar das falhas no repertório inicial da criança.