The results support the simple view of reading and the phonological deficit hypothesis. Furthermore, the findings indicate that a classification system that is based on the simple view has advantages over standard systems that focus only on word recognition and/or reading comprehension.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine whether specific language impairment (SLI) and dyslexia are distinct developmental disorders. Method: Study 1 investigated the overlap between SLI identified in kindergarten and dyslexia identified in 2nd, 4th, or 8th grades in a representative sample of 527 children. Study 2 examined phonological processing in a subsample of participants, including 21 children with dyslexia only, 43 children with SLI only, 18 children with SLI and dyslexia, and 165 children with typical language/reading development. Measures of phonological awareness and nonword repetition were considered. Results: Study 1 showed limited but statistically significant overlap between SLI and dyslexia. Study 2 found that children with dyslexia or a combination of dyslexia and SLI performed significantly less well on measures of phonological processing than did children with SLI only and those with typical development. Children with SLI only showed only mild deficits in phonological processing compared with typical children. Conclusions: These results support the view that SLI and dyslexia are distinct but potentially comorbid developmental language disorders. A deficit in phonological processing is closely associated with dyslexia but not with SLI when it occurs in the absence of dyslexia.

The Simple View of Reading states that reading comprehension is the product of word recognition and listening comprehension. Whereas much research has focused on word recognition accuracy, recent attention has been directed toward word recognition fluency. The current study investigated whether a separate fluency component should be added to the Simple View of Reading. A battery of reading and language measures was administered to 604 children in second, fourth, and eighth grades. Approximately half these children had language and/or nonverbal cognitive impairments in kindergarten, but weighting procedures were used to reduce the potential bias this sampling characteristic may have entailed. Structural equation modeling was used to determine whether fluency accounted for unique variance in reading comprehension after controlling for word recognition accuracy and listening comprehension. Individual profile analyses were conducted to determine the number of individual participants who had poor fluency in the spite of good word recognition accuracy and listening comprehension. Results showed that fluency did not account for unique variance in reading comprehension and that few individuals had problems in fluency separate from word recognition accuracy or listening comprehension. Thus, it does not appear that a separate fluency component should be added to the Simple View of Reading.

Multiple studies have shown that kindergarten measures of phonological awareness and alphabet knowledge are good predictors of reading achievement in the primary grades. However, less attention has been given to the early predictors of later reading achievement. This study used a modified best-subsets variable-selection technique to examine kindergarten predictors of early versus later reading comprehension impairments. Participants included 433 children involved in a longitudinal study of language and reading development. The kindergarten test battery assessed various language skills in addition to phonological awareness, alphabet knowledge, naming speed, and nonverbal cognitive ability. Reading comprehension was assessed in second and eighth grades. Results indicated that different combinations of variables were required to optimally predict second versus eighth grade reading impairments. While some variables effectively predicted reading impairments in both grades, their relative contributions shifted over time. These results are discussed in light of the changing nature of reading comprehension over time. Further research will help to improve the early identification of later reading disabilities.

Purpose The purpose of this tutorial is to discuss the language basis of dyslexia in the context of developmental language disorders (DLDs). Whereas most studies have focused on the phonological skills of children with dyslexia, we bring attention to broader language skills. Method We conducted a focused literature review on the language basis of dyslexia from historical and theoretical perspectives with a special emphasis on the relation between dyslexia and DLD and on the development of broader language skills (e.g., vocabulary, syntax, and discourse) before and after the identification of dyslexia. Results We present clinically relevant information on the history of dyslexia as a language-based disorder, the operational definitions used to diagnose dyslexia in research and practice, the relation between dyslexia and DLD, and the language abilities of children with dyslexia. Conclusions We discuss 3 clinical implications for working with children with dyslexia in school settings: (a) Children with dyslexia—with and without comorbid DLDs—often have language deficits outside the phonological domain; (b) intervention should target a child's strengths and weaknesses relative to reading outcomes, regardless of diagnostic labels; and (c) those who have dyslexia, regardless of language abilities at the time of diagnosis, may be at risk for slower language acquisition across their lifetime. Longitudinal studies are needed to assess multiple language skills early, at the time of the diagnosis of dyslexia, and years later to better understand the complex development of language and reading in children with dyslexia.

The simple view of reading highlights the importance of two primary components which account for individual differences in reading comprehension across development: word recognition (i.e., decoding) and listening comprehension. While assessments and interventions for decoding have been the focus of pedagogy in the past several decades, the importance of listening comprehension has received less attention. This paper reviews evidence showing that listening comprehension becomes the dominating influence on reading comprehension starting even in the elementary grades. It also highlights a growing number of children who fail to develop adequate reading comprehension skills, primarily due to deficient listening comprehension skills: poor comprehenders. Finally it discusses key language influences on listening comprehension for consideration during assessment and treatment of reading disabilities.

Purpose-The purpose was to determine whether semantic set size, a measure of the number of semantic neighbors, influenced word learning, and whether the influence of semantic set size was broad, showing effects on multiple measures both during and after learning.Method-Thirty-six preschool children were exposed to 10 nonobjects, varying in semantic set size, paired with 10 nonwords, controlling phonotactic probability and neighborhood density. Nonobject -nonword pairs were presented in a game format. Learning was measured in naming and referent identification tasks administered before, during, and one-week after training.Results-Results showed no differences in naming or identifying the referents of the nonobjectnonword pairs with small versus large semantic set sizes before and during training. However, oneweek after training, children named and identified the referents of nonobject -nonword pairs with small set sizes more accurately than those with large set sizes.Conclusions-Similarity to known representations appears to influence word learning, regardless of whether the similarity involves lexical or semantic representations. However, the direction of the effect of similarity to known representations on word learning varies depending on the specific type of representation involved. Specifically, lexical similarity speeds learning, whereas semantic similarity slows learning. Keywords word learning; vocabulary; semantic set size When a child encounters a novel sound form paired with a novel object, the child must recognize that a new word was heard and initiate the process of learning that word. Assuming that the phonemes of the novel word are known (e.g., correctly perceived and/or articulated), learning the novel word presumably involves activating known phonological representations, specifically mental representations of the individual phonemes that compose the word (e.g., Gupta & MacWhinney, 1997;Storkel, Armbruster, & Hogan, 2006). Activated phonological representations, in turn, spread activation to known lexical representations, the mental representation of the whole-word sound form as an integrated unit (e.g., Gupta & MacWhinney, 1997;Storkel et al., 2006). However, none of the known lexical representations will exactly match the novel word. In complement, the novel object will activate known semantic representations, the mental representation of the characteristics of the referent (e.g., Gupta & MacWhinney, 1997;Storkel et al., 2006). Like known lexical representations, none of the known semantic representations will exactly match the novel object. As a result, creation NIH-PA Author ManuscriptNIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author Manuscript of a new lexical and semantic representation likely will be initiated (e.g., Storkel et al., 2006). In addition, associations or connections will be created between the new lexical and semantic representations and between the new representations and similar existing representations (e.g., Gupta & MacWhinney, 1997;Storkel et al., 2006). This suggests the ...

Group-administered screens can identify children at risk of LI and/or dyslexia with good classification accuracy and in less time than individually administered measures. More research is needed to improve the identification of children with LI who display good word reading skills.