Early reading treatment in children with developmental dyslexia improves both reading and spelling

Anna Judica, Maria De Luca, Paola Angelelli, Donatella Spinelli, Pierluigi Zoccolotti

Accepted August 31, 2017

First published August 31, 2017

Abstract

Developmental reading and spelling disorders are the most common learning disabilities and they have severe scholastic consequences. The present study aimed to test the efficacy of reading treatment in Italian third-grade
children with dyslexia and its possible generalization to writing performance. A group of 10 third-grade children with dyslexia participated in the study. The main procedure of the treatment was a computerized program that included a
tachistoscopic presentation of single words. Each child underwent 35 treatment sessions. Pre- and post-training reading performance was measured by two standard reading tests and vocal reaction time recordings. Pre- and post-training spelling ability was also measured using a standard spelling test. The percentage of improvement in accuracy and speed in reading texts and lists of words (not included among the trained items) was greater than the developmental increase characteristic of non-disabled children. Reading comprehension was only moderately affected and did not change appreciably after therapy. Results indicate the effectiveness of a reading treatment in the early stages of reading acquisition and the strict relationship between reading and spelling systems at this age.

References

ANGELELLI, P., JUDICA, A., SPINELLI, D., ZOCCOLOTTI, P. &LUZZATTI, C. (2004). Characteristics of writing disorders inItalian dyslexic children. Cognitive and Behavioral Neurology,17(1),18-31.
ANGELELLI, P., MARINELLI, C.V., IAIA, M., NOTARNICOLA, A.,COSTABILE, D., JUDICA, A., ZOCCOLOTTI, P. & LUZZATTI,C.(2016).DDO-2Diagnosideidisturbiortograficiinetàevolutiva.Trento: Erickson.
ANGELELLI, P., MARINELLI, C.V. & ZOCCOLOTTI, P. (2010).Single or dual orthographic representations for reading andspelling? A study on Italian dyslexic and dysgraphic children.Cognitive Neuropsychology, 27, 305-333.
ANGELELLI, P. NOTARNICOLA, A., JUDICA, A., ZOCCOLOTTI,P. & LUZZATTI, C. (2010). Spelling impairment in Italiandyslexic children: Does the phenomenology change with age?Cortex, 46, 1299-1311.
BAKKER,D.J.(1992).Neuropsychologicalclassificationandtreatmentof dyslexia. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 25(2), 102-109.
BLOOM, H.S., HILL, C.J., BLACK, A.R. & LIPSEY, M.W. (2008).Performance trajectories and performance gaps as achievementeffect-size benchmarks for educational interventions. MDRCWorking Papers on Research Methodology.
BRUNSDON, R., HANNAN, T.J., COLTHEART, M. & NICKELS, L.(2002). Treatment of lexical processing in mixed dyslexia: A casestudy. Neuropsychological Rehabilitation, 12(5), 385-418.
CORNOLDI, C., COLPO, G. & GRUPPO MT (1998). Prove diLettura MT per la scuola elementare – 2. Manuale. Firenze: GiuntiO.S. Organizzazioni Speciali.
DE LUCA, M., BARCA, L., BURANI, C. & ZOCCOLOTTI, P.(2008). The effect of word length and other sublexical, lexical andsemantic variables on developmental reading deficit. Cognitiveand Behavioral Neurology, 21(4), 227-235.
DE LUCA, M., BORRELLI, M., JUDICA, A., SPINELLI, D. &ZOCCOLOTTI, P. (2002). Reading words and pseudo-words:An eye movement study of developmental dyslexia. Brain andLanguage, 80(3), 617-626.
DE LUCA, M., DI PACE, E., JUDICA, A., SPINELLI, D. &ZOCCOLOTTI, P. (1999). Eye movement patterns in linguisticand non-linguistic tasks in developmental surface dyslexia.Neuropsychologia, 37(12), 1407-1420.
DE MAURO, T. & MORONI, G.G. (1996). DIB. Dizionario di basedella lingua italiana. Torino: Paravia.
