Reading ability and disability for Latvian readers

The development of a system identifying
qualitative and quantitative characteristics of
reading disability for Latvian readers
Author: Madara Orlovska*
Supervisor: prof. Dr.psych. Malgozata Rascevska*
*Department of Psychology, University of Latvia
Actuality
• Reading disability (RD) 5-10% of
population;
• Reported inconsistency about definition
and identification approaches of RD;
• RD is highly related to orthographical
difficulty of the language and
• still not scientifically verified, what typical
charasteristics of RD are in the context of
Latvian orthography.
Components of reading
ability (Snowling & Hulme, 2005)
• Phonology
• Alphabetical principle
• Reading fluency
• Reading comprehension
• Vocabulary/ language
(RD - when in one of the components of
reading ability or related cognitive
processes changes are observed.)
Reading disability
(DSM 4; American Psychiatric Association,
2000)
DSM 4 distinguishes three diagnostic
criteria:
A. Reading achievement as measured by
individually administered standardized tests of reading
accuracy or comprehension is substantially below that
expected given the person's
chronological age, measured intelligence, and ageappropriate education.
B. The disturbance in Criterion A significantly interferes with
academic achievement or activities of daily living that
require reading skills.
C. If a sensory deficit is present, the reading
difficulties are in excess of those usually associated with it.
Alternatives of RD identification
(Meisinger, Bloom, & Hynd, 2010):
• Discrepancy between reading achievement and
IQ;
• Reading ahievement < 85 standart scores;
• Longitudinal observation of reading achievement
etc.
RD in English reader population
(Velluntino, Fletcher, Snowling, & Scanlon, 2004):
-difficulty to identify separate words,
-several phonological difficulties,
-difficulty to identify word rhyme.
Can also be observed:
-omission or substitution of the words,
-poor reading comprehension,
-decreased reading fluency.
In addition can be writing and other difficulties.
Characteristics for RD in languages
with transparent orthography
(Lopez-Escribano & Katzir, 2008):
-phonological difficulties (they are universal),
-greater difficulties decoding rare words.
Rapid automatized naming (RAN) significantly
predicts RD.
Reading ability and disability
for Latvian readers
I.Sprugevica finds the realationship between
reading ability and
-phonological awareness and rapid automatized
naming. In early age- also letter recognition ability
and and verbal short-term memory plays
significant role for reading ability (Sprugevica, 2003).
S. Tubele`s attempt to distinguish RD is based on
knowledge from the literature in other languages
(Russian, English), the author does not speak
about specific of Latvian (Tūbele, 2008).
Characteristics of RD for
Latvian readers?
Latvian has longer words than, for example,
English, hence- may require higher information
processing capacity at the level of phonemes.
Probably, for Latvian readers, similar to the other
languages with clear orthography, rare word
decoding and rapid automatized naming ability
and other processes predict RD.
Research question:
1. What are the most important qualitative and
quantitative characteristics of reading disability that
could form identification system of reading disability
for Latvian readers?
Additional questions
1. How characteristics (qualitative and
quantitative) of language and cognitive processes
differ for Latvian readers with RD and without RD?
2. How characteristics of language differ for
Latvian readers with or without RD, controlling the
level of intelligence?
Additional questions (2)
3. Which characteristics of language and cognitive
processes are the best predictors of RD?
4.How characteristics of language and cognitive
processes predict RD, measured as qualitative
categories (for example, mixes phonemes or not;
visual reasoning ability dominates over verbal
comprehension or not)?
Method
(of the research project)
Participants
- Study 1:
three experts in special education, linguistics and
psychology highly experienced working with RD,
which will evaluate characteristics of RD for
Latvian readers.
- Study 2:
7-8 y.o. children (N=60; ~60% boys) with RD and
control group equated by demographic variables
(N=60) with average level of reading ability.
Method (2)
Measures
-Study 1:
questionnaire with characteristics of RD given to
experts for evaluation.
-Study 2:
LMST-I Reading achievement test (RAT)
(Raščevska & Paegle, 2011); as a criterion for RD;
DIBELSNext (Dewey, Latimer, Kaminski, & Good, 2011;
adaptation in Latvia started);
Method (3)
LMST-I some subtests of Writing achievement test
(WAT) (Raščevska & Paegle, 2011);
WISC-IV Full scale measurement (Wechsler, 2003;
adaptation in Latvia Raščevska & Sebre, 2008).
Adapted or developed instruments – for listening
comprehension, rapid automatized naming (RAN;
Denckla & Rundel, 1974) and verbal short-term
memory testing.
Method (4)
Procedures
-Study 1:
The opinions of the experts will be collected and
summarized using Delphi data collection method
(Delphi method; Skulmoski & Hartman, 2007).
-Study 2:
individual collection of data during several
sessions with child at school.
Stages of data collection
with Delphi method
1. On the basis of the theory and in cooperation with one of the
experts, a questionnaire with the list of typical characteristics of
RD in Latvian will be developed;
2. The questionnaire with the list will be sent to each expert and
they will be asked to evaluate the characteristic as “Not typical
at all”, “Almost not typical”, “Sometimes typical characteristic” or
“Quite typical characteristic” as well as asked to provide, if it
has to be measured as qualitative or quantitative;
3. The results will be summarized and sent to each expert to
comment, argue and come to one joint list of characteristics.
References
American Psychiatric Association. (2000). Diagnostic and statistical manual
of mental disorders (4th ed., text revision). Washington, DC: Author.
Denckla, M., & Rundel, R. (1974). Rapid automatized naming of pictured
objects, colors, letters and numbers by normal children. Cortex: A Journal
Devoted to the Study of the Nervous System and Behav., 10(2), 186-202.
Dewey, E. N., Latimer, R. J., Kaminski, R. A., & Good, R. H. (2011). DIBELS
Next Development: Findings from Beta 2 Validation Study (Tech. Report
No. 10). Eugene, OR: Dynamic Measurement Group.
Lopez-Escribano, K., & Katzir. T. (2008). Are phonological processes
separate from the processes underlying naming speed in a shallow
orthography? Electronic Journal of Research in Educational Psychology, 6
(3), 641 –666.
Meisinger, E. B., Bloom, J. S., & Hynd, G. W. (2010). Reading fluency:
implications for the assessment of children with reading disabilities. Ann. of
Dyslexia, 60, 1–17.
References (2)
Raščevska, M., & Sebre S. (2008). Vekslera Bērnu intelekta testa
rokasgrāmatas Latvijas izdevums. Latvijas Universitāte, PPF Psiholoģijas
nodaļa, nepublicēts materiāls.
Raščevska, M., Paegle, Dz., & Mencis, J. (2010). Latviešu valodas un
Matemātikas sasniegumu testu vadīšanas rokasgrāmata. Rīga: LU
Akadēmiskais apgāds.
Snowling, M.J., & Hulme, C. (2005) (Eds.). The Science of Reading: A
Handbook. Oxford: Blackwell.
Sprugevica, I. (2003). The impact of enabling skills on early reading
acquisition (Doctoral dissertation). University of Bergen, Norway.
Tūbele, S. (2008). Disleksija vai lasīšanas traucējumi. Rīga: Izdevniecība
RaKa.
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 (1), 2– 40.
Thank you!