Chapter 8 Reading and Writing

Relationship between reading and writing Spoken language is primary. Relationship between reading and writing is culture-dependent. Studying disorders in reading and writing can help us understand the nature of linguistic knowledge in the brain.

Relationship between reading and writing Differences in spoken language Segmental level: Manner of articulation, Place of articulation, Voicing Tongue position, Lip rounding Suprasegmental level: Lexical pitch, Sentential prosody Rhythms Differences in written language Ideographic: written signs have pictorial origin Syllabic: each syllable has its own written sign Alphabetic: speech sounds represented by letters

Reading process We apply both top-down and bottom-up strategies in reading a text. Two main strategies Whole word reading Whole word -> semantic interpretation -> phonological output Whole word -> phonological output Grapheme-phoneme conversion Grapheme -> phoneme Letter-by-letter reading

Writing process Starting points Lexical access for grapheme output Semantic lexicon Written words (copying text) Spoken words (dictation and note taking) Lexical access for grapheme output Directly from semantic system From visual input Pronunciation -> phoneme -> grapheme

Developmental disorders What is dyslexia? A neurodevelopmental reading disorder caused by subtle disturbance in brain structures and functions One type of specific learning disability Not caused by brain damage Not caused by low IQ

Dyslexia is fundamentally a language-based disorder Not caused by a visual problem where the child’s eyes or brain “flip” letters People with dyslexia have difficulty analyzing and blending letter sounds within words, and building a large “bank” of easily recognized words

Surface, phonological, deep dyslexia Developmental surface dyslexia Sound-by-sound (phonetic) reading. Use of grapheme-phoneme conversion, good reading of regular words, regularization in reading irregular words. Developmental phonological dyslexia Non-phonetic reading. Use of whole word reading (not perfect). No sound-by-sound skills. Nonwords read as visually similar words. Developmental deep dyslexia Similar to acquired deep dyslexia in symptoms but not in causes.

Dyslexia versus hyperlexia Precocious ability to read words Abnormal fascination with reading Disturbance of semantic system Read aloud without any reading comprehension

Neurolinguistic explanations What brain regions are involved in reading? What are the causes for various forms of dyslexia? Genetic links Asymmetry in left and right planum temporale Delayed maturation in certain brain structures What treatment methods are available?

Example of Treatment Program http://www.bing.com/videos/watch/video/the-davis-dyslexia-correction-program/543fad64aa834604ba19543fad64aa834604ba19-1593301270834

More information Reading Is An Unnatural Act Humans are genetically and neurologically hard-wired for speech This is not true for reading which must be learned through conscious effort Functional brain imaging studies have shown that dyslexic brains work differently than normal brains when reading occurs After intensive, appropriate remedial instruction, the dyslexic brains begin to function more like normal brains when reading

How Prevalent Is Dyslexia? Estimates vary, but all indicate that very large numbers of children and adults are significantly poor readers About 17-20% of children experience serious reading problems An additional 20% struggle with reading

How Prevalent Is Dyslexia? Dyslexia occurs across all races, ethnicities, intellectual, and socioeconomic levels Dyslexia occurs in all written languages Most struggling readers are not receiving specific, appropriate help

Key Components Of Research-based Reading Instruction From the National Reading Panel, explicit, systematic instruction is essential in: Phonemic awareness Phonetics Fluency Vocabulary Comprehension

Key Components Of Research-based Reading Instruction Instruction in each of these reading skills is needed for every child It is absolutely critical for any child who is struggling with reading, in which case, it must be more: Intensive Multi-sensory Structured Explicit

Risk Factors for Dyslexia Family history of dyslexia or other learning disabilities Low parental reading level Preschool language disorder, especially language comprehension disorder Low socioeconomic status and attendance at schools with a high poverty rate

Symptoms of Possible Dyslexia in Young Children Difficulty recognizing and writing letters in kindergarten Difficulty connecting letters to their sounds Difficulty breaking words into syllables (e.g., baseball into base and ball) Difficulty recognizing rhyming words

Symptoms of Possible Dyslexia in Young Children Difficulty identifying words with the same beginning or ending sounds Difficulty reading simple words that can be sounded out (e.g., big, cat) Difficulty remembering common, irregularly spelled words (e.g., said, who)

Acquired disorders Acquired dyslexia (alexia) Surface dyslexia no access to whole word reading Read by sounding out the words and listening to themselves. Problems in reading long words and words with irregular spelling.

Acquired disorders Phonological dyslexia Deep dyslexia Whole word reading Cannot read new, unfamiliar words or nonwords Problems with function words Deep dyslexia Impaired access to grapheme-phoneme conversion Unable to read new words and nonwords.

Deep dyslexia Visual errors ( e.g., cat = cap) Semantic errors (e.g., cat = dog) Visual plus semantic errors (e.g., pivot = pilot = airplane) Derivation errors (e.g., lovely = loving) Exchange of function words (e.g., and = on) Concrete words are easier to read than abstract words

Dyslexia – A Personal Story http://www.bing.com/videos/watch/video/racing-superstar-tackles-dyslexia/0f1d00acccad35090f9d0f1d00acccad35090f9d-1601492943666

What is dysgraphia? A broad division: Central and peripheral acquired dysgraphias (or agraphias) refer to disorders of spelling and/or writing. Dysgraphias that affect spelling are central and those that affect writing are peripheral. Will consider acquired disorders following brain damage (not developmental difficulties).

Types of dysgraphia Central dysgraphias Peripheral dysgraphias Phonological dysgraphia Surface dysgraphia Nonsemantic spelling Deep dysgraphia Peripheral dysgraphias Grapheme level impairment Allograph level impairment Motor pattern impairment

Cognitive model of writing and spelling Three routes to writing from speech input: 1) Lexical-semantic route. 2) Lexical-nonsemantic route. 3) Nonlexical route.

Lexical semantic route Lexical nonsemantic route Nonlexical route

Personal Story http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ygzz0V6CmM&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRZ-0bYOlgg&feature=related

Summary Studies of dysgraphic patients reveal that spelling and writing depend on multiple routes. and the functional architecture of the normal spelling/writing system is highly modular. The evidence from surface dysgraphic and dyslexic patients suggests that there is more than one orthographic lexicon used for reading and writing although this hypothesis awaits converging data from brain imaging.