Longitudinal stability and predictors of poor oral comprehenders and poor decoders

Abstract

Two groups of 4th grade children were selected from a population sample (N= 926) to either be Poor Oral Comprehenders (poor oral comprehension but normal word decoding), or Poor Decoders (poor decoding but normal oral comprehension). By examining both groups in the same study with varied cognitive and literacy predictors, and examining them both retrospectively and prospectively, we could assess how distinctive and stable the predictors of each deficit are. Predictors were assessed retrospectively at preschool, at the end of kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd grades. Group effects were significant at all test occasions, including those for preschool vocabulary (worse in poor oral comprehenders) and rapid naming (RAN) (worse in poor decoders). Preschool RAN and Vocabulary prospectively predicted grade 4 group membership (77–79% correct classification) within the selected samples. Reselection in preschool of at-risk poor decoder and poor oral comprehender subgroups based on these variables led to significant but relatively weak prediction of subtype membership at grade 4. Implications of the predictive stability of our results for identification and intervention of these important subgroups are discussed.

Early prediction of reading comprehension within the simple view framework

“…However, given an association between phonological awareness and oral language ability, it is not surprising that children who have significant oral language impairments might also show early deficits in phonological awareness regardless of their later word-reading abilities. Others have also reported somewhat comparable findings in children with a specific comprehension deficit (Catts, Adlof, & Weismer, 2006;Elwér, Keenan, Olson, Byrne, & Samuelsson, 2013;Nation, Cocksy, Taylor, & Bishop, 2010). These children have poor reading comprehension despite good word-reading skills.…”

“…Our results suggest that such measures can add much to the identification of children who are at risk for problems in reading comprehension. Numerous other studies have documented the association between language problems in preschool or kindergarten and difficulties in reading comprehension (Catts et al, 2006;Elwér et al, 2013;Nation et al, 2010). Because reading comprehension problems may not appear until the third or fourth grade (Catts, Compton, Tomblin, & Bridges, 2012), early screening, particularly with language assessments, is critical to identifying atrisk children and providing them with timely intervention.…”

Individual differences in the vocabulary skills of children with poor reading comprehension

“…Catts, Adlof & Weismer, 2006;Clarke, Snowling, Truelove, & Hulme, 2010;Nation et al, 2004;Nation & Snowling, 1998. In fact, longitudinal and intervention research suggests that vocabulary difficulties are likely to play a part in causing poor reading comprehension (e.g., Clarke, Henderson, & Truelove, 2010;Elwer, Keenan, Olson, Byrne, & Samuelsson, 2013).…”

Weaknesses in Lexical-Semantic Knowledge Among College Students With Specific Learning Disabilities: Evidence From a Semantic Fluency Task

“…Specifically, problems with learning-or committing words to the long-term store (Kan & Windsor, 2010)-as well as comprehending (Stothard, Snowling, Bishop, Chipchase, & Kaplan, 1998), naming (Kail & Leonard, 1986;McGregor, Newman, Reilly, & Capone, 2002), and defining (McGregor, Oleson, Bahnsen, & Duff, 2013) words already stored in long-term memory are symptomatic of developmental language impairments during childhood and adolescence. Again, deficits in long-term lexical-semantic knowledge may also characterize individuals with reading impairments, especially those impairments that involve poor reading comprehension (Elwér, Keenan, Olson, Byrne, & Samuelsson, 2013). …”