Revisiting the definition of dyslexia.

The International Dyslexia Association definition of dyslexia was updated 20 years ago and has been referenced frequently in research and practice. In this paper, researchers from the Florida Center for Reading Research consider the components of the definition and make recommendations for revisions. These include recognizing the persistence of word-reading, decoding, and spelling difficulties, acknowledging the multifactorial causal basis of dyslexia, clarifying exclusionary factors, and denoting comorbidity with other developmental disorders.

Early Identification of Children with Dyslexia: Variables Differentially Predict Poor Reading Versus Unexpected Poor Reading.

Definitions of dyslexia typically make reference to unexpected poor reading, although how best to operationalize unexpected remains an issue. When operationally defined as reading below expectations based on level of oral language, cases of unexpected poor reading make up fewer than half of cases of poor reading, and cases of unexpected poor reading occur throughout the range of reading proficiency. An implication is that what optimally predicts poor reading may not optimally predict unexpected poor reading.

A Bayesian Probabilistic Framework for Identification of Individuals with Dyslexia.

Purpose: Bayesian-based models for diagnosis are common in medicine but have not been incorporated into identification models for dyslexia. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate Bayesian identification models that included a broader set of predictors and that capitalized on recent developments in modeling the prevalence of dyslexia.

Method: Model-based meta-analysis was used to create a composite correlation matrix that included common predictors of dyslexia such as decoding, phonological awareness, oral language, but also included response to intervention (RTI) and family risk for dyslexia.

A model-based meta-analytic examination of specific reading comprehension deficit: how prevalent is it and does the simple view of reading account for it?

Many individuals with poor reading comprehension have levels of reading comprehension that are consistent with deficits in their ability to decode the words on the page. However, there are individuals who are poor at reading comprehension despite being adequate at decoding. This phenomenon is referred to as specific reading comprehension deficit (SRCD).

How the Science of Reading Informs 21st-Century Education.

The science of reading should be informed by an evolving evidence base built upon the scientific method. Decades of basic research and randomized controlled trials of interventions and instructional routines have formed a substantial evidence base to guide best practices in reading instruction, reading intervention, and the early identification of at-risk readers. The recent resurfacing of questions about what constitutes the science of reading is leading to misinformation in the public space that may be viewed by educational stakeholders as merely differences of opinion among scientists.

Maintaining access to maternal fetal medicine care by telemedicine during a global pandemic.

Objective: This study aims to compare a conventional medical treatment model with a telehealth platform for Maternal Fetal Medicine (MFM) outpatient care during the global novel coronavirus pandemic.

Methods: In this study, we described the process of converting our MFM clinic from a conventional medical treatment model to a telemedicine platform. We compared clinical productivity between the two models.

Factors that Influence Reading Acquisition in L2 English for Students in Bangalore, India.

This study explores the possibility of adapting specific progress-monitoring tools developed in the US for use in English-medium private schools in Bangalore. In the US, many teachers adopt progress-monitoring tools like the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) and Curriculum Based Measurement (easyCBM) to keep track of their students' reading abilities. We report on Phase 1 of a longitudinal study that included three phases of data collection.

The Prevalence of Dyslexia: A New Approach to Its Estimation.

How prevalent is dyslexia? A definitive answer to this question has been elusive because of the continuous distribution of reading performance and predictors of dyslexia and because of the heterogeneous nature of samples of poor readers. Samples of poor readers are a mixture of individuals whose reading is consistent with or expected based on their performance in other academic areas and in language, and individuals with dyslexia whose reading is not consistent with or expected based on their other performances. In the present article, we replicate and extend a new approach for determining the prevalence of dyslexia.

Differential Co-Development of Vocabulary Knowledge and Reading Comprehension for Students with and without Learning Disabilities.

In this large-scale study of students from Title 1 schools ( = 14,773), we used multiple-group latent change score (LCS) modeling to investigate the developmental relations between vocabulary knowledge and reading comprehension in students with a school-identified learning disability (LD, = 627) and typically developing students ( = 14,146). Students were tested for their vocabulary breadth and passage comprehension skills in Kindergarten through fourth grade. For typically developing students, there were bidirectional influences between their vocabulary knowledge and reading comprehension skills.

Co-occurrence of Reading Disabilities and Math Disabilities: A Meta-Analysis.

Despite the importance of identifying individuals with reading disabilities, existing operational definitions of reading disability do not result in reliable identification. A large part of the problem arises from measurement error when a cut-point is imposed on a continuous distribution, especially for low base-rate conditions. One way to reduce measurement error is to include additional predictors in reading disability models.

Understanding, educating, and supporting children with specific learning disabilities: 50 years of science and practice.

Specific learning disabilities (SLDs) are highly relevant to the science and practice of psychology, both historically and currently, exemplifying the integration of interdisciplinary approaches to human conditions. They can be manifested as primary conditions-as difficulties in acquiring specific academic skills-or as secondary conditions, comorbid to other developmental disorders such as attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. In this synthesis of historical and contemporary trends in research and practice, we mark the 50th anniversary of the recognition of SLDs as a disability in the United States.

Combining Old and New for Better Understanding and Predicting Dyslexia.