EHRI, L. (1997). Learning to read and learning to spell are one andthe same, almost. In C. Perfetti, L. Rieben & M. Fayol (Eds.),Learning to spell: Research, theory and practice. Mahwah, NJ:Erlbaum.
FRITH, U. (1985). Beneath the surface of developmental dyslexia.In K. Patterson, J.L. Marshall & M. Coltheart (Eds.), SurfaceDyslexia. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
GALL, M.D., GALL, J.P. & BORG, W.R. (2011). Applying EducationalResearch, 6th ed. Boston, MA: Pearson.
JITENDRA, A.K., EDWARDS, L.L., STAROSTA, K., SACKS, G.,JACOBSON, L.A. & CHOUTKA, C.M. (2004). Early readinginstruction for children with reading difficulties: Meeting theneeds of diverse learners. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 37(5),421-439.
JUDICA, A., BALDONI, L., CHIRRI, L., CUCCIAIONI, C. & DELVENTO, G. (2006). Parole in corso. Materiali per il recupero delledifficoltà di lettura. Trento: Erickson.
JUDICA, A., DE LUCA, M., SPINELLI, D. & ZOCCOLOTTI,P. (2002). Training of developmental surface dyslexiamodifies performance and eye fixation duration in reading.Neuropsychological Rehabilitation, 12(3), 177-197.
KEEL, M.C., SLATON, D.B. & BLACKHURST, A.E. (2001).Acquisition of content area vocabulary for student with learningdisabilities. Education and Treatment of Children, 24(1), 46-71.
LORUSSO, M.L., FACOETTI, A. & MOLTENI, M. (2004).Hemispheric, attentional, and processing speed factors in thetreatment of developmental dyslexia. Brain and Cognition, 55(2),341-348.
LORUSSO, M.L., FACOETTI, A., PAGANONI, P., PEZZANI, M.& MOLTENI, M. (2006). Effects of visual hemisphere-specificstimulation versus reading-focused training in dyslexic children.Neuropsychological Rehabilitation, 16(2), 194-212.
LORUSSO, M.L., FACOETTI, A., TORALDO, A. & MOLTENI,M. (2005). Tachistoscopic treatment of dyslexia changes thedistribution of visual-spatial attention. Brain and Cognition,57(2), 135-142.
MARCONI, L., OTT, M., PESENTI, E., RATTI, D. & TAVELLA, M.(1994). Lessico elementare. Dati statistici sull’italiano scritto e lettodai bambini delle elementary. Bologna: Zanichelli.
MORCHIO, B., OTT, M., PESENTI, E. & TAVELLA, M. (1989).Tachistoscopio. Un programma per migliorare l’abilità di lettura diparole. II edizione (CNR ITD Genova). Bologna: A.S.P.H.I.
PRUNETI, C., FENU, A., FRESCHI, G., ROTA, S., COCCI, D.,MARCHIONNI, M., ROSSI, S. & BARACCHINI-MORATORIO,G. (1996). Aggiornamento della standardizzazione italiana deltest delle Matrici Progressive Colorate di Raven (CPM).Bollettinodi Psicologia Applicata, 217, 51-57.
SCOTT, C. & BYNG, S. (1989). Computer assisted remediationof a homophone comprehension disorder in surface dyslexia.Aphasiology, 3(3), 301-320.
SHARE, D.L. (2008). On the anglocentricities of current readingresearch and practice: The perils of overreliance on an “outlier”orthography. Psychological Bulletin, 134(4), 584-615.
SPINELLI, D., DE LUCA, M., DI FILIPPO, G., MANCINI, M.,MARTELLI, M. & ZOCCOLOTTI, P. (2005). Length effect inword naming latencies: Role of reading experience and readingdeficit. Developmental Neuropsychology, 27(2), 217-235.
TORGESEN, J.K., ALEXANDER, A.W., WAGNER, R.K., TASHOTTE,C.A., VOELLER, K.K. & CONWAY, T. (2001). Intensive remedialinstruction for children with severe reading disabilities: Immediateand long-term outcomes from two instructional approaches.Journal of Learning Disabilities, 34(1), 33-58.
TRESSOLDI, P.E. (2008). I brani della batteria MT si possono leggeretutti con la stessa velocità? Norme trasversali dal secondo annodella primaria al terzo della secondaria di primo grado. Dislessia,5, 339-345.
