Orthographic learning in children with isolated and combined reading and spelling deficits

ABSTRACT

Dissociations between reading and spelling problems are likely to be associated with different underlying cognitive deficits, and with different deficits in orthographic learning. In order to understand these differences, the current study examined orthographic learning using a printed-word learning paradigm. Children (4th grade) with isolated reading, isolated spelling and combined reading and spelling problems were compared to children with age appropriate reading and spelling skills on their performance during learning novel words and symbols (non-verbal control condition), and during immediate and delayed reading and spelling recall tasks. No group differences occurred in the non-verbal control condition. In the verbal condition, initial learning was intact in all groups, but differences occurred during recall tasks. Children with reading fluency deficits showed slower reading times, while children with spelling deficits were less accurate, both in reading and spelling recall. Children with isolated spelling problems showed no difficulties in immediate spelling recall, but had problems in remembering the spellings 2 hours later. The results suggest that different orthographic learning deficits underlie reading fluency and spelling problems: Children with isolated reading fluency deficits have no difficulties in building-up orthographic representations, but access to these representations is slowed down while children with isolated spelling deficits have problems in storing precise orthographic representations in long-term memory.

KEYWORDS:

• dyslexia
• orthographic learning
• reading deficit
• spelling deficit
• children

Acknowledgments

We wish to thank the children for their participation in this study. We also thank their parents and teachers for the good cooperation. Special thanks go to the following research assistants for their help with data collection: Carolin Haas, Veronika Jäger, Sarah Kunze, Lisa Ordenewitz, Carolina Silberbauer, and Petra Wagenbüchler. Thanks to Sascha Mehlhase for designing the aliens for the associate learning phase and to Sven Busch and Jürgen Bartling for technical assistance. This research was supported by grants from the German Research Foundation (DFG), the Austrian Science Fund (FWF), and the Friedrich-Baur-Stiftung.

Highlights

• Orthographic learning was assessed in children with reading vs. spelling deficits.

• Reading and spelling problems were associated with different cognitive profiles.

• Reading problems were related to slow access to intact orthographic representations.

• Spelling problems were related to deficits in storing orthographic representations.

• No group differences were found for learning and recalling non-verbal material.

Notes

¹ Analyses without the three children who did not fulfill diagnostic criteria did not change the results. We therefore report the results for the whole sample.

² To examine whether the combined group reflects the sum of the deficits in the isolated groups, an ANOVA with a 2 (spelling deficit yes/no) × 2 (reading fluency deficit yes/no) design was carried out. In general, the cRSD group showed an additive profile characteristic of the isolated disorders for most dependent variables, including reading recall and delayed spelling recall. Only exception was an underadditive interaction found for immediate spelling recall.

Additional information

Funding

This research was supported by grants from the German Research Foundation (MO 2569/2-1), the Austrian Science Fund (I 1658-G22), and the Friedrich-Baur-Stiftung (57/16).