Despite decades of research, it has been difficult to achieve consensus on a definition of common learning disabilities such as dyslexia. This lack of consensus represents a fundamental problem for the field. Our approach to addressing this issue is to use model-based meta-analyses and Bayesian models with informative priors to combine the results of a large number of studies for the purpose of yielding a more stable and well-supported conceptualization of reading disability.

The Reading Comprehension and Vocabulary Knowledge of Children with Poor Reading Comprehension despite Adequate Decoding: Evidence from a Regression-Based Matching Approach.

The present study examined the reading comprehension and receptive vocabulary skills of children with poor reading comprehension despite adequate decoding using a regression-based matching technique. Participants included five cohorts of children who were identified as typical readers ( = 70,493 - 75,553) or as children with specific reading comprehension difficulties ( = 480 - 8,717). Across cohorts, children with specific reading comprehension difficulties exhibited oral language difficulties based on a measure of vocabulary; however, the observed weakness in vocabulary was not as severe as their reading comprehension difficulties.

The Comprehension Problems of Children with Poor Reading Comprehension despite Adequate Decoding: A Meta-Analysis.

The purpose of this meta-analysis was to examine the comprehension problems of children who have a specific reading comprehension deficit (SCD), which is characterized by poor reading comprehension despite adequate decoding. The meta-analysis included 86 studies of children with SCD who were assessed in reading comprehension and oral language (vocabulary, listening comprehension, storytelling ability, and semantic and syntactic knowledge). Results indicated that children with SCD had deficits in oral language ( = -0.

Examining the Etiology of Reading Disability as Conceptualized by the Hybrid Model.

A fairly recent definition of reading disability (RD) is that in the form of a hybrid model. The model views RD as a latent construct that is manifested through various observable unexpected impairments in reading related skills and through inadequate response to intervention. The current report evaluated this new conceptualization of RD from an etiological perspective.

Using Meta-analytic Structural Equation Modeling to Study Developmental Change in Relations Between Language and Literacy.

The purpose of this review was to introduce readers of Child Development to the meta-analytic structural equation modeling (MASEM) technique. Provided are a background to the MASEM approach, a discussion of its utility in the study of child development, and an application of this technique in the study of reading comprehension (RC) development. MASEM uses a two-stage approach: first, it provides a composite correlation matrix across included variables, and second, it fits hypothesized a priori models.

Genome-Wide Polygenic Scores Predict Reading Performance Throughout the School Years.

It is now possible to create individual-specific genetic scores, called genome-wide polygenic scores (GPS). We used a GPS for years of education () to predict reading performance assessed at UK National Curriculum Key Stages 1 (age 7), 2 (age 12) and 3 (age 14) and on reading tests administered at ages 7 and 12 in a UK sample of 5,825 unrelated individuals. GPS accounts for up to 5% of the variance in reading performance at age 14.

The Comprehension Problems for Second-Language Learners with Poor Reading Comprehension despite Adequate Decoding: A Meta-Analysis.

We conducted a meta-analysis of 16 existing studies to examine the nature of the comprehension problems for children who were second-language learners with poor reading comprehension despite adequate decoding. Results indicated that these children had deficits in oral language ( = -0.80), but these deficits were not as severe as their reading comprehension deficit ( = -2.

Does Use of Text-to-Speech and Related Read-Aloud Tools Improve Reading Comprehension for Students With Reading Disabilities? A Meta-Analysis.

Text-to-speech and related read-aloud tools are being widely implemented in an attempt to assist students' reading comprehension skills. Read-aloud software, including text-to-speech, is used to translate written text into spoken text, enabling one to listen to written text while reading along. It is not clear how effective text-to-speech is at improving reading comprehension.

Modeling the co-development of correlated processes with longitudinal and cross-construct effects.

Conceptualizations of developmental trends are driven by the particular method used to analyze the period of change of interest. Various techniques exist to analyze developmental data, including individual growth curve analysis in observed and latent frameworks, cross-lagged regression to assess interrelations among variables, and multilevel frameworks that consider time as nested within individual. In this paper, we report on findings from a latent change score analysis of oral reading fluency and reading comprehension data from a longitudinal sample of approximately 16,000 students from first to fourth grade.

Using Simulations to Investigate the Longitudinal Stability of Alternative Schemes for Classifying and Identifying Children with Reading Disabilities.

The present study employed data simulation techniques to investigate the one-year stability of alternative classification schemes for identifying children with reading disabilities. Classification schemes investigated include low performance, unexpected low performance, dual-discrepancy, and a rudimentary form of constellation model of reading disabilities that included multiple criteria. Data from Spencer et al.

Examining the Underlying Dimensions of Morphological Awareness and Vocabulary Knowledge.

We report results from two studies on the underlying dimensions of morphological awareness and vocabulary knowledge in elementary-aged children. In Study 1, 99 fourth-grade students were given multiple measures of morphological awareness and vocabulary. A single factor accounted for individual differences in all morphology and vocabulary assessments.

Text (Oral) Reading Fluency as a Construct in Reading Development: An Investigation of its Mediating Role for Children from Grades 1 to 4.

In the present study we investigated a developmentally changing role of text reading fluency in mediating the relations of word reading fluency and listening comprehension to reading comprehension. We addressed this question by using longitudinal data from Grades 1 to 4, and employing structural equation models. Results showed that the role of text reading fluency changes over time as children's reading proficiency develops.