Risk For Reading Disabilities Research Articles

The impact of lexical specificity training on at-risk emergent bilinguals

AbstractEmergent bilinguals (EBs) who are exposed to societal language at school but use another language at home may experience difficulties in mastering the societal language, especially those at risk for language and reading disabilities. Learning phonologically specific new words that discriminate between phonemes may foster phonological awareness and word reading. This study examined the effectiveness of a lexical specificity intervention program that targeted phoneme discrimination in EBs at risk for reading disabilities. EBs who scored below the 25th percentile on the screening measures were selected and randomly assigned to one of two conditions: at-risk intervention or at-risk control. Of the 76 EBs in the at-risk group, 40 were randomly assigned to receive the intervention. A group of 51 typically developing EBs who did not meet the risk criteria were selected as typical controls. The pre- and post-tests include phoneme discrimination, phonological awareness, rapid automatized naming, fluency, and decoding. The at-risk intervention group showed improvement on the phoneme discrimination task after the intervention and outperformed the at-risk control group but not the typical control group. In addition, growth was observed during both the training and testing sessions of the intervention. The lexical specificity intervention could be a good resource to enhance a key precursor to literacy development for at-risk EBs.

The Impact of Student Race, Sex, and Mindset on Reading Intervention Response at the Upper Elementary Level

Effects from different studies of reading and mindset interventions are inconsistent, pointing to the need to investigate moderating factors affecting response. In this study, we implemented two intensive intervention conditions for fourth-grade students with/at risk for reading disabilities (N = 360). One intervention condition included reading intervention only, whereas the other intervention condition incorporated both reading and mindset interventions. Through exploratory analyses, we examined student characteristics (sex, race/ethnicity, mindset) as moderators of the effects of the interventions on mindset, word attack, and reading comprehension outcomes and also explored potential interactions. Overall, we found no differential outcomes of intervention by race, sex, or initial mindset level. Our exploration of the interactions also did not yield any significant effects; however, we were limited by small sample sizes in subgroups. Overall, more research is needed to explore potential interactions moderating intervention outcomes.

Orthographic Depth May Influence the Degree of Severity of Maze Learning Performance in Children at Risk for Reading Disorder

Reading disability (RD), which affects between 5 and 17% of the population worldwide, is the most prevalent form of learning disability, and is associated with underactivation of a universal reading network in children. However, recent research suggests there are differences in learning rates on cognitive predictors of reading performance, as well as differences in activation patterns within the reading neural network, based on orthographic depth (i.e., transparent/shallow vs. deep/opaque orthographies) in children with RD. Recently, we showed that native English-speaking children with RD exhibit impaired performance on a maze learning task that taps into the same neural networks that are activated during reading. In addition, we demonstrated that genetic risk for RD strengthens the relationship between reading impairment and maze learning performance. However, it is unclear whether the results from these studies can be broadly applied to children from other language orthographies. In this study, we examined whether low reading skill was associated with poor maze learning performance in native English-speaking and native German-speaking children, and the influence of genetic risk for RD on cognition and behavior. In addition, we investigated the link between genetic risk and performance on this task in an orthographically diverse sample of children attending an English-speaking international school in Germany. The results from our data suggest that children with low reading skill, or with a genetic risk for reading impairment, exhibit impaired performance on the maze learning task, regardless of orthographic depth. However, these data also suggest that orthographic depth influences the degree of impairment on this task. The maze learning task requires the involvement of various cognitive processes and neural networks that underlie reading, but is not influenced by potential differences in reading experience due to lack of text or oral reporting. As a fully automated tool, it does not require specialized training to administer, and current results suggest it may be a practicable screening tool for early identification of reading impairment across orthographies.

Effects of Varying Levels of Data Use to Intensify a Multisyllabic Word Reading Intervention for Upper Elementary Students With or at Risk for Reading Disabilities

For students who show inadequate response to research-based intervention, intensification of intervention using data-based decision making (DBDM) is recommended. There is a paucity of research on upper elementary students related to the efficacy of (a) word reading interventions and (b) DBDM procedures. This randomized controlled trial examined the differential effects of data use at two timepoints to intensify a multisyllabic word reading intervention for Grades 4 and 5 students with or at risk for reading disabilities (RD). Eighty-eight students were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: initial customization of the intervention (IC-only), initial customization with DBDM (IC + DBDM), or a business-as-usual comparison condition. Results indicated that (a) students in both treatment conditions outperformed the comparison condition on multisyllabic word reading and (b) students in the IC + DBDM condition also outperformed comparison students on decoding. Implications, including the use of DBDM in addition to IC-only as well as methods for decision-making within a small-group context, are discussed.

