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Perceptual organization, phonological awareness, and reading comprehension in adults with and without learning disabilities

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Abstract

It is not clear from research whether, or to what extent, reading comprehension is impaired in adults who have learning disabilities (LD). The influence of perceptual organization (PO) and phonological awareness (PA) on reading comprehension was investigated. PO and PA are cognitive functions that have been examined in previous research for their roles in nonverbal LD and phonological dyslexia, respectively. Nonverbal tests of PO and non-reading tests of PA were administered to a sample of adults with postsecondary education. Approximately two thirds of the sample had previously been diagnosed as having LD. In a multiple regression analysis, tests of PO and PA were used to predict scores for tests of reading comprehension and mechanics. Despite the nonverbal nature of the perceptual organizational test stimuli, PO strongly predicted reading comprehension. Tests of PA predicted decoding and reading speed. Results were interpreted as supporting the hypothesis that integrative processes usually characterized as nonverbal were nonetheless used by readers with and without disabilities to understand text. The study’s findings have implications for understanding the reading of adults with learning disabilities, and the nature of reading comprehension in general.

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Notes

  1. Specific information concerning the influence of re-administration of the WAIS on subtest scores in the longer term is lacking in typical adults, and in those with LD (Groth-Marnat, 2009). As a consequence, clinical standards concerning the necessity for current information versus practice effects and the stability of adult cognitive profiles (Association on Higher Education and Disability, 2009; Learning Disabilities Association of Ontario, 2003) guided the decision not to re-administer Block Design or Vocabulary when scores were less than 3 years old.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Health Sciences, The University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada

    Margot Stothers

  2. Faculty of Education, The University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada

    Perry D. Klein

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  1. Margot Stothers
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  2. Perry D. Klein
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Correspondence to Margot Stothers.

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Stothers, M., Klein, P.D. Perceptual organization, phonological awareness, and reading comprehension in adults with and without learning disabilities. Ann. of Dyslexia 60, 209–237 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11881-010-0042-9

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