Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

A Cognitive and Linguistic Approach to Predicting and Remediating Word Reading Difficulties in Young Readers

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Interventions in Learning Disabilities

Part of the book series: Literacy Studies ((LITS,volume 13))

Abstract

Most research on the development of reading has focused on linguistic abilities, such as naming and phonological awareness, and their role in reading, recent studies have found several specific cognitive dimensions to be associated with the development of early decoding and word recognition skills such as visual attention span, working memory and executive functions. The current study examined the connection between cognitive abilities and reading at the beginning of first grade and at the end of first grade after an intervention program. As well as the cognitive and linguistic profile of children who benefited most from the intervention.

Strong correlations between several cognitive skills, such as memory, executive skills, speed of processing, and other aspects of general ability and word reading at the beginning and end of grade were found among Hebrew speaking. In addition children with low phonological processing and slow naming benefited and low memory skills the least from the intervention program.

This study has advanced us towards a complex model of word reading difficulties in young children. Furthermore, the results demonstrate universal cognitive processes that are necessary in order to acquire adequate reading development as well as language specific cognitive processes.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 109.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 139.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 139.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Adams, M. J. (1990). Beginning to read: Thinking and learning about print. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Badian, N. A. (1995). Predicting reading ability over the long term: The changing roles of letter naming, phonological awareness and orthographic processing. Annals of Dyslexia, 45, 79–96. doi:10.1007/BF02648213.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bell, S. M., McCallum, R. S., & Cox, E. A. (2003). Toward a research-based assessment of dyslexia using cognitive measures to identify reading disabilities. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 36(6), 505–516. doi:10.1177/00222194030360060201.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Beneventi, H., Tøønnessen, F. E., Ersland, L., & Hugdahl, K. (2010). Working memory deficit in dyslexia: Behavioral and fMRI evidence. International Journal of Neuroscience, 120(1), 51–59.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Berninger, V. W., Raskind, W., Richards, T., Abbott, R., & Stock, P. (2008). A multidisciplinary approach to understanding developmental dyslexia within working-memory architecture: Genotypes, phenotypes, brain, and instruction. Developmental Neuropsychology, 33(6), 707–744. doi:10.1080/87565640802418662.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Berry, K. E., & Beery, M. N. A. (2006). The Berry-Buktenica developmental test of visual-motor integration with supplemental developmental test of visual perception and motor coordination. Minneapolis, MN: Pearson Assessments.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brunswick, N., Martin, G. N., & Rippon, G. (2012). Early cognitive profiles of emergent readers: A longitudinal study. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 111, 268–285.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bull, R., Espy, K. A., & Wiebe, S. A. (2008). Short-term memory, working memory, and executive functioning in preschoolers: Longitudinal predictors of mathematical achievement at age 7 years. Developmental Neuropsychology, 33(3), 205–228.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cartwright, K. B. (2012). Insights from cognitive neuroscience: The importance of executive function for early reading development and education. Early Education and Development, 23(1), 24–36. doi:10.1080/10409289.2011.615025.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cutting, L. E., Materek, A., Cole, C. A., Levine, T. M., & Mahone, E. M. (2009). Effects of fluency, oral language, and executive function on reading comprehension performance. Annals of Dyslexia, 59(1), 34–54.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • de Lima, R. F., Azoni, C. A. S., & Ciasca, S. M. (2013). Attentional and executive deficits in Brazilian children with developmental dyslexia. Psychology, 4(10), 1–6. http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/psych.2013.410A001.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dehaene, S., Cohen, L., Morais, J., & Kolinsky, R. (2015). Illiterate to literate: Behavioural and cerebral changes induced by reading acquisition. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 16(4), 234–244.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Denton, C. A., Tolar, T. D., Fletcher, J. M., Barth, A. E., Vaughn, S., & Francis, D. J. (2012). Effects of tier 3 intervention for students with persistent reading difficulties and characteristics of inadequate responders. Journal of Educational Psychology, 105, 633–648. doi:10.1037/a0032581.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ehri, L. C. (2014). Orthographic mapping in the acquisition of sight word reading, spelling memory, and vocabulary learning. Scientific Studies of Reading, 18(1), 5–21.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Feitelson, D. (1988). Facts and fads in beginning reading. New York, NY: Ablex.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fiorello, C. A., Hale, J. B., & Snyder, L. E. (2006). Cognitive hypothesis testing and response to intervention for children with reading problems. Psychology in the Schools, 43(8), 835–853. doi:10.1002/pits.20192.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fletcher, J. M., Stuebing, K. K., Barth, A. E., Denton, C. A., Cirino, P. T., Francis, D. J., et al. (2011). Cognitive correlates of inadequate response to reading intervention. School Psychology Review, 40, 3–22. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3485697/.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fletcher, J. M., & Vaughn, S. (2009). Response to intervention: Preventing and remediating academic difficulties. Child Development Perspectives, 3, 30–37. doi:10.1111/j.1750-8606.2008.00072.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Franceschini, S., Gori, S., Ruffino, M., Pedrolli, K., & Facoetti, A. (2012). A causal link between visual spatial attention and reading acquisition. Current Biology, 22(9), 814–819. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2012.03.013.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fuchs, D., Compton, D. L., Fuchs, L. S., Bryant, J., & Davis, G. N. (2008). Making “secondary intervention” work in a three-tier responsiveness-to-intervention model: Findings from the first-grade longitudinal reading study of the National Research Center on Learning Disabilities. Reading and Writing, 21(4), 413–436. doi:10.1007/s11145-007-9083-9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fuchs, L. S., & Vaughn, S. (2012). Responsiveness-to-intervention a decade later. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 45(3), 195–203. doi:10.1177/0022219412442150.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Georgiou, G. K., Das, J. P., & Hayward, D. V. (2008). Comparing the contribution of two tests of working memory to reading in relation to phonological awareness and rapid naming speed. Journal of Research in Reading, 31(3), 302–318. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9817.2008.00373.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Georgiou, G. K., Parrila, R., & Papadopoulos, T. C. (2008). Predictors of word decoding and reading fluency across languages varying in orthographic consistency. Journal of Educational Psychology, 100(3), 566. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.100.3.566.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Greulich, L., Al Otaiba, S., Schatschneider, C., Wanzek, J., Ortiz, M., & Wagner, R. K. (2014). Understanding inadequate response to first-grade multi-tier intervention nomothetic and ideographic perspectives. Learning Disability Quarterly, 37, 129–133. doi:10.1177/0731948714526999.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hale, J. B., & Fiorello, C. A. (2004). School neuropsychology: A practitioner’s handbook. New York, NY: Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hale, J. B., Naglieri, J. A., Kaufman, A. S., & Kavale, K. A. (2004). Specific learning disability classification in the new individuals with disabilities education act: The danger of good ideas. The School Psychologist, 58(1), 6–13.

