This article addresses the nature of dyslexia and best practices for identification and treatment within the context of multitier systems of support (MTSS). We initially review proposed definitions ...of dyslexia to identify key commonalities and differences in proposed attributes. We then review empirical evidence for proposed definitional attributes, focusing on key sources of controversy, including the role of IQ, instructional response, as well as issues of etiology and immutability. We argue that current empirical evidence supports a dyslexia classification marked by specific deficits in reading and spelling words combined with inadequate response to evidence-based instruction. We then propose a “hybrid” dyslexia identification process built to gather data relevant to these markers of dyslexia. We argue that this assessment process is best implemented within school-wide MTSS because it leverages data routinely collected in well-implemented MTSS, including documentation of student progress and fidelity of implementation. In contrast with other proposed methods for learning disability (LD) identification, the proposed “hybrid” method demonstrates strong evidence for valid decision-making and directly informs intervention.
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NUK, OILJ, SAZU, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Bowers (
Educational Psychology Review, 32
, 681-705,
2020
) reviewed 12 meta-analytic syntheses addressing the effects of phonics instruction, concluding that the evidence is weak to nonexistent in ...supporting the superiority of systematic phonics to alternative reading methods. We identify five issues that limit Bowers’ conclusions: (1) definition issues; (2) what is the right question?; (3) the assumption of “phonics first”; and (4) simplification of issues around systematic versus explicit phonics. We then go on to consider (5) empirical issues in the data from meta-analyses, where Bowers misconstrues the positive effects of explicit phonics instruction. We conclude that there is consistent evidence in support of explicitly teaching phonics as part of a comprehensive approach to reading instruction that should be differentiated to individual learner needs. The appropriate question to ask of a twenty-first century science of teaching is not the superiority of phonics versus alternative reading methods, including whole language and balanced literacy, but how best to combine different components of evidence-based reading instruction into an integrated and customized approach that addresses the learning needs of each child.
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DOBA, EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, IZUM, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
In the past 25 years, scientific understanding of dyslexia and other learning disabilities has seen rapid progress in domains involving definition and classification, neuropsychological correlates, ...neurobiological factors, and intervention. I discuss this progress, emphasizing the central organizing influence of research and theory on basic academic skills on identification and sampling issues. I also emphasize how neuropsychological approaches to dyslexia have evolved and the importance of an interdisciplinary perspective for understanding dyslexia.
Many states now mandate early screening for dyslexia, but vary in how they address these mandates. There is confusion about the nature of screening versus diagnostic assessments, risk versus ...diagnosis, concurrent versus predictive validity, and inattention to indices of classification accuracy as the basis for determining risk. To help define what constitutes a screening assessment, we summarize efforts to develop short (3–5 min), teacher-administered screens that used multivariate strategies for variable selection, item response theory to select items that are most discriminating at a threshold for predicting risk, and statistical decision theory. These methods optimize prediction and lower the burden on teachers by reducing the number of items needed to evaluate risk. A specific goal of these efforts was to minimize decision errors that would result in the failure to identify a child as at risk of dyslexia/reading problems (false negatives) despite the inevitable increase in identifications of children who eventually perform in the typical range (false positives). Five screens, developed for different periods during kindergarten, Grade 1, and Grade 2, predicted outcomes measured later in the same school year (Grade 2) or in the subsequent year (Grade 1). The results of this approach to development are applicable to other screening methods, especially those that attempt to predict those children at risk of dyslexia prior to the onset of reading instruction. Without reliable and valid early predictive screening measures that reduce the burden on teachers, early intervention and prevention of dyslexia and related reading problems will be difficult.
