Reading Difficulties

Question 1

What are the difficulties assoiated with dyslexia?

Answer 1

Speed of word processing
Naming speed
Spelling
Visual perception
Working memory
Attention
Planning and organisation

Question 2

What should interventions be based on?

Answer 2

Theory of how a skill develops
Theory of how a skill is promoted
High Quality Evidence

Question 3

What is a theory based intervention?

Answer 3

Theories inform which skills are targeted by the intervention.

Question 4

What are theory based interventions based on?

Answer 4

The intervention is based on isolating, identifying and blending phonemes.

Question 5

What are the effect sizes from Phonological awareness training?

Answer 5

0.86 on phonological awareness
0.53 on reading outcomes
0.59 on spelling outcomes

Question 6

How effective is Phonological awareness training?

Answer 6

Highly effective across literacy domains.
Not effective outside domain (e.g., maths).
Improved in combination with letter knowledge.

Question 7

What are evidence based interventions?

Answer 7

Evidence is reviewed to see how a skill is best promoted.

Question 8

What is an example of evidence based interventions?

Answer 8

honics instruction can be used to improve letter-sound knowledge.

Question 9

What is synthetic phonics?

Answer 9

converting letters into sounds to blend

Question 10

What is analytic phonics?

Answer 10

dentifying words then identifying the sounds within the word

Question 11

What combination of techniques works best for evidence based interventions?

Answer 11

Both techniques are useful, but a combined approach with synthetic phonics instruction appears most successful

Question 12

How hereditary are reading difficulties?

Answer 12

40-60%

Question 13

Whay did Stevenson find about heritability in twins?

Answer 13

29% for reading abilities and 73% for spelling abilities

Question 14

Name two candidate genes -

Answer 14

KIAA0319 and DCDC2

Question 15

What does KIAA0319 do?

Answer 15

Affects neural migration and radial glia adhesion.

Question 16

What is some evidence for KIAA0319?

Answer 16

Evidence from genetic pooling of 223 subjects with DD and 273 controls

Question 17

What does DCDC2 do?

Answer 17

Particularly associated with the severe phenotype of dyslexia

Question 18

What is some evidence for DCDC2?

Answer 18

Longitudinal study found that genetic risk from DCDC2 strengthens the link between pre-reading maze learning and subsequent reading impairment

Question 19

How do genec correlate with other types of neurodiversity?

Answer 19

Genome-wide association study found associations between dyslexia risk and risk for ADHD, bipolar disorders, and schizophrenia

Question 20

How do genes interact with the environment?

Answer 20

Gene-environment interacts change over time
Genes have a higher influence when socio-economic status is high

Question 21

What is the phonological deficit theory?

Answer 21

Deficit in phonological awareness
i.e., the ability to recognize spoken parts of sentences and words.

Question 22

What is the Automisation Hypothesis?

Answer 22

Dyslexia is needed as the result of a deficit in automatic processing.
i.e., difficulty ‘automising’ reading behaviours once learnt. This might be caused by reduced activation in the cerebellum.

Question 23

What did Moores 2003 find?

Answer 23

Dyslexia and control performance was similar for focusing attention. i.e., just looking at red squares.
But the dyslexia group performed significantly worse than controls when the task relied on shifting attention.

Question 24

What is the double deficit theory?

Answer 24

Phonological awareness
Rapid naming
And a third orthographic deficit?

Question 25

What did Dilnot 2017 find?

Answer 25

Home literacy environment and child’s health predicted reading readiness.
Home literacy environment and family stresses predicted attention and behaviour.

Question 26

What is comorbidity?

Answer 26

When somebody has two diagnoses simultaneously.These diagnoses might be associated but are not necessarily related.

Question 27

What is the shared liabilities explanation of comorbidity?

Answer 27

the same factor underpins both diagnoses - This could have a genetic, cognitive, or cellular basis.
‘shared risk factor”

Question 28

What is the correlated liabilities explanation of comorbidity?

Answer 28

eg smoking and drinking -> heart disease and liver disease
Associated but distinct risk factors.

Question 29

What does dyslexia have a high comorbidity with?

Answer 29

DLD, ADHD,Developmental dyscalculia,Developmental coordination disorder

Question 30

Why does comorbidity occur between dyslexia and other neurodevelopmental disorders?

Answer 30

Shared genetic aetiology - e.g., shared genetic risks for dyslexia and ADHD

Shared cognitive bases - e.g., domain-general impairments in dyslexia and dyscalculia