    Google Scholar 

  • Katzir, T., Lesaux, N. K., & Kim, Y. S. (2009). The role of reading self-concept and home literacy practices in fourth grade reading comprehension. Reading and Writing, 22(3), 261–276.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Katzir, T., Schiff, R., & Kim, Y. S. (2012). The effects of orthographic consistency on reading development: A within and between cross-linguistic study of fluency and accuracy among fourth grade English-and Hebrew-speaking children. Learning and Individual Differences, 22(6), 673–679.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Katzir, T., Shaul, S., Breznitz, Z., & Wolf, M. (2004). The universal and the unique in dyslexia: A cross-linguistic investigation of reading and reading fluency in Hebrew-and English-speaking children with reading disorders. Reading and Writing, 17(7–8), 739–768.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kaufman, A. S., & Kaufman, N. L. (2004). Kaufman assessment battery for children–second edition (K-ABC-II). Circle Pines, MN: American Guidance Service.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kim, Y. S., & Pallante, D. (2012). Predictors of reading skills for kindergartners and first grade students in Spanish: A longitudinal study. Reading & Writing, 25(1), 1–22.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lervag, A., Braten, I., & Hulme, C. (2009). The cognitive and linguistic foundations of early reading development: A Norwegian latent variable longitudinal study. Developmental Psychology, 45(3), 764–781.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Levin, I., Shatil-Carmon, S., & Asif-Rave, O. (2006). Learning of letter names and sounds and their contribution to word recognition. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 93(2), 139–165. doi:10.1016/j.jecp.2005.08.002.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lipka, O., Katzir, T., & Shaul, S. (In Preparation). A multicomponent intervention program: Literacy, cognition and emotion.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lipka, O., Lesaux, N. K., & Siegel, L. S. (2006). Retrospective analyses of the reading development of grade 4 students with reading disabilities risk status and profiles over 5 years. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 39(4), 364–378.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McCallum, R. S., Bell, S. M., Wood, M. S., Below, J. L., Choate, S. M., & McCane, S. J. (2006). What is the role of working memory in reading relative to the big three processing variables (orthography, phonology, and rapid naming)? Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment, 24(3), 243–259. doi:10.1177/0734282906287938.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McInerney, R. J., Hrabok, M., & Kerns, K. A. (2005). The children’s size-ordering task: A new measure of nonverbal working memory. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology, 27, 735–745. doi:10.1081/13803390490918633.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Melby-Lervåg, M., Lyster, S. A. H., & Hulme, C. (2012). Phonological skills and their role in learning to read: A meta-analytic review. Psychological Bulletin, 138(2), 322.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Molfese, P. J., Fletcher, J. M., & Denton, C. A. (2013). Adequate versus inadequate response to reading intervention: An event-related potentials assessment. Developmental Neuropsychology, 38(8), 534–549. doi:10.1080/87565641.2013.825260.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Muter, V., Hulme, C., Snowling, M., & Stevenson, J. (2004). Phonemes, rimes, vocabulary, and grammatical skills as foundations of early reading development: Evidence from a longitudinal study. Developmental Psychology, 40, 665–681.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nevo, E., & Breznitz, Z. (2011). Assessment of working memory components at 6 years of age as predictors of reading achievements a year later. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 109(1), 73–90. doi:10.1016/j.jecp.2010.09.010.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nevo, E., & Breznitz, Z. (2013). The development of working memory from kindergarten to first grade in children with different decoding skills. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 114(2), 217–228. doi:10.1016/j.jecp.2012.09.004.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Partanen, M., & Siegel, L. S. (2014). Long-term outcome of the early identification and intervention of reading disabilities. Reading and Writing, 27(4), 665–684. doi:10.1007/s11145-013-9472-1.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Perfetti, C. A., & Hart, L. (2002). The lexical quality hypothesis. In L. Vehoeven, C. Elbro, & P. Reitsma (Eds.), Precursors of functional literacy (pp. 189–213). Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Ponitz, C. C., McClelland, M. M., Matthews, J. S., & Morrison, F. J. (2009). A structured observation of behavioral self-regulation and its contribution to kindergarten outcomes. Developmental Psychology, 45, 605–619.