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DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, OILJ, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
We review literature related to the assessment and identification of Specific Learning Disabilities (SLD) and Intellectual Disabilities (ID). SLD and ID are the only two disorders requiring ...psychometric test performance for identification within the group of neurodevelopmental disorders in Diagnostic and Statistical Manual – 5. SLD and ID are considered exclusionary of one another, but the processes for assessment and identification of each disorder vary. There is controversy about the identification and assessment methods for SLD, with little consensus. Unlike ID, SLD is weakly related to full-scale IQ, and there is insufficient evidence that the routine assessment of IQ or cognitive skills adds value to SLD identification and treatment. We have proposed a hybrid method based on the assessment of low achievement with norm-referenced tests, instructional response, and other disorders and contextual factors that may be comorbid or contraindicative of SLD. In contrast to SLD, there is strong consensus for a three-prong definition for the identification and assessment of ID: (a) significantly subaverage IQ, (b) adaptive behavior deficits that interfere with independent living in the community, and (c) age of onset in the developmental period. For both SLD and ID, we identify areas of controversy and best practices for identification and assessment.
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6.
The Flynn Effect: A Meta-Analysis Trahan, Lisa H; Stuebing, Karla K; Fletcher, Jack M ...
Psychological bulletin,
09/2014, Volume:
140, Issue:
5
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
The Flynn effect refers to the observed rise in IQ scores over time, which results in norms obsolescence. Although the Flynn effect is widely accepted, most efforts to estimate it have relied upon ..."scorecard" approaches that make estimates of its magnitude and error of measurement controversial and prevent determination of factors that moderate the Flynn effect across different IQ tests. We conducted a meta-analysis to determine the magnitude of the Flynn effect with a higher degree of precision, to determine the error of measurement, and to assess the impact of several moderator variables on the mean effect size. Across 285 studies (N = 14,031) since 1951 with administrations of 2 intelligence tests with different normative bases, the meta-analytic mean was 2.31, 95% CI 1.99, 2.64, standard score points per decade. The mean effect size for 53 comparisons (N = 3,951, excluding 3 atypical studies that inflate the estimates) involving modern (since 1972) Stanford-Binet and Wechsler IQ tests (2.93, 95% CI 2.3, 3.5, IQ points per decade) was comparable to previous estimates of about 3 points per decade but was not consistent with the hypothesis that the Flynn effect is diminishing. For modern tests, study sample (larger increases for validation research samples vs. test standardization samples) and order of administration explained unique variance in the Flynn effect, but age and ability level were not significant moderators. These results supported previous estimates of the Flynn effect and its robustness across different age groups, measures, samples, and levels of performance.
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CEKLJ, FFLJ, NUK, ODKLJ, PEFLJ, UPUK
•We evaluated a components-based model of reading in a large and diverse sample.•We incorporated text-processing measures from the experimental literature.•Confounding of requirement for reading ...(method bias) with predictors of reading comprehension was evaluated.•Robust findings were that vocabulary and knowledge are related to comprehension.•Inference emerged as the most important predictor after accounting for method bias.
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This study evaluated the direct and inferential mediation (DIME) model of reading comprehension (Cromley & Azevedo, 2007) in a large (n = 1196) and diverse (grades 7–12) sample. Multi-indicator latent variables were used to measure six primary constructs: knowledge, vocabulary, word reading, strategies, inference, and reading comprehension. Results corroborated prior research when similar methods were used, but departed from prior findings when measurement error and shared method variance between the predictors and the reading comprehension outcomes (method bias) were controlled. Results generalized across middle and high school, and component skills of reading accounted for virtually all of the systematic variance in reading comprehension. Importantly, controlling method bias diminished the importance of knowledge and vocabulary, and increased the importance of inferencing. Mediated effects of knowledge and vocabulary through inference making were also found. The present study provided a stronger and more generalizable formulation of the DIME model than prior research, and highlighted limitations of using reading-based measures of predictors in component skills models of reading comprehension.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
Abstract
Developmental dyslexia is frequently associated with atypical brain structure and function within regions of the left hemisphere reading network. To date, few studies have employed ...surface-based techniques to evaluate cortical thickness and local gyrification in dyslexia. Of the existing cortical thickness studies in children, many are limited by small sample size, variability in dyslexia identification, and the recruitment of prereaders who may or may not develop reading impairment. Further, no known study has assessed local gyrification index (LGI) in dyslexia, which may serve as a sensitive indicator of atypical neurodevelopment. In this study, children with dyslexia (n = 31) and typically decoding peers (n = 45) underwent structural magnetic resonance imaging to assess whole-brain vertex-wise cortical thickness and LGI. Children with dyslexia demonstrated reduced cortical thickness compared with controls within previously identified reading areas including bilateral occipitotemporal and occipitoparietal regions. Compared with controls, children with dyslexia also showed increased gyrification in left occipitotemporal and right superior frontal cortices. The convergence of thinner and more gyrified cortex within the left occipitotemporal region among children with dyslexia may reflect its early temporal role in processing word forms, and highlights the importance of the ventral stream for successful word reading.
