An exploratory factor analysis of the cognitive functioning of first-year bachelor students with dyslexia

Abstract

An increasing number of students with dyslexia register in higher education. As a consequence, information on their pattern of strengths and weaknesses is essential to construct adequate assessment and diagnostic protocols. In a sample of 100 first-year bachelor students with dyslexia and 100 control students, a large pool of cognitive skills were tested using a variety of tests. When we applied an exploratory factor analysis to scores, a model with ten factors fitted the data best. Effect sizes were used to express the processing costs of students with dyslexia. The factors related to reading, spelling, flashed orthography, phonology, naming, math, and reading fluency resulted in large effect sizes. A factor combining all measures for crystallized IQ had a medium effect size. The subtests for fluid intelligence were divided in two separate constructs. Relationships between all subtest scores are visualized and interpreted in a general theoretical and practical framework.

Screening for Dyslexia in French-Speaking University Students: An Evaluation of the Detection Accuracy of the Alouette Test

“…The researchers found the discriminatory power of this battery to be good, with 80% sensitivity and 97% specificity. In addition, for the Dutch language, Callens et al (2012) and Callens, Tops, Stevens, and Brysbaert (2014) compared the cognitive profiles of 100 university students with dyslexia and 100 students without dyslexia on a variety of tests, using an exploratory factor analysis. They proposed a screening/diagnostic battery for dyslexia in higher education with a reduced number of tasks, considered sufficient to distinguish individuals with dyslexia from those without it, but they did not provide the statistical properties, neither sensitivity nor specificity.…”

“…They proposed a screening/diagnostic battery for dyslexia in higher education with a reduced number of tasks, considered sufficient to distinguish individuals with dyslexia from those without it, but they did not provide the statistical properties, neither sensitivity nor specificity. They proposed that an assessment battery for dyslexia should include, at minimum, a measure of timed word reading, a word dictation task, a mental calculation task, and a phonological awareness task, in line with evidence that students in higher education with dyslexia continue to have specific problems with these skills (Callens et al, 2012; Callens et al, 2014).…”

Phonemic—Morphemic dissociation in university students with dyslexia: an index of reading compensation?

“…the ability to identify and to manipulate the phonological units in spoken words - (Gombert, 1990), is a good marker of dyslexia (Swanson & Hsieh, 2009). In addition, recent studies 2 show that university students with dyslexia tend to perform worse than controls on tests such as word reading, word spelling, visual memory and arithmetic Callens, Tops, Stevens, & Brysbaert, 2014), while performing equally well on text comprehension tests (see also Swanson, 2012, for a meta-analysis in adults with dyslexia).…”

Difficulties of Young Adults With Dyslexia in Reading and Writing Numbers

“…Individuals with dyslexia generally also have problems with spelling. This has been confirmed in young adults across different languages (Afonso et al, 2015;Callens et al, 2014;Hanley, 1997;Kemp et al, 2009;Maughan et al, 2009;Östberg et al, 2016;Re et al, 2011;Wilson et al, 2015). On the contrary, the extent to which adults diagnosed with dyslexia (based on their difficulties with reading alphabetic material) might also have trouble in mathematics, and especially with reading numerical material, remains unclear.…”

“…A new life-span approach to the impact of neurodevelopmental disorders on adult life (American Psychiatric Association, 2013) has encouraged more research on young adults with developmental dyslexia (for a review, see Swanson & Hsieh, 2009). Studies have confirmed that most children with dyslexia experience several difficulties in adulthood, regardless of whether they have learned to compensate for their reading deficits (Beaton et al, 1997;Callens et al, 2014;Law et al, 2015;Wilson et al, 2015). The practical implications have been considered in numerous countries.…”