Abstract
Three groups of reading-disabled children were found in studies of English, German, and French: a group with a double deficit in reading and spelling, a group with a single spelling deficit, and a more rarely reported group presenting a single reading deficit. This study set out to examine whether these groups can be found in adults, readers and spellers of Hebrew, which differs from the previously studied orthographies in many aspects. To this end, Hebrew-speaking adults with or without reading disability were administered various literacy and literacy-related tests. Results confirm the existence of the same three groups. While all shared a phonological deficit, subtle differences in phonological decoding ability and in speed of processing distinguished between the groups. The study therefore suggests that the previously reported associations and dissociations between reading and spelling are not restricted to English, German, or French and may not be only developmental in nature.
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Acknowledgments
Support for this research was provided by the Edmond J. Safra Philanthropic Foundation. The authors are greatly indebted to Prof. Zvia Breznitz for her constructive advice.
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The study was carried out at the Edmond J. Safra Brain Research Center for the Study of Learning Disabilities, University of Haifa, Israel
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Bar-Kochva, I., Amiel, M. The relations between reading and spelling: an examination of subtypes of reading disability. Ann. of Dyslexia 66, 219–234 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11881-015-0117-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11881-015-0117-8