Dyslexia

Theories, Assessment and Support

John Everatt, Amanda Denston

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2019
• ISBN:
  9781351795951
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Learning Disabilities

Dyslexia: Theories, Assessment and Support offers a broad perspective on dyslexia, providing a range of views from theory to practice which help explain the continued controversy surrounding the condition. Offering a framework on which to understand the concept of dyslexia, the book considers procedures that can both identify the condition and help support those with it. With a focus on self-concept, the authors highlight ways to positively influence both literacy acquisition and individual well-being.

This book is ideal reading for those taking courses on dyslexia or literacy learning difficulties within education, psychology and related disciplines. It will be of great interest to specialist teachers, special education staff, educational psychologists and those in related occupations.

1

INTRODUCTION TO THE SKILLS
OF READING AND WRITING

Background to the book

The aim of this book is to provide the reader with an understanding of the basics of dyslexia. It is mainly aimed at those studying the field (maybe as part of an education or psychology qualification), but hopefully it will be of interest to the general reader who want to know more about the background to research and practices related to dyslexia. Note that there are more general books, written over the last couple of decades, that the reader may want to consider (for example: Doyle, 2002; Fawcett & Nicolson, 1994; Miles & Miles, 1999; Osmond, 1993; Reid, 2009; Reid & Green, 2011; Selikowitz, 1993; Shaywitz, 2003; Snowling, 2000; Thomson, 2009). All have a specific focus that will interest the reader: some are targeted more at teachers, others at parents or individuals with dyslexia, for example, so it is possible to find the right book for the specific interest.

The current book also has a focus. One of the aims of this introductory part is to provide the reader with a background to understand the book’s focus. It will discuss theory and research more than most general readership books, given that it is targeted at students of the subject, but it also takes a specific perspective on the cause of dyslexia and its likely outcomes, which may be of interest to dyslexia practitioners as well. The book aims to provide a range of references and background information, along with a general framework for thinking about dyslexia, which should allow the reader to develop their knowledge of the subject through a consideration of the points presented and further researching of the literature. It should also allow the reader to understand some of the controversies surrounding the concept of dyslexia and what we do know from about 100 years of research on the topic and what we don’t know. The latter will require some discussion of the complexity of the subject, though we will try to avoid too much technical jargon in explanations, or try to use the terminology in a way that makes them as clear as possible.

As a basic starter for understanding some of the key terms, we will touch on words such as phonology, which is usually used to refer to the study of language sounds – or, a bit more formally, it is the study of how speech sounds are organised in a language, and thus in the mind of the language user, in order to convey meaning. For our purposes, the important part is that it refers to sounds within a language. This is important because a word can be considered a whole sound or as made up of parts: the word ‘phonology’ has four syllables represented by ‘phon-o-lo-gy’, for example. However, each of these syllables could also be split up into basic sounds – the first syllable is made up of an initial sound which, in English, is represented by ‘f’ in ‘fish’ – the second sound is the sound usually represented by the letter ‘o’, as in the sound represented by ‘o’ in ‘dog’ – and the final sound is the usual sound represented by ‘n’ in English. Each of these sounds is called a phoneme; hence, phonemes are considered the basic units of sound in a language. We will also come across the term phonological processing, which is usually used to refer to the processing of phonological units such as syllables and phonemes. Processing here refers to identifying or recognising sounds, storing sounds in memory or manipulating sounds in some way, such as adding them together to form a word, as well as linking them to other forms, such as their corresponding letter. In terms of work on dyslexia, the phonological processing deficit viewpoint is that dyslexia is caused by problems processing units of sound in the language. The phoneme is seen as the most important for the purposes of discussing dyslexia since linking letters or groups of letters with their corresponding phonemes is a useful skill in learning to read, and the basis of the alphabetic principle. Phonological awareness is then used to refer to the ability of the individual to recognise these different units of sounds within the language.