Data Mountain: Self-Monitoring, Goal Setting, and Positive Attributions to Enhance the Oral Reading Fluency of Elementary Students With or at Risk for Reading Disabilities

Data Mountain is a self-determination program that has shown early promise in enhancing the oral reading fluency (ORF) of students with or at risk for reading disabilities (RD). This program supports self-determined learning behaviors through explicit teaching of self-monitoring, goal setting, and positive attributions. The present study tested the effects of Data Mountain on the ORF of 81 students with or at risk for RD in second through fifth grades, randomly assigned to one of three conditions: Data Mountain delivered in small groups, Data Mountain delivered individually, or a comparison condition. Results from hierarchical linear modeling indicated that treatment students read an average of 31 more words per minute with a growth rate twice that of comparison students (p < .01). The transferable possibilities of Data Mountain to provide students with an opportunity to learn self-determination skills and support ORF is significant to the field of special education.

A Cumulative Risk and Resilience Model of Dyslexia

Considerable attention and legislation are currently focused on developmental dyslexia. A major challenge to these efforts is how to define and operationalize dyslexia. In this article, we argue that rather than defining dyslexia on the basis of an underlying condition, dyslexia is best viewed as a label for an unexpected reading disability. This view fits well with a preventive approach in which risk for reading disability is identified and addressed prior to children experiencing reading failure. A risk–resilience model is introduced that proposes that dyslexia is due to the cumulative effects of risk and resilience factors. Evidence for the multifactorial causal basis of dyslexia is reviewed and potential factors that may offset this risk are considered. The implications of a cumulative risk and resilience model for early identification and intervention is discussed.

Readiness or Impairment: Cognitive and Linguistic Differences Between Children Who Learn to Read and Those Who Exhibit Difficulties With Reading in Kindergarten Compared to Their Achievements at the End of First Grade.

Many studies have attempted to identify measures that predict reading abilities. The results of these studies may be inclined to over-identification of children considered at risk in kindergarten but who achieve parity in reading by the end of first grade. Therefore, the current study sought to analyze the specific cognitive and linguistic predictors of reading accuracy and reading speed separately. Additionally, the study examined if it is possible to use empirically validated measures to distinguish between children who are not ready to learn how to read in kindergarten but manage to acquire reading skills by the end of first grade, and those who continue to exhibit difficulties. The study followed 98 kindergarteners (43 boys and 55 girls) aged 4 years 10 months to six years from three different schools, who were taught how to read in kindergarten. Multiple measures of general cognitive skills, linguistic abilities, and reading abilities were measured at three different points in time: the beginning of kindergarten, the end of kindergarten, and the end of first grade. The study found that most of the children with good literacy and cognitive abilities learned how to read by the end of kindergarten. The analysis revealed a significant difference in cognitive abilities, such as executive functions and memory, which distinguished between the ability to acquire fluent reading and accurate reading. The study was able to successfully distinguish between “children with difficulties” and “un-ready” children. These results have various implications, especially in regard to the identification of and intervention with kindergarten children at risk for reading disabilities.

Visual motor integration in children with and without reading disability

Where there are few occupational therapists in regular practice, and an educational psychologist and special educators conducted the majority of the assessment procedure and evaluation of children with visual-motor integration (VMI). They consider assessing children with VMI as similar to the assessment of children with research instruments, and the availability of the trained occupational therapist was limited. VMI is generally expressed as the ability of the child to integrate visual perception input and to coordinate it with limb movements for the execution of motor activities in sequential order. A child with impaired VMI skills fails to execute motor- based activity. We evaluated the visual-motor integration (VMI) in children with and without reading disabilities (RDs) in the primary schools of Mudichur. Full Range Test of Visual-Motor Integration (FRTVMI) was used to evaluate the visual-motor integration among children. A total of 20 children recruited from primary schools in Mudichur. Every parent of the children gave the willingness to participate in the study; 10 children were already diagnosed as having RDs, whereas the remaining 10 children were age-matched typically developing children. The results indicated that children with reading disability scored poor on the FRTVMI than the typically developing age-matched peer-group children. The results support the impairment in visual-motor integration is strongly related to learning disabilities, and the therapist should educate teachers of primary schools to refer children with learning disabilities. However, there is a need for strong assessment among children’s to quantify their skills in reading and writing, and it is vital to diagnose children in the early years to avoid academic failures. Teachers were in need to be educated to refer children are who are suspected of being at risk for RDs in school settings.

