Executive Functioning with the NIH EXAMINER and Inference Making in Struggling Readers

ABSTRACT

Executive functioning (EF) is a domain-general process implicated in reading, but there remains lack of clarity within the domain due to varied assessment methods. We investigated the relation of EF (indexed with the NIH EXAMINER) to word reading, reading fluency, and reading comprehension in struggling readers and evaluated the mediational role of inference making for the EF-comprehension link. Analyses revealed an overall effect of EF on reading, with significant differences between fluency and comprehension, and between single word reading and comprehension, but not between fluency and single-word reading. The EF-reading comprehension relation was fully mediated by inference making.

Additional information

Funding

This research was supported by Award Number P50 HD052117, Texas Center for Learning Disabilities, from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development to the University of Houston. The content is the sole responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development or the National Institutes of Health.