Written text also has its own terminology. The basic unit of text is not a letter, rather it is called a grapheme. This allows us to consider ‘ph’ in phonology as a basic unit of written text – a grapheme. Hence, linking graphemes and phonemes is an important part of recognising the link between a language and its written form. The rules (or conventions) that make up a writing system are referred to by the term orthography – though this is also used as synonymous with the general idea of a written form: the written form of the English language is referred to as the English orthography, for example. Hence orthographic rules determine how letters or groups of letters go together and, therefore, link with their corresponding sounds or provide the basis on which to understand syntactic relationships and hence meanings within written text. Orthographic awareness, then, relates to an understanding of how orthographic units go together within the system of writing that the individual is using.

Meaning also has its own set of terms. Vocabulary is an obvious one: a store of word meanings, a bit like an English dictionary. However, in research, a store of words is also referred to as a lexicon. This can sometimes be useful to allow research to refer to a phonological lexicon (a store of information about the sounds of words) and an orthographic lexicon (a store of information about written words). A third lexicon would then be the semantic lexicon, which is a store of information about the meaning of words – the term semantic referring to meaning. However, basic units of meaning are referred to as morphemes: the word ‘disagreeable’ has a base morpheme ‘agree’, which is then modified by the ‘dis’ morpheme to mean the opposite of the base form, and change in function by the ‘able’ morpheme in order for it to have the right syntactic form to fit with the meaning of a sentence. Morphemes often relate to the origins of words, and this can be a useful guide to spelling: ‘phonology’ is a good example, as using ‘ph’ instead of ‘f’ at the start of this word relates to its Greek origin. Greek words in English have regularly been used to refer to scientific ideas, so expect to see spellings related to Greek origins in more scientific texts. Dyslexia is another good example. It was not chosen to frustrate those with difficulties spelling, even though it can. Rather, it was a word that also alludes to the Greek-science background. The ‘lexia’ part is to refer to words – and we will see later how, in the field of reading research, a lexicon is used to refer to a store of words (either spoken words or written words). The ‘dys’ part is to refer to difficulties. Hence, the term gives a science-basis (with its Greek origins) to the idea of someone having difficulties with words. (See also Joshi, Treiman, Carreker & Moats, 2008, for some interesting ideas about how word origins can help with understanding spelling rules.) Hence, morphemic awareness may support an understanding of spelling rules based on word origins as well as an understanding of how morphemic units go together. (And see Denston, Everatt, Parkhill & Marriott, 2018, for a discussion of using morphemes in intervention methods aimed at students who are struggling with literacy learning.) Additional terms will be explained as we progress through the book; however, this will have to be relatively brief explanations, given space limitations, but further readings will provide additional material to further understand such terms.

Such terminology will only be used when necessary to support an understanding of the field, since this is the aim of the book. However, this aim at understanding the field of dyslexia will be based primarily on providing a framework for dyslexia. This will require us to consider theories/perspectives that have been proposed to explain the cause, features and manifestations of dyslexia. These will also provide a basis on which to discuss some of the main research findings in the literature, and some of the key authors in the field. Of necessity, the theory/perspective parts of the book will be fairly research (and reference) heavy, but it will provide the reader with material to develop their own ideas about the topic. Furthermore it will provide the basis on which to consider practices that have been used to identify and support those with dyslexia. The discussion of methods used in the identification of dyslexia will consider ways that have been used to distinguish a learner with dyslexia from those who seem to be showing no difficulties with learning, as well as those with other types of learning difficulties that may be associated with poor educational achievement. A discussion of these identification procedures should help the reader develop an appreciation of the main characteristics associated with dyslexia and some of the issues related to the assessment of educational achievement. Knowledge of theoretical viewpoints and identification practices will also provide a basis on which to recognise the range of methods used to overcome dyslexia-related problems. An awareness of a range of intervention procedures will give a sense of how different practices can be tailored to the individual, taking into account their strengths and weaknesses; though we will also consider some of the problems associated with practices associated with dyslexia work. The book will cover both current and historical perspectives, so that the reader can grasp how ideas about dyslexia have developed and changed over time – and understand some of the controversy linked to the topic. Before we discuss these theories and practices, however, we need to consider the background to the main feature of dyslexia: i.e. problems with reading and writing/spelling.