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ramey, C. T., & Ramey, S. L. (2004). Early learning and school readiness: Can early intervention make a difference? Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 50(4), 471–491.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reiter, A., Tucha, O., & Lange, K. W. (2005). Executive functions in children with dyslexia. Dyslexia, 11(2), 116–131. doi:10.1002/dys.289.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Roberts, R., & Mather, N. (1997). Orthographic dyslexia: The neglected subtype. Learning Disabilities Research & Practice, 12, 236–250.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sampson, G. (1985). Writing systems: A linguistic introduction. Palo Alto, CA: Stanford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Scarborough, H. S. (1998). Predicting the future achievement of second graders with reading disabilities: Contributions of phonemic awareness, verbal memory, rapid naming, and IQ. Annals of Dyslexia, 48(1), 115–136. doi:10.1007/s11881-998-0006-5.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schatschneider, C., Carlson, C. D., Francis, D. J., Foorman, B. R., & Fletcher, J. M. (2002). Relationship of rapid automatized naming and phonological awareness in early reading development: Implications for the double-deficit hypothesis. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 35(3), 245–256. doi:10.1177/002221940203500306.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schiff, R., Kahta, S., & Katzir, T. (2006). Single-word reading test: Vowelized and unvowelized word reading. Ramat-Gan: Unpublished manuscript, Haddad Center, Bar-Ilan University.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schwartz, M. (2006). The impact of literacy acquisition in L1 Russian on literacy acquisition in L2 Hebrew and in L3 English among Russian-speaking (L1) children: Bi-literate bilingualism versus mono-literate bilingualism. Unpublished Ph.D thesis, [in Hebrew], Department of Education, University of Haifa, Israel.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sénéchal, M., & Young, L. (2008). The effect of family literacy interventions on children’s acquisition of reading from kindergarten to grade 3: A meta-analytic review. Review of Educational Research, 78(4), 880–907. doi:10.3102/0034654308320319.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shany, M. & Ben-Dror, I., (1998) A test of phonological awareness for children. Unpublished test. Haifa, Israel.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shany, M., Lachman, D., Shalem, Z., Bahat, A., & Zieger, T. (2006). “Aleph-Taph” a test for the diagnosis of reading and writing disabilities, based on national Israeli norms. Tel Aviv, Israel: Yesod Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Share, D. L. (1995). Phonological recoding and self-teaching: Sine qua non of reading acquisition. Cognition, 55, 151–218. doi:10.1016/0010-0277(94)00645-2.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Share, D. L. (2004). Knowing letter names and learning letter sounds: A causal connection. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 88, 213–233. doi:10.1016/j.jecp.2004.03.005.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Share, D. L. (2008). On the anglocentricities of current reading research and practice: The perils of overreliance on an “outlier” orthography. Psychological Bulletin, 134, 584–615.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Share, D. L., Jorm, A. F., Maclean, R., & Matthews, R. (1984). Sources of individual differences in reading acquisition. Journal of Educational Psychology, 76, 1309–1324. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.76.6.1309.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Share, D. L., & Levin, I. (1999). Learning to read and write in Hebrew. In M. Harris & G. Hatano (Eds.), Learning to read and write: A cross linguistic perspective (pp. 89–111). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shatil, E. (1995). Predicting reading ability: Evidence for cognitive modularity. Ph.D thesis, University of Haifa.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shaul, S., & Schwartz, M. (2014). The role of the executive functions in school readiness among preschool-age children. Reading and Writing, 27(4), 749–768.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith-Spark, J. H., & Fisk, J. E. (2007). Working memory functioning in developmental dyslexia. Memory, 15, 34–56. doi:10.1080/09658210601043384.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Snowling, M. J., & Hulme, C. (2014). Closing a virtuous circle: Reciprocal influences between theory and practice in studies of reading intervention. Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness, 7(3), 300–306.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stuebing, K. K., Barth, A. E., Trahan, L. H., Reddy, R. R., Miciak, J., Fletcher, J. M. (2014). Are child cognitive characteristics strong predictors of responses to intervention? A meta-analysis. Review of Educational Research, 0034654314555996. doi:10.3102/0034654314555996.

