Skip to main content

Advertisement

Log in

Reading development subtypes and their early characteristics

Annals of Dyslexia Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The present findings are drawn from the Jyväskylä Longitudinal Study of Dyslexia (JLD), in which approximately 100 children with familial risk of dyslexia and 100 control children have been followed from birth. In this paper we report data on the reading development of the JLD children and their classmates, a total of 1,750 children from four measurement points during the first two school years. In the total sample, we examined whether heterogeneous developmental paths can be identified based on profiles of word recognition and reading comprehension. Secondly, we studied what kind of early language and literacy skill profiles and reading experiences characterize the children with differing reading development in the follow-up sample. The mixture modeling procedure resulted in five subtypes: (1) poor readers, (2) slow decoders, (3) poor comprehenders, (4) average readers, and (5) good readers. The children with familial risk for dyslexia performed on average at a lower level in all reading tasks than both their classmates and the controls, and they were overrepresented in slow decoders subtype. Differences between the subtypes were found in the early language and literacy skill development, as well as in the reading experiences of the reading subtypes.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Adams, M. J. (1990). Beginning to read: Thinking and learning about print. Cambridge: The MIT Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Aro, M., & Wimmer, H. (2003). Learning to read: English in comparison to six more regular orthographies. Applied Psycholinguistics, 24, 621–635.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bergman, L., & El-Khouri, B. (1999). Studying individual patterns of development using I-states as objects analysis (ISOA). Biometrical Journal, 41, 753–770.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bishop, D. V. M., & Snowling, M. J. (2004). Developmental dyslexia and specific language impairment: Same or different? Psychological Bulletin, 130, 858–886.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Byrne, B. (1998). The foundation of literacy: The children’s acquisition of the alphabetic principle. Hove: Psychology Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cain, K., Oakhill, J., & Bryant, P. (2004). Children’s reading comprehension ability: Concurrent prediction by working memory, verbal ability, and component skills. Journal of Educational Psychology, 96, 31–42.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Catts, H. W., Adlof, S. M., Hogan, T. P., & Weismer, S. E. (2005). Are specific language impairment and dyslexia distinct disorders? Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 48, 1378–1396.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Catts, H. W., Fey, M. E., Zhang, X., & Tomblin, J. B. (1999). Language basis of reading and reading disabilities: Evidence from a longitudinal investigation. Scientific Studies of Reading, 3, 331–361.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Catts, H. W., Hogan, T. P., & Fey, M. E. (2003). Subgrouping poor readers on the basis of individual differences in reading-related abilities. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 36, 151–164.

    Google Scholar 

  • Denckla, M. B., & Rudel, R. G. (1974). Rapid “automatized” naming of pictured objects, colors, letters and numbers by normal children. Cortex, 10, 471–479.

    Google Scholar 

  • Denckla, M. B., & Rudel, R. G. (1976). Rapid “automatized” naming (R.A.N.): Dyslexia differentiated from other learning disabilities. Neuropsychologia, 14, 471–479.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dunn, L. M., & Dunn, L. M. (1981). Peabody picture vocabulary test-revised. Circle Pines: American Guidance Service.

    Google Scholar 

  • Elbro, C., Borstrøm, I., & Petersen, D. K. (1998). Predicting dyslexia from kindergarten: The importance of distinctness of phonological representations of lexical items. Reading Research Quarterly, 33, 36–60.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fenson, L., Dale, P. S., Reznick, J. S., Bates, E., Thal, D., & Pethick, S. J. (1994). Variability in early communicative development. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 59(5, Serial No. 242).

  • Finucci, J. M., Guthrie, J. J., Childs, A. L., Abbey, H., & Childs, B. (1976). The genetics of specific reading disability. Annual Review of Human Genetics, 40, 1–23.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gallagher, A., Frith, U., & Snowling, M. J. (2000). Precursors of literacy delay among children at genetic risk of dyslexia. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 41, 203–213.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gathercole, S. E., & Adams, A.-M. (1994). Children’s phonological working memory: Contributions of long-term knowledge and rehearsal. Journal of Memory and Language, 33, 672–688.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gilger, J. W., Pennington, B. F., & DeFries, J. C. (1991). Risk for reading disability as a function of parental history in three family studies. Reading and Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 3, 205–217.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gough, P. B., & Tunmer, W. E. (1986). Decoding, reading, and reading disability. RASE: Remedial & Special Education, 7, 6–10.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hallgren, B. (1950). Specific dyslexia (“Congenital word blindness”): A clinical and genetic study. Acta Psychiatrica and Neurologica Scandinavica, 65, 1–287.

    Google Scholar 

  • Holopainen, L., Ahonen, T., & Lyytinen, H. (2001). Predicting delay in reading achievement in a highly transparent language. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 34, 401–413.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kaplan, E., Goodglass, H., & Weintraub, S. (1983). The Boston naming test (2nd ed.). Philadelphia: Lea & Febiger.

    Google Scholar 

  • Korkman, M., Kirk, U., & Kemp, S. (1998). NEPSY: A developmental neuropsychological assessment. San Antonio: The Psychological Corporation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Laine, M., Goodglass, H., Niemi, J., Koivuselkä-Sallinen, P., Tuomainen, J., & Marttila, R. (1993). Adaptation of the Boston diagnostic aphasia examination and the Boston naming test into Finnish. Scandinavian Journal of Logopedics and Phoniatrics, 18, 83–92.

    Google Scholar 

  • Laine, M., Koivuselkä-Sallinen, P., Hänninen, R., & Niemi, J. (1997). Bostonin nimentätesti. Helsinki: Psykologien Kustannus.

    Google Scholar 

  • Leach, J. M., Scarborough, H. S., & Rescorla, L. (2003). Late-emerging reading disabilities. Journal of Educational Psychology, 95, 211–224.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Leinonen, S., Müller, K., Leppänen, P. H. T., Aro, M., Ahonen, T., & Lyytinen, H. (2001). Heterogeneity in adult dyslexic readers: Relating processing skills to the speed and accuracy of oral text reading. Reading and Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 14, 265–296.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Leppänen, U., Aunola, K., & Nurmi, J. (2005). Beginning readers’ reading performance and reading habits. Journal of Research in Reading, 28, 383–399.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lerkkanen, M.-K., Poikkeus, A.-M., & Ketonen, R. (2006). ARMI. Luku-ja kirjoitustaidon arviointimateriaali 1. luokalle. Reading and writing assessment material for the 1st grade. Helsinki: WSOY.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lerkkanen, M.-K., Rasku-Puttonen, H., Aunola, K., & Nurmi, J. (2004). Reading performance and its developmental trajectories during the first and the second grade. Learning and Instruction, 14, 111–130.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lindeman, J. (2000). Ala-asteen lukutesti: käyttäjän käsikirja. [The comprehensive school reading test]. Oppimistutkimuksen keskus, Turun yliopisto. Turku: Center for Learning Research, Turku University.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lonigan, C. J., Burgess, S. R., & Anthony, J. L. (2000). Development of emergent literacy and early reading skills in preschool children: Evidence from a latent-variable longitudinal study. Developmental Psychology, 36, 596–613.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lyon, G. R., Shaywitz, S. E., & Shaywitz, B. A. (2003). A definition of dyslexia. Annals of Dyslexia, 53, 1–14.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lyytinen, P. (1999). Varhaisen kommunikaation ja kielen kehityksen arviointimenetelmä. Finnish manual for the MacArthur Communicative Development Inventory, MCDI. University of Jyväskylä, Child Research Center and Niilo Mäki Institute. Jyväskylä: Yliopistopaino.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lyytinen, H., Ahonen, T., Eklund, K., Guttorm, T. K., Laakso, M.-L., Leinonen, S., et al. (2001). Developmental pathways of children with and without familial risk for dyslexia during the first years of life. Developmental Neuropsychology, 20, 535–554.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lyytinen, H., Aro, M., Eklund, K., Erskine, J., Guttorm, T. K., Laakso, M.-L., et al. (2004). The development of children at familial risk for dyslexia: Birth to school age. Annals of Dyslexia, 54, 184–220.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lyytinen, H., Aro, M., Holopainen, L., Leiwo, M., Lyytinen, P., & Tolvanen, A. (2006a). Children’s language development and reading acquisition in a highly transparent orthography. In R. M. Joshi & P. G. Aaron (Eds.), Handbook of orthography and literacy (pp. 47–62). Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lyytinen, H., Erskine, J., Tolvanen, A., Torppa, M., Poikkeus, A.-M., & Lyytinen, P. (2006b). Trajectories of reading development: A follow-up from birth to school age of children with and without risk for dyslexia. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 52, 514–546.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lyytinen, P., & Lyytinen, H. (2004). Growth and predictive relations of vocabulary and inflectional morphology in children with and without familial risk for dyslexia. Applied Psycholinguistics, 25, 397–411.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McCoach, D. B., O’Connell, A. A., Reis, S. M., & Levitt, H. A. (2006). Growing readers: A hierarchical linear model of children’s reading growth during the first 2 years of school. Journal of Educational Psychology, 98, 14–28.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Morris, R. D., Stuebing, K. K., Fletcher, J. M., Shaywitz, S. E., Lyon, G. R., Shankweiler, D. P., et al. (1998). Subtypes of reading disability: Variability around a phonological core. Journal of Educational Psychology, 90(3), 347–373.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Muter, V., Hulme, C., Snowling, M. J., & Stevenson, J. (2004). Phonemes, rimes, vocabulary, and grammatical skills as foundations of early reading development: Evidence from a longitudinal study. Developmental Psychology, 40, 665–681.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Muthén, B. (2001). Latent variable mixture modeling. In G. A. Marcoulides & R. E. Schumacher (Eds.), Advanced structural equation modeling: New developments and techniques (pp. 1–33). Mahwah: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Muthén, B. (2006a). Should substance use disorders be considered as categorical or dimensional? Addiction, 101(Suppl. 1), 6–16.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Muthén, B. (2006b). Latent variable hybrids: Overview of old and new models. Forthcoming. In G. R. Hancock & K. M. Samuelsen (Eds.), Advances in latent variable mixture models. Charlotte: Information Age Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Muthén, B., & Asparouhov, T. (2006). Item response mixture modeling: Application to tobacco dependence criteria. Addictive Behaviors, 31, 1050–1066.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Muthén, L. K., & Muthén, B. O. (1998–2006). Mplus user’s guide. Los Angeles: Muthén & Muthén.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nation, K. (1999). Reading skills in hyperlexia: A developmental perspective. Psychological Bulletin, 125, 338–355.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nation, K. (2005). Children’s reading comprehension difficulties. In M. J. Snowling & C. Hulme (Eds.), The science of reading: A handbook (pp. 248–265). Oxford: Blackwell.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nation, K., Clarke, P., Marshall, C. M., & Durand, M. (2004). Hidden language impairments in children: Parallels between poor reading comprehension and specific language impairment? Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 47, 199–211.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nation, K., Clarke, P., & Snowling, M. J. (2002). General cognitive ability in children with reading comprehension difficulties. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 72, 549–560.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nation, K., & Norbury, C. F. (2005). Why reading comprehension fails: Insights from developmental disorders. Topics in Language Disorders, 25, 21–32.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nation, K., & Snowling, M. J. (2004). Beyond phonological skills: Broader language skills contribute to the development of reading. Journal of Research in Reading, 27, 342–356.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oakhill, J. V., Cain, K., & Bryant, P. E. (2003). The dissociation of word reading and text comprehension: Evidence from component skills. Language and Cognitive Processes, 18, 443–468.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Olson, R. K., Datta, H., Gayán, J., & DeFries, J. C. (1999). A behavioral-genetic analysis of reading disabilities and component processes. In R. M. Klein & P. A. McMullen (Eds.), Converging methods for understanding reading and dyslexia (pp. 133–153). Cambridge: MIT Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pennington, B. F., & Lefly, D. L. (2001). Early reading development in children at family risk for dyslexia. Child Development, 72, 816–833.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Phillips, B. M., & Lonigan, C. J. (2005). Social correlates of emergent literacy. In M. J. Snowling & C. Hulme (Eds.), The science of reading: A handbook (pp. 173–187). Oxgord: Blackwell.

    Google Scholar 

  • Porpodas, C. D. (1999). Patterns of phonological and memory processing in beginning readers and spellers of Greek. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 32, 406–416.

    Google Scholar 

  • Poskiparta, E., Niemi, P., Lepola, J., Ahtola, A., & Laine, P. (2003). Motivational-emotional vulnerability and difficulties in learning to read and spell. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 73, 187–206.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Puolakanaho, A., Poikkeus, A.-M., Ahonen, T., Tolvanen, A., & Lyytinen, H. (2003). Assessment of three-and-a-half-year-old children’s emerging phonological awareness in a computer animation context. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 36, 416–423.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reynell, J. K., & Huntley, M. (1987). Reynell developmental language scales manual (2nd ed.). Windsor: NFER-Nelson.

    Google Scholar 

  • Roth, F. P., Speece, D. L., & Cooper, D. H. (2002). A longitudinal analysis of the connection between oral language and early reading. Journal of Educational Research, 95, 259–272.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rowan, B., Correnti, R., & Miller, R. J. (2002). What large-scale, survey research tells us about teacher effects on student achievement: Insights from the prospects study of elementary schools. Teachers College Record, 104(8), 1525–1567.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Scarborough, H. S. (1990). Very early language deficits in dyslexic children. Child Development, 61, 1728–1743.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Scarborough, H. S. (2001). Connecting early language and literacy to later reading (dis)abilities: Evidence, theory and practice. In S. Neuman & D. Dickinson (Eds.), Handbook of early literacy research (pp. 97–110). New York: Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Scarborough, H. S., & Dobrich, W. (1994). On the efficacy of reading to preschoolers. Developmental Review, 14, 245–302.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Scarborough, H. S., Dobrich, W., & Hager, M. (1991). Pre-school literacy experience and later reading achievement. Journal of Reading Disabilities, 24, 508–511.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sénéchal, M., & LeFevre, J. (2002). Parental involvement in the development of children’s reading skill: A five-year longitudinal study. Child Development, 73, 445–460.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Seymour, P. H., Aro, M., & Erskine, J. M. (2003). Foundation literacy acquisition in European orthographies. British Journal of Psychology, 94, 143–174.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shankweiler, D., Lundquist, E., Katz, L., Stuebing, K. K., Fletcher, J. M., Brady, S., et al. (1999). Comprehension and decoding: Patterns of association in children with reading difficulties. Scientific Studies of Reading, 3, 69–94.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Snow, C. E., Burns, M. S., & Griffin, P. (Eds.) (1998). Preventing reading difficulties in young children. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

  • Snowling, M. J., Gallagher, A., & Frith, U. (2003). Family risk of dyslexia is continuous: Individual differences in the precursors of reading skill. Child Development, 74, 358–373.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Storch, S. A., & Whitehurst, G. J. (2002). Oral language and code-related precursors to reading: Evidence from a longitudinal structural model. Developmental Psychology, 38, 934–947.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stothard, S. E., & Hulme, C. (1995). A comparison of phonological skills in children with reading comprehension difficulties and children with decoding difficulties. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 36, 399–408.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Torppa, M., Poikkeus, A.-M., Laakso, M.-L., Leskinen, E., Tolvanen, A., Leppänen, P. H. T., et al. (2007). Modeling the early paths of phonological awareness and factors supporting its development in children with and without familial risk for dyslexia. Scientific Studies of Reading, 11(2), 73–103.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tunmer, W. E., & Hoover, W. A. (1992). Cognitive and linguistic factors in learning to read. In P. B. Gough, L. C. Ehri, & R. Treiman (Eds.), Reading acquisition (pp. 175–214). Hillsdale: Lawrence Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vellutino, F. V., Fletcher, J. M., Snowling, M. J., & Scanlon, D. M. (2004). Specific reading disability (dyslexia): What we have learned in the past four decades. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 45, 2–40.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wechsler, D. (1991). Wechsler intelligence scale for children-third edition. San Antonio: Psychological Corporation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wechsler, D. (1999). Wechslerin lasten älykkyysasteikko. WISC-III. Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children—Third Edition translated and adapted by permission. San Antonio: Psychological Corporation (Finnish Translation Copyright by the Psychological Corporation, USA).

    Google Scholar 

  • Wimmer, H., & Mayringer, H. (2002). Dysfluent reading in the absence of spelling difficulties: A specific disability in regular orthographies. Journal of Educational Psychology, 94, 272–277.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wimmer, H., Mayringer, H., & Landerl, K. (1998). Poor reading: A deficit in skill-automatization or a phonological deficit? Scientific Studies of Reading, 2, 321–340.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wimmer, H., Mayringer, H., & Landerl, K. (2000). The double-deficit hypothesis and difficulties in learning to read a regular orthography. Journal of Educational Psychology, 92, 668–680.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The JLD belonged to the Finnish Center of Excellence Program (2000–2005) and was supported by the Academy of Finland (#213486), the Niilo Mäki Foundation and the University of Jyväskylä, and the Finnish National Graduate School of Psychology. We would like to thank the families who participated in the study. We also thank Matthew Wuethrich and Jane Erskine for polishing the language.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Minna Torppa.

Additional information

This manuscript was peer reviewed, processed and accepted under the editorship of the immediate past editor Dr. Che Kan Leong.

Appendix

Appendix

Table 7 Reading subtype mean comparisons of early skills and reading experience

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Torppa, M., Tolvanen, A., Poikkeus, AM. et al. Reading development subtypes and their early characteristics. Ann. of Dyslexia 57, 3–32 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11881-007-0003-0

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11881-007-0003-0

Keywords

Navigation