The skill of reading and writing

The aim of this introductory part of the book is to provide a summary on the acquisition of literacy, focusing mainly upon reading, but it will also cover some of the issues related to writing/spelling. This should provide the reader with the background knowledge to understand the following parts that focus on dyslexia. We will focus on the processes (or skills/abilities, if these terms seem simpler to use) that distinguish a skilled reader from a beginning reader. As part of this, we will discuss some of the ideas related to the development of reading/spelling, and touch on how reading and writing might be taught, particularly as it relates to the development of the skill. Given the framework presented in the book, that an learner with dyslexia has difficulties in acquiring word reading and spelling, an understanding of how reading and writing are expected to develop, as well as the typical processes and methods of learning involved, will allow an appreciation of what may be the basis of difficulties with learning. This will allow us to consider those reading/writing problems that have most often been associated with dyslexia.

A general view of reading and writing will be taken, and based on a consideration of the research evidence. Again, more detailed information about reading and writing can be found elsewhere (e.g. Cain, 2010; Ellis, 1984; Funnell & Stuart, 1995; Gillon, 2018; Kamhi & Catts, 2012; Oakhill & Garnham, 1988; Perfetti, 1985; Rayner & Pollatsek, 1989; Snowling & Hulme, 2005; Underwood & Batt, 1996). Instead, this section is as an introduction to dyslexia work, rather than an explanation of reading and writing itself. This current section will focus on reading rather than writing. This is because reading is the more researched of the two skills; though reference will be made to writing skills (and particularly spelling) to explain similarities and differences compared to reading. Reading and writing are both complex but learnt skills. Although reading can often be taken for granted, when we study the skills needed in detail, we find ourselves in a complex world of learnt operations and mental processes. Many of the mental processes involved in reading will have developed for other abilities (such as spoken language) but which the acquisition of literacy seems to refine (e.g. an appreciation of phonemes, or basic language sounds, seems to develop with reading). This complexity is best summed-up by Huey, who was one of the first influential researchers in reading:

to completely analyse what we do when we read would almost be the acme of a psychologist’s achievements, for it would be to describe many of the most intricate workings of the human mind, as well as to unravel the tangled story of the most remarkable specific performance that civilisation has learned in all its history.

(1908, p. 6)

Despite the increase in understanding of the processes involved in reading, and writing, this statement is as true today as over 100 years ago.

Reading and writing are learnt skills, as can be seen if we consider the relatively brief history of writing systems: such systems seem unlikely to have existed for more than 10,000 years given that the earliest known written artefacts date from about 5000 to 6000 years ago. Reading and writing are relatively new skills in terms of human evolution. This relatively recent development of what we would consider a writing system means that the brain could not have changed enough to provide a dedicated reading/writing brain area – and that there cannot be a simple reading/writing gene. Although both reading and writing will depend upon innate abilities/processes (the obvious one is the ability to process verbal language in which a range of genes and areas of the brain do seem to specialise), the skill itself is not inherited. Therefore, if there are innate processes which are important for reading and writing, they must have evolved for reasons other than the ability to read itself. Hence, when looking at the biology of reading and writing (and hence dyslexia), we have to remember that this biology (genetic dispositions and brain areas) exists because of other human behaviours, not in order to read and write. We have to learn to read and write – we don’t have biological systems set up to allow acquisition.

It is also the case that reading and writing have been the province of a select few (scribes and priests, administrators, or the relatively rich) for much of the period that we have been using writing systems. For example, in the UK, the 1870 Education Act brought reading and writing to many children who would not have had the opportunity to learn to read before this. Hence, until very recently, the vast majority of people did not have the opportunity to be taught reading/writing, and therefore could not read or write. Instances where large numbers of individuals will have been identified as having a specific difficulty in acquiring reading and writing skills (the primary feature of dyslexia) would be rare prior to the point of more universal tuition. A focus on the need for all to have the opportunity to learn to read and write is even more recent in many parts of the world: there are still countries with high levels of illiteracy due to lack of educational opportunity. In those countries with high levels of illiteracy due to education policies, the need to identify dyslexia is less likely to be a focus of educational practice. Hence, it may not be surprising that most of the work on dyslexia (research, theories and practices) has been conducted over the last 100 years or so. It may not be too surprising to find a relative lack of work on dyslexia in languages where universal literacy policies are more recent developments, though this has been changing over the last decade or so (we will return to points about dyslexia in different languages later in this book as it is a newer, and potentially exciting, feature of work in the field).

