High Reading Skills Mask Dyslexia in Gifted Children

Abstract

This study investigated how gifted children with dyslexia might be able to mask literacy problems and the role of possible compensatory mechanisms. The sample consisted of 121 Dutch primary school children that were divided over four groups (typically developing [TD] children, children with dyslexia, gifted children, gifted children with dyslexia). The test battery included measures of literacy (reading/spelling) and cognitive abilities related to literacy and language (phonological awareness [PA], rapid automatized naming [RAN], verbal short-term memory [VSTM], working memory [WM], grammar, and vocabulary). It was hypothesized that gifted children with dyslexia would outperform children with dyslexia on literacy tests. In addition, a core-deficit model including dyslexia-related weaknesses and a compensational model involving giftedness-related strengths were tested using Bayesian statistics to explain their reading/spelling performance. Gifted children with dyslexia performed on all literacy tests in between children with dyslexia and TD children. Their cognitive profile showed signs of weaknesses in PA and RAN and strengths in VSTM, WM, and language skills. Findings indicate that phonology is a risk factor for gifted children with dyslexia, but this is moderated by other skills such as WM, grammar, and vocabulary, providing opportunities for compensation of a cognitive deficit and masking of literacy difficulties.

Differential diagnosis of dysgraphia, dyslexia, and OWL LD: behavioral and neuroimaging evidence

“…Rather, cognitive measures were used for three purposes: (a) to document that the student’s cognitive skills were at least in the lower limits of the normal range, making it unlikely that the student had a developmental disability rather than an SLD; (b) to modify flexibly how far below average language skills had to be to be considered an impairment for verbally gifted students with dyslexia (Berninger & Abbott, 2013; van Vierse et al, 2014); and (c) to identify weaknesses in translation of cognition into oral language as may characterize some individuals with OWL LD. Although neither those with dysgraphia nor those with dyslexia differed from the controls on cognitive measures, those with OWL LD did differ from controls and differed on both what is generally regarded as verbal cognition (first measure in Table 2) and nonverbal cognition (last two measures in Table 2).…”

“…Whereas the first approach has the advantage of identifying dyslexia in those with average translation ability (a higher order executive function), the second approach has the advantage of not missing those who are twice exceptional (cognitive scores in superior or better range that can mask word reading and spelling problems on normed tests despite a history of persisting word reading or spelling problems (Berninger & Abbott, 2013; van Viersen, Kroesbergen, Slot, de Bree, 2014). …”

Socio-emotional and cognitive resilience in children with reading disabilities

“…As is the case in at-risk pre-readers, this implies that resilient readers may use contextual cues or “semantic bootstrapping” in order to process written text. EF may also play an important role for compensated or resilient readers – strong working memory in particular may circumvent reading problems in dyslexic children [43]. Cognitive flexibility, another EF component, is found to be crucial for core components of reading comprehension in low-risk readers, and may also be important for those with RD [44].…”

Visuo-Spatial Skills in Atypical Readers

“…The presence of cognitive gifts/ talents such as high ability to process verbal (Berninger & Abbott, 2013) or nonverbal information (Gilger, Tavalage, & Olulade, 2013) may mask RD traits, complicate RD diagnoses, or, more positively, help individuals with RD to compensate for their reading weaknesses (Silverman, 2009;van Viersen, Kroesbergen, Slot, & de Bree, 2016). In educational settings, it is common to label children who have a learning or cognitive disability but also learning or cognitive gifts/ talents as twice exceptional (2e; Foley- Nicpon, 2013;Kalbfleisch, 2012;Nielsen & Higgings, 2005).…”