1. Chapter 8 Reading and Writing

2. 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.

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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.

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

10. 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?

11. Example of Treatment Program

12. 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

13. 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

14. 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

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

16. 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

17. 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

18. 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

19. 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)

20. 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.

21. 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.

22. 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

23. Dyslexia – A Personal Story

24. 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).

25. 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

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

27. Lexical semantic route
Lexical nonsemantic route
Nonlexical route

28. Personal Story

29. 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.