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How persistent are phonological difficulties? A longitudinal study of reading retarded children

Idor Svensson and Christer Jacobson

Vaxjo University christer.jacobson@iped.vxu.se

Abstract

An abundance of researchers around the world agree that a phonological deficit is an underlying factor in dyslexia obvious already in preschool, causing reading and writing difficulties. However, the persistence of this phonological deficit and how childhood dyslexia develops during lifetime is rather scanty investigated. In the present study 40 pupils with documented reading and writing difficulties in grade two have been followed over a 10-year period on a non-word reading test and a word-recognition test. A comparison group with 30 pupils has been available. There was a high correlation between a non-word reading test in grade 3 and 12 (r =.72) in the reading disabled group. A dyslexia definition that includes only phonological skill was the most consistent compared to a decoding definition or those definitions that included IQ variables. A definition that includes phonological ability seems to be the most stable one over the years and in particular a non-word reading test may be one of the most valid instruments in diagnosing and discern dyslexia both in children and adults.

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