TRESSOLDI, P.E., LONCIARI, I. & VIO, C. (2000). Treatment ofspecific developmental reading disorders, derived from single-and dual-route models. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 33(3),278-285.
TRESSOLDI, P.E., STELLA, G. & FAGGELLA, M. (2001). Thedevelopment of reading speed in Italians with dyslexia: Alongitudinal study. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 34(5), 414-417.
TRESSOLDI, P.E., VIO, C. & IOZZINO, R. (2007). Efficacy of anintervention to improve fluency in children with developmentaldyslexia in a regular orthography. Journal of Learning Disabilities,40(3), 203-209.
WANZEK, J., VAUGHN, S., WEXLER, J., SWANSON, E.A.,EDMONDS, M.E. & KIM, A. (2006). A synthesis of spellinginterventions and their effects on the spelling outcomes ofstudent with LD. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 39(6), 528-543.
WEEKES, B. (1996). Surface dyslexia and surface dysgraphia:Treatment studies and their theoretical implications. CognitiveNeuropsychology, 13(2), 277-315.
WILLIAMS, K.J., WALKER, M.A., VAUGHN, S. & WANZEK, J.(2016).Asynthesisofreadingandspellinginterventionsandtheireffectsonspellingoutcomesforstudentswithlearningdisabilities.Journal of Learning Disabilities,
doi.org/ 10.1177/0022219415619753.
WIMMER, H. (1993). Characteristics of developmental dyslexia ina regular writing system. Applied Psycholinguistics, 14(1), 1-33.
WIMMER,H.&GOSWAMI,U.(1994).Theinfluenceoforthographicconsistency on reading development: Word recognition inEnglish and German children. Cognition, 51(1), 91-103.
ZOCCOLOTTI,P.,DELUCA,M.,DIPACE,E.,JUDICA,A.,ORLANDI,M. & SPINELLI, D. (1999). Markers of developmental surfacedyslexia in a language (Italian) with high grapheme-phonemecorrespondence. Applied Psycholinguistics, 20(2), 191-216.
ZOCCOLOTTI, P., DE LUCA, M., DI FILIPPO, G., JUDICA, A.& SPINELLI, D. (2005). Prova di lettura di parole e non parole.Roma: IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, http://www.hsantalucia.it/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=1032
ZOCCOLOTTI, P., DE LUCA, M., DI PACE, E., GASPERINI, F.,JUDICA, A. & SPINELLI, D. (2005). Word length effect in earlyreading and in developmental dyslexia. Brain and Language,93(3), 369-373.
ZOCCOLOTTI, P., DE LUCA, M., JUDICA, A. & SPINELLI, D.(2008). Isolating global and specific factors in developmentaldyslexia: A study based on the rate and amount model (RAM).Experimental Brain Research, 186, 551-560.
ZOCCOLOTTI, P., DE LUCA, M., DI FILIPPO, G., JUDICA,A. & MARTELLI, M. (2009). Reading development in anorthographically regular language: Effects of length, frequency,lexicality and global processing ability. Reading and Writing,22(9), 1053-1079.

SHOW ALL REFERENCES (43)HIDE REFERENCES

The evolution of the reading profile in children with developmental dyslexia in a regular ortographies
Mario Zonno, Maristella Scorza, Isabella Morlini, Giacomo Stella
First published November 23, 2024

DOWNLOAD PDF

Issue:

Issue 279

Keywords:

Views:

214

Downloads:

Cite the article:

Judica Anna. De Luca Maria. Angelelli Paola. Spinelli Donatella. Zoccolotti Pierluigi. Early reading treatment in children with developmental dyslexia improves both reading and spelling. BPA Applied Psychology Bulletin. 2017;279(1):22-35.

CITE THE ARTICLE

3366

Early reading treatment in children with developmental dyslexia improves both reading and spelling

Abstract

References

Related articles

The evolution of the reading profile in children with developmental dyslexia in a regular ortographies

Article info

Issue:

Keywords:

Views:

Downloads:

Cite the article:

BPA - BULLETIN OF APPLIED PSYHOLOGY

MANAGEMENT AND EDITORIAL OFFICE

ABOUT US

Citation tool

How to cite this article