    Google Scholar 

  • Torgesen, J. K., Wagner, R. K., & Rashotte, C. A. (1999). The test of word reading efficiency. Austin, TX: Pro-Ed.

    Google Scholar 

  • Valdois, S., Bosse, M. L., & Tainturier, M. J. (2004). The cognitive deficits responsible for developmental dyslexia: Review of evidence for a selective visual attentional disorder. Dyslexia, 10(4), 339–363. doi:10.1002/dys.284.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vellutino, F. R., Scanlon, D. M., Sipay, E. R., Small, S. R., Pratt, A., Chen, R., et al. (1996). Cognitive profiles of difficult-to-remediate and readily remediated poor readers: Early intervention as a vehicle for distinguishing between cognitive and experiential deficits as basic causes of specific reading disability. Journal of Educational Psychology, 88, 601–638. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.88.4.601.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vellutino, F. R., Fletcher, J. M., Snowling, M. J., & Scanlon, D. M. (2004). Specific reading disability (dyslexia): What have we learned in the past four decades? Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 45, 2–40.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wagner, R. K., Torgesen, J. K., & Rashotte, C. A. (1994). Development of reading-related phonological processing abilities: New evidence of bidirectional causality from a latent variable longitudinal study. Developmental Psychology, 30(1), 73. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.30.1.73.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wolf, M., Bally, H., & Morris, R. (1986). Automaticity, retrieval processes, and reading: A longitudinal study in average and impaired readers. Child Development, 988–1000. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/1130373.

  • Ziegler, J. C., Bertrand, D., Tóth, D., Csépe, V., Reis, A., Faísca, L., … & Blomert, L. (2010). Orthographic depth and its impact on universal predictors of reading a cross-language investigation. Psychological Science, 21, 551–559.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Edmond J. Safra Brain Research Center, Department of Learning Disabilities, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel

    Shelley Shaul, Tami Katzir, Liron Primor & Orly Lipka

Authors
  1. Shelley Shaul
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Tami Katzir
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Liron Primor
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Orly Lipka
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Shelley Shaul .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Education, Bar Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel, Ramat Gan, Israel

    Rachel Schiff

  2. College of Education & Human Development, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA

    R. Malatesha Joshi

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2016 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Shaul, S., Katzir, T., Primor, L., Lipka, O. (2016). A Cognitive and Linguistic Approach to Predicting and Remediating Word Reading Difficulties in Young Readers. In: Schiff, R., Joshi, R. (eds) Interventions in Learning Disabilities. Literacy Studies, vol 13. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-31235-4_4

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-31235-4_4

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-31234-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-31235-4

  • eBook Packages: EducationEducation (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation