Language Development, Literacy Skills, and Predictive Connections to Reading in Finnish Children With and Without Familial Risk for Dyslexia

TLDR

The Jyväskylä Longitudinal Study of Dyslexia follows children at familial risk for dyslexia from birth to examine early language and literacy development. The study retrospectively investigated discriminative language markers and predictive links between early language and literacy skills. Three groups—reading‑disabled children (n = 46), typical readers from nondyslexic families (n = 84), and typical readers from dyslexic families (n = 68)—were followed from 1.5 years to school age. Reading‑disabled children performed worse than typical readers on expressive and receptive language, morphology, phonological sensitivity, rapid automatized naming, and letter knowledge from age two onward, and the strongest predictive links to later reading emerged from receptive and expressive language through letter naming, rapid naming, morphology, and phonological awareness.

Abstract

Discriminative language markers and predictive links between early language and literacy skills were investigated retrospectively in the Jyväskylä Longitudinal Study of Dyslexia in which children at familial risk for dyslexia have been followed from birth. Three groups were formed on the basis of 198 children's reading and spelling status. One group of children with reading disability (RD; n = 46) and two groups of typical readers from nondyslexic control (TRC; n = 84) and dyslexic families (TRD; n = 68) were examined from age 1.5 years to school age. The RD group was outperformed by typical readers on numerous language and literacy measures (expressive and receptive language, morphology, phonological sensitivity, RAN, and letter knowledge) from 2 years of age onward. The strongest predictive links emerged from receptive and expressive language to reading via measures of letter naming, rapid naming, morphology, and phonological awareness.