Exploring How Initial Response to Instruction Predicts Morphology Outcomes Among Students With Decoding Difficulties.

Children with weak decoding skills often struggle to learn multisyllabic words during reading instruction. The primary purpose of this study was to investigate the extent to which initial response to morphological awareness instruction, along with specific language and cognitive variables (i.e., phonological awareness, rapid naming, orthographic knowledge/awareness, verbal comprehension, working memory), predicts responsiveness to morphological awareness instruction for third-grade students who were at risk for reading disabilities. Thirty-nine third-grade students with decoding deficits were assessed on five independent variables identified as critical predictors of future performance on morphological tasks. A series of regression analyses showed that initial response to instruction, compared to other cognitive and language variables, predicted the most variance in students' morphological skills with prefixes. Furthermore, two cognitive variables, verbal working memory and comprehension, were predictive of performance on morphological tasks after accounting for initial response to instruction. Findings from this study suggest that students with decoding deficits may benefit from morphological instruction and those who demonstrate low response to initial morphological instruction or have weak verbal comprehension and verbal working memory abilities could be risk for failing to acquire morphological instruction as expected.

Sight word acquisition in first grade students at risk for reading disabilities: an item-level exploration of the number of exposures required for mastery.

The purpose of this study was to examine word learning efficiency in at-risk first grade students (N = 93) participating in a yearlong study evaluating a multicomponent intervention targeting word reading and decoding skills. As part of each intervention lesson, students participated in a 1 to 3-min sight word reading activity in which high-frequency words were read from a list until mastered, at which point the word dropped off the list. This study explored factors predicting the number of exposures required for item reading mastery (N = 145 words). Specifically, we explored how the number of word exposures required to reach mastery varied as a function of linguistic features of the words and cognitive characteristics of the students. Using item-level crossed-random effects models, we found students required an average of 5.65 exposures for mastery, with word features representing word length, vocabulary grade, and imageability being significant predictors of learning efficiency. We also found a significant interaction between pretest word reading skill and imageability of a word, with this semantic feature being especially important for the poorest readers. Results indicate that in the absence of typical word recognition skills, poor readers tend to rely on other sources of information to learn words, which tend to be related to the semantic features of words.

Explicit Text Structure Instruction Supports Expository Text Comprehension for Adolescents With Learning Disabilities: A Systematic Review

This systematic review article summarizes the effects of explicit text structure instruction on expository text comprehension for adolescents with learning disabilities or at risk for reading failure. A thorough literature search with four databases and backward citation search identified nine studies published in the past 22 years for inclusion in the review. The findings revealed medium to large effect sizes on expository reading comprehension outcome measures, providing moderately strong evidence in support of text structure intervention for adolescents with a diagnosis or risk of reading disabilities. Text structure instruction was more effective than standard instruction or business as usual conditions on students’ comprehension of a variety of expository text types and content area texts. Directions for further research, limitations, and educational implications are discussed.

Don’t fail to plan for summer reading interventions

Summer reading programs are a common means of providing wraparound services to improve the performance of students’ with or at risk for reading disabilities. Today’s programs are not merely camps but are complex and costly academic efforts that require year-round planning to be successful. School personnel responsible for these programs typically have other full-time roles within the district, so this article offers guidance on the planning steps to take in fall, winter, and spring as well as during the summer. Examples of decisions to make, steps to take each month, and budget components are provided.

