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Speech difficulties at school entry are a significant risk factor for later reading difficulties
Burgoyne, Kelly Lervag, Arne Malone, Stephanie Hulme, Charles
Burgoyne, Kelly
Lervag, Arne
Malone, Stephanie
Hulme, Charles
Abstract
This study examined the relationship between speech difficulties at school entry and problems learning to read. We test the hypothesis that phonological skills explain the relationship between speech and reading difficulties. Speech skills were assessed in a large (N = 569) unselected sample of 5-year old children just after school entry. Children also completed a wide range of tasks measuring oral language (expressive vocabulary, receptive grammar and listening comprehension), reading and reading-related skills (single word reading, letter-sound knowledge, phoneme awareness, rapid automatized naming) and non-verbal IQ. Assessments were repeated six months later. Speech difficulties were identified in 6.88% of children. Speech difficulties were associated with poorer non-verbal IQ, oral language and reading relative to children without speech difficulties. A mediation model demonstrated that the relationship between speech difficulties and later reading was entirely mediated by phoneme awareness. Speech difficulties at school entry are related to problems in acquiring phoneme awareness which in turn are associated with problems in learning to read. Clinically, our results imply that any child who has a speech difficulty at school entry should be assessed and monitored for broader oral language difficulties and for delays in reading development with a view to providing early intervention to ameliorate such difficulties.
Keywords
reading development, speech difficulties, oral language
Date
2019
Type
Journal article
Journal
Early Childhood Research Quarterly
Book
Volume
49
Issue
Page Range
40-48
Article Number
ACU Department
Institute for Learning Sciences and Teacher Education (ILSTE)
Faculty of Education and Arts
Faculty of Education and Arts
Relation URI
Source URL
Event URL
Open Access Status
License
File Access
Controlled