The relationship between phonological processing skills and word and nonword identification performance in children with mild intellectual disabilities

Res Dev Disabil. 2010 Nov-Dec;31(6):1170-5. doi: 10.1016/j.ridd.2010.08.004. Epub 2010 Sep 16.

Abstract

Word and nonword identification skills were examined in a sample of 80 elementary school age students with mild intellectual disabilities and mixed etiologies who were described as struggling to learn to read by their teachers. Performance on measures of receptive and expressive vocabulary, measures of phonological awareness, and measures of word and nonword identification were included for analyses. Hierarchical regression analyses indicated that, after controlling for chronological age and vocabulary knowledge, phonological processing accounted for a large and significant amount of unique variance of both word and nonword identification. In addition, the pattern of results found in this study is similar to that obtained with typically developing learners. As with typically developing children, measures of phonological awareness were significantly correlated with measures of both reading achievement and vocabulary knowledge.

Publication types

  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Auditory Perceptual Disorders / diagnosis
  • Auditory Perceptual Disorders / etiology*
  • Child
  • Dyslexia / diagnosis
  • Dyslexia / etiology*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Intellectual Disability / complications*
  • Intellectual Disability / diagnosis
  • Learning Disabilities / complications
  • Learning Disabilities / diagnosis
  • Male
  • Phonetics*
  • Reading
  • Regression Analysis
  • Severity of Illness Index
  • Speech Perception*
  • Vocabulary*