The Management of Myelomeningocele Study (MOMS), a randomized trial of prenatal versus postnatal repair for myelomeningocele, found that prenatal surgery resulted in reduced hindbrain herniation and ...need for shunt diversion at 12 months of age and better motor function at 30 months. In this study, we compared adaptive behavior and other outcomes at school age (5.9-10.3 years) between prenatal versus postnatal surgery groups.
Follow-up cohort study of 161 children enrolled in MOMS. Assessments included neuropsychological and physical evaluations. Children were evaluated at a MOMS center or at a home visit by trained blinded examiners.
The Vineland composite score was not different between surgery groups (89.0 ± 9.6 in the prenatal group versus 87.5 ± 12.0 in the postnatal group;
= .35). Children in the prenatal group walked without orthotics or assistive devices more often (29% vs 11%;
= .06), had higher mean percentage scores on the Functional Rehabilitation Evaluation of Sensori-Neurologic Outcomes (92 ± 9 vs 85 ± 18;
< .001), lower rates of hindbrain herniation (60% vs 87%;
< .001), had fewer shunts placed for hydrocephalus (49% vs 85%;
< .001) and, among those with shunts, fewer shunt revisions (47% vs 70%;
= .02) than those in the postnatal group. Parents of children repaired prenatally reported higher mean quality of life
scores (0.15 ± 0.67 vs 0.11 ± 0.73;
= .008) and lower mean family impact scores (32.5 ± 7.8 vs 37.0 ± 8.9;
= .002).
There was no significant difference between surgery groups in overall adaptive behavior. Long-term benefits of prenatal surgery included improved mobility and independent functioning and fewer surgeries for shunt placement and revision, with no strong evidence of improved cognitive functioning.
We summarize some of the most important findings from research evaluating the hypothesized causes of specific reading disability (‘dyslexia’) over the past four decades. After outlining components of ...reading ability, we discuss manifest causes of reading difficulties, in terms of deficiencies in component reading skills that might lead to such difficulties. The evidence suggests that inadequate facility in word identification due, in most cases, to more basic deficits in alphabetic coding is the basic cause of difficulties in learning to read. We next discuss hypothesized deficiencies in reading‐related cognitive abilities as underlying causes of deficiencies in component reading skills. The evidence in these areas suggests that, in most cases, phonological skills deficiencies associated with phonological coding deficits are the probable causes of the disorder rather than visual, semantic, or syntactic deficits, although reading difficulties in some children may be associated with general language deficits. Hypothesized deficits in general learning abilities (e.g., attention, association learning, cross‐modal transfer etc.) and low‐level sensory deficits have weak validity as causal factors in specific reading disability. These inferences are, by and large, supported by research evaluating the biological foundations of dyslexia. Finally, evidence is presented in support of the idea that many poor readers are impaired because of inadequate instruction or other experiential factors. This does not mean that biological factors are not relevant, because the brain and environment interact to produce the neural networks that support reading acquisition. We conclude with a discussion of the clinical implications of the research findings, focusing on the need for enhanced instruction.
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BFBNIB, DOBA, FZAB, GIS, IJS, IZUM, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
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