Dynamic assessment as a screening tool for early identification of reading disabilities: a latent change score approach

We examined whether dynamic decoding assessment (DDA) predicts growth in word reading skill during first grade using latent change score models. In addition, we compared classification accuracy of the DDA to static measures for identifying students at risk for reading disabilities (RD) designated using the dual discrepancy criteria. At the beginning of first grade, students (N = 104) were assessed on the DDA and static measures of word reading, arithmetic, and domain-general and domain-specific skills. They were assessed again at the end of first grade on static measures of word reading and arithmetic. In DDA, students were taught six novel symbols associated with English sounds and how to read words in this new orthography. Instructional prompts were provided incrementally, from least to most explicit. The amount of instructional prompts required for a student to decode words in this new orthography was indexed as students’ learning potential for decoding. Results from a series of latent change score models indicate the DDA is positively associated with growth in word reading but not with arithmetic skill growth. The DDA made significant, positive contributions to word reading growth beyond domain-specific (phonological awareness, rapid automatized naming) and domain-general (behavioral attention, intelligence) predictors. Furthermore, the DDA improved classification accuracy by improving sensitivity when added to the static measures of word reading predictors, supporting the use of DDA as a supplementary screener for early prediction of RD.

Data-Based Decision Making for Struggling Readers in the Secondary Grades

The process of implementing intensive reading interventions using data-based decision-making (DBDM) becomes increasingly challenging as students move into the secondary grades and reading tasks correspondingly become more complex. This article provides teachers with guidelines to support effective implementation of DBDM for students with or at risk for reading disabilities in the secondary grades. Specifically, this article presents four steps for secondary teachers to follow within the context of a reading intervention to decide when instructional changes are needed based on progress-monitoring data. Diagnostic assessment is explained to determine students’ strengths and weaknesses in order to target instruction accordingly. A case study is included throughout to demonstrate application of the steps as well as supplemental materials to help teachers implement this practice in their classrooms.

Implementing MTSS in Beginning Reading: Tools and Systems to Support Schools and Teachers

AbstractMulti‐tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) frameworks are designed to directly support students with, and at risk for, disabilities by providing timely, aligned, and coordinated supports, with the goal of preventing or ameliorating the effects of early risk. Yet developing and implementing MTSS in beginning reading is a complex process. Many schools encounter common barriers to achieving full and sustained implementation of MTSS systems and practices. The purpose of this article is to describe a state K‐3 reading initiative that resulted in improved reading outcomes for K‐3 students, including students at risk for reading disabilities. Specifically, this article describes a series of tools (i.e., activity timeline, whole group and small group templates, data grouping workbook) that helped teachers in the initiative to overcome barriers in order to ensure that tiered instruction met the needs of all students, including students with, and at risk for, reading disabilities.

Effects of Dynamic Response to Intervention Model on Reading Disability Diagnostic Rate -Application of the phonics program combining phonological awareness for 7-year-olds -

본 연구에서는 역동적 중재반응모델이 읽기학습장애 진단율에 미치는 영향을 알아보고자 하였다. 이를 위해 7세 유아 69명을 대상으로 선별검사를 실시하여 일반 50명, 읽기학습장애 위험군 19명을 분류하고, 이 중 읽기학습장애 위험군은 실험집단(10명)과 비교집단(9명)으로 나누었다. 일반아동과 읽기학습장애 위험군 비교집단은 1단계(Tier 1) 중재에 배치되었고, 읽기학습장애 위험군 실험집단은 1단계 중재(Tier 1)와 즉각적인 3단계(Tier 3) 중재를 동시에 받도록 하였다. 이 후, 연구 대상자가 초등학교 1학년이 된 후 추적 검사를 실시하여 역동적 중재반응모델 적용 여부에 따른 읽기학습장애 진단율의 차이를 살펴보았다. 그 결과, 역동적 중재반응모델을 적용한 읽기학습장애 위험군 실험집단이 읽기학습장애 진단율에 있어서 초기 읽기학습장애 위험군으로 선별된 인원 대비, 비교 집단에 비해 낮은 비율을 나타내었다.In this study, the dynamic response to intervention model was designed to find out the impact on the diagnostic rate of the reading learning disability. 69 seven-year-olds were screened for this purpose, and classified into 50 general children and 19 at risk for reading disabilites, among them, at risk for reading disabilites was divided into a experimental group of 10 and a comparison group 9. The average child and the comparative groups of at risk for reading disabilities were placed in Phase 1 (Tier 1) arbitration, while the experimental group of at risk for reading disabilities was required to receive both Phase 1 and Phase 3 interventions at the same time. Afterwards, the study subjects conducted a follow-up test after the first grade in elementary school to examine the difference in the diagnostic rate of the reading disability due to the applicability of the dynamic response to intervention model. As a result, groups of at risk for reading disabilities with dynamic response to intervention models showed lower ratios than comparison groups for those selected as early groups of at risk for reading disabilities.