Reading and writing development

Given that a child does have access to literacy tuition, and that reading and writing are learnt skills, the focus moves to how the child acquires reading and writing, and what do educationalists need to do or note to support this acquisition. How does reading and writing develop or change to become skilled? One way to consider this is in terms of ‘reading readiness’. It may be that certain skills or ability need to develop prior to reading and writing being acquired. This may be particularly important to consider in terms of dyslexia, since it may be that those with dyslexia are not ready to learn to read. Although this is not the position of this book, it is worth considering since it may give some ideas of why difficulties with literacy acquisition may occur; and a clue to the biological foundations of dyslexia. For example, it has been considered that some level of intelligence is needed for the child to be ready to learn to read. Hence, intelligence has been considered a factor when discussing dyslexia (we will return to this point when we consider different perspectives about dyslexia). However, when referring to work on dyslexia, intelligence is more often discussed in terms of differences between intelligence and the ability to read: a dyslexic student has in the past been seen as someone whose reading ability is much lower than their intellectual ability. Indeed, the field of dyslexia provides a clear indication of how such abilities as reading can be dissociated from intelligence (see Ferrer, Shaywitz, Holahan, Marchione & Shaywitz, 2010) and there is ample evidence that those with very low scores on an assessment of intelligence (an intelligence quotient or IQ) can be taught many of the basic skills associated with reading (see discussions in Gillon, 2018).

A second area that may be useful for beginning to learn to read is visual attention, given that we learn a visual form of writing. Therefore, it may not be too surprising to find that many initial perspectives on dyslexia focused on visual memory or visual word processing problems (we will discuss these further in the following part of the book). However, although, it may be useful, again we can find instances where those with very severe levels of visual problems can learn to read: braille readers are an obvious example. Although, this has required the learning of a very different form of written text, it does argue against the necessity of the visual part of the focusing of attention in order to learn a complex task such as reading. Therefore, it may be better to assume that focused attention is important, rather than visual attention. We will discuss visual deficit theories of dyslexia, though, later in the book, so this should not be dismissed entirely.

A third possible factor that may be influential at beginning of learning to read and write relates to the fact that written text is a representation of oral language. Hence, language may have to develop to a certain level before literacy (the term used for reading and writing in this book) can be acquired. This is consistent with one of the main propositions of the framework for dyslexia covered in the book; i.e. that dyslexia is a difficulty with acquiring reading and spelling skills due to a problem with processing certain aspects of language. The precise language deficit related to dyslexia is likely to be problems with processing sounds within the language; typically referred to as phonological processing deficit (see specific discussions in Gillon, 2018; Snowling, 2000 – though we will discuss this perspective on dyslexia throughout this book). The Report of the National Early Literacy Panel (see Lonigan & Shanahan, 2008) identified a number of variables that were predictive of later literacy performance (after controlling for intelligence and socioeconomic status). These included:

1 alphabet knowledge, such as letter names, and an understanding of the association between letters (graphemes) and sounds (phonemes), as well as concepts about print (e.g. what a book cover looks like, what looks like written text);

2 phonological awareness, or the meta-linguistic ability to reflect on and analyse the sound structure of language, such as a knowledge of syllables and phonemes;

3 rapid naming of items (such as objects or colours, and digits or letters with educational experience) which can sometimes be a useful one for predicting fluency of reading;

4 the ability to write one’s own name, or letters in isolation or a simple letter sequence;

5 phonological memory, which refers to the ability to hold speech information briefly in memory;

6 oral language, or the ability to produce or comprehend spoken language, including a knowledge of vocabulary.

Each of these is related to language processing to some exte...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Half Title Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• List of figures
• 1 Introduction to the skills of reading and writing
• 2 A background and framework to understand dyslexia
• 3 Theories of dyslexia
• 4 Identifying dyslexia
• 5 Intervention
• 6 Self-concept and dyslexia
• References
• Index