Although word recognition deficits (WRD) are a known cause of reading comprehension deficits (RCD), other contributions to RCD, including executive function (EF), have not been fully explored. We examined the contribution of EF (working memory and planning), along with attention, decoding, fluency, and vocabulary to reading comprehension in 60 children (including 16 WRD and 10 RCD), ages 9-15 years. After controlling for commonly accepted contributors to reading comprehension (i.e., attention, decoding skills, fluency, and vocabulary), EF continued to make a significant contribution to reading comprehension but not to word recognition skills. These findings highlight the need for consideration of the role of EF in RCD.

Reading disability (RD) typically consists of deficits in word reading accuracy and/or reading comprehension. While it is well known that word reading accuracy deficits lead to comprehension deficits (general reading disability, GRD), less is understood about neuropsychological profiles of children who exhibit adequate word reading accuracy but nevertheless develop specific reading comprehension deficits (S-RCD). Establishing the underlying neuropsychological processes associated with different RD types is essential for ultimately understanding core neurobiological bases of reading comprehension. To this end, the present study investigated isolated and contextual word fluency, oral language, and executive function on reading comprehension performance in 56 9-to 14-year-old children [21 typically developing (TD), 18 GRD, and 17 S-RCD]. Results indicated that TD and S-RCD participants read isolated words at a faster rate than participants with GRD; however, both RD groups had contextual word fluency and oral language weaknesses. Additionally, S-RCD participants showed prominent weaknesses in executive function. Implications for understanding the neuropsychological bases for reading comprehension are discussed. KeywordsExecutive function; Fluency; Oral language; Reading comprehension; Reading disabilities It is well established that many children and adolescents have inadequate reading comprehension (NAEP, 2003). Because comprehension of text is the ultimate goal of the reader, difficulty in reading comprehension has far-reaching consequences not just for school achievement but also for a student's future educational and occupational opportunities. Until recently, many researchers assumed that bottom-up skills (word recognition and decoding) were the predominate reason for difficulty with reading comprehension. Indeed, various independent researchers have demonstrated that if a reader is seriously deficient at decoding and recognizing words, this will necessarily impede successful comprehension (see Lyon,Correspondence to: Laurie E. Cutting. 1995;Torgesen, 2000). Furthermore, it is thought that not just accuracy in bottom-up skills is important but also their efficiency or speed as well. Slow word reading increases demands placed on other processes, such as working memory, which in turn poses difficulties for comprehending connected text and thus creates a processing bottleneck (e.g., Perfetti & Hogaboam, 1975;Perfetti, Marron, & Foltz, 1996;Wolf & Katzir-Cohen, 2001;Shankweiler, 1999). NIH Public AccessOther lines of research, however, suggest that reading comprehension deficits can arise for multiple distinct reasons, which include, but are not limited to, weaknesses in bottom-up skills (Cain & Oakhill, 2006;Catts, Fey, Zhang, & Tomblin, 1999;Biancarosa & Snow, 2004;Catts, Hogan, Adof, & Barth, 2003a;Leach, Scarborough, & Rescorla, 2003; McCardle, Scarborough, & Catts, 2001;Nation & Snowling, 2000Scarborough, 1990Scarborough, , 2005Snow, 2002). This is especially illustrated by the population of childre...

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