Examining the role of imageability and regularity in word reading accuracy and learning efficiency among first and second graders at risk for reading disabilities

This study explored word reading accuracy and word learning efficiency in first- and second-grade students (N = 125). In two experiments, students participated in a short training exposing them to words that varied on orthographic regularity and imageability. In Experiment 1 the form of word feedback was manipulated (phonemic vs. whole word), whereas in Experiment 2 pretraining exposure was manipulated (training on meaning vs. imageability). Crossed random effects models were used to explore child- and item-level predictors related to number of exposures to mastery, posttest word reading performance, and maintenance performance after 1 week. Results from Experiment 1 indicate that imageability plays a role in irregular word learning. Results from Experiment 2 suggest that students who received imageability training required fewer exposures to reach mastery. There was a significant interaction between initial word reading skill and condition, with students with low word reading skills requiring fewer exposures for mastery if they were in the imageability condition. Overall, these findings suggest that word imageability significantly affects both word reading accuracy and rate of word learning.

Reading Interventions Delivered Outside of School: Introduction to the Special Issue

Interventions for individuals with or at risk for reading disability (RD) need not occur only during the typical school day. Educators and researchers have been actively seeking opportunities to extend literacy learning through home-based, summer, and other tutoring programs. Nevertheless, alternative settings can pose greater difficulty with maintaining participation and ensuring high quality experiences. This introduction to a special issue on reading interventions delivered out-of-school explains the importance of exploring wraparound services and the reasons behind the challenges these forms of intervention face. It then summarizes the key purposes and findings of the three articles composing the special issue, which span early childhood as well as the school-age years.

The Relationship Between Study Quality and the Effects of Supplemental Reading Interventions: A Meta-Analysis.

Empirical studies investigating supplemental reading interventions for students with or at-risk for reading disabilities in the early elementary grades have demonstrated a range of effect sizes. Identifying the findings from high quality research can provide greater certainty of findings related to the effectiveness of supplemental reading interventions. This meta-analysis investigated how four variables of study quality (study design, statistical treatment, Type I error, and fidelity of implementation) were related to effect sizes from standardized measures of foundational reading skills and language/comprehension. The results from 88 studies indicated that year of publication was a significant predictor of effect sizes for both standardized measures of foundational reading skills and language/comprehension, with more recent studies demonstrating smaller effect sizes. Results also demonstrated that with the exception of research design predicting effect sizes on foundational reading skills measures, study quality was not related to the effects of supplemental reading interventions. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

Early intervention for children at risk for reading disabilities: The impact of grade at intervention and individual differences on intervention outcomes.

Across multiple schools in three sites, the impact of grade-at-intervention was evaluated for children at risk or meeting criteria for reading disabilities. A multiple-component reading intervention with demonstrated efficacy was offered to small groups of children in 1st, 2nd, or 3rd grade. In a quasi-experimental design, 172 children received the Triple-Focus Program (PHAST + RAVE-O), and 47 were control participants. Change during intervention and 1-3 years later (6-8 testing points), and the influence of individual differences in predicting outcomes, were assessed using reading and reading-related repeated measures. Intervention children out-performed control children at posttest on all 14 outcomes, with average effect sizes (Cohen's d) on standardized measures of .80 and on experimental measures of 1.69. On foundational word reading skills (standardized measures), children who received intervention earlier, in 1st and 2nd grade, made gains relative to controls almost twice that of children receiving intervention in 3rd grade. At follow-up, the advantage of 1st grade intervention was even clearer: First graders continued to grow at faster rates over the follow-up years than 2nd graders on six of eight key reading outcomes. For some outcomes with metalinguistic demands beyond the phonological, however, a posttest advantage was revealed for 2nd grade Triple participants and for 3rd grade Triple participants relative to controls. Estimated IQ predicted growth during intervention on seven of eight outcomes. Growth during follow-up was predicted by vocabulary and visual sequential memory. These findings provide evidence on the importance of early intensive evidence-based intervention for reading problems in the primary grades.