Lexical and grammatical development in children at family risk of dyslexia from early childhood to school entry: a cross-lagged analysis

Abstract

The aim of this study was to examine (a) the development of vocabulary and grammar in children with family-risk (FR) of dyslexia and their peers with no such risk (NoFR) between ages 1;6 and 6;0, and (b) whether FR-status exerted an effect on the direction of temporal relationships between these two constructs. Groups were assessed at seven time-points using standardised tests and parental reports. Results indicated that although FR and NoFR children had a similar development in the earlier years, the FR group appeared to perform significantly more poorly on vocabulary at the end of the preschool period. Results showed no significant effect of FR status on the cross-lagged relations between lexical and grammatical skills, suggesting a similar developmental pattern of cross-domain relations in both groups. However, FR status seemed to have a significantly negative association with vocabulary and grammar scores at age 6;0, resulting in language outcomes in favour of NoFR children.

Novel word learning deficits in infants at family risk for dyslexia

“…However, it appears that this deficit does not persist, as reported that preschool children AR for dyslexia had similar vocabulary sizes to their NAR peers at age 30 months, although the AR children did have smaller vocabularies than their controls at 36 and 42 months. Other studies suggest that this dissociation may occur even later, around 6 years of age (Caglar-Ryeng, Eklund, & Nergard-Nissen, 2019). The developmental trajectory of the vocabulary skills in AR infants remains to be defined as these findings can be due to differences in the samples included in each study.…”

The effects of book exposure and reading interest on oral language skills of children with and without a familial risk of dyslexia

“…The prevalence of dyslexia is considerably elevated in children with a first‐degree relative with reading problems (Pennington & Lefly, 2001; Snowling & Melby‐Lervåg, 2016). Research on FR children has shown that despite having impairments primarily in the phonological domain, these children, as a group, tend to score lower than their NoFR peers on tasks assessing wider oral language skills, including vocabulary and grammar, in the pre‐school years (e.g., Caglar‐Ryeng, Eklund, & Nergård‐Nilssen, 2019; Gallagher, Frith, & Snowling, 2000; Lyytinen & Lyytinen, 2004; van Viersen et al, 2018). Compared to their typically developing peers, the potential effects of home literacy‐related factors on FR children's oral language skills have been investigated to a lesser extent (Hamilton, Hayiou‐Thomas, Hulme, & Snowling, 2016; Snowling & Melby‐Lervåg, 2016).…”

School‐entry language outcomes in late talkers with and without a family risk of dyslexia

“…This meta‐analysis has further revealed different developmental trajectories in language development in FR children compared to those with no familial risk (NoFR). FR children typically have problems in the phonological domain; however, they tend, as a group, to perform more poorly than their NoFR peers on tasks assessing lexical and grammatical knowledge in the preschool years (Caglar‐Ryeng, Eklund, & Nergård‐Nilssen, 2019; Carroll & Myers, 2010; Gallagher, Frith, & Snowling, 2000; van Viersen et al, 2018). This can be taken to suggestion that some of these children might also be at risk for developmental language disorder (DLD; Bishop et al, 2017; Bishop & Snowling, 2004), which typically manifests itself as a difficulty in acquiring vocabulary and grammar skills (Leonard, 2014).…”