Identifying children with dyslexia as early as first grade could
narrow or even close the achievement gap with typical readers,
according to a new study by researchers at the University of
California, Davis, and Yale University.
The data indicate that it is no longer acceptable to wait until a
child is in third grade or later before undertaking efforts to
identify or address dyslexia.
“If the persistent achievement gap between dyslexic and typical
readers is to be narrowed, or even closed, reading interventions must
be implemented early, when children are still developing the basic
foundation for reading acquisition,†said Emilio Ferrer, a UC Davis
psychology professor. He is lead author of the article published in
The Journal of Pediatrics this month.
Ferrer and his Yale colleagues, Bennett and Sally Shaywitz, report
the results of a longitudinal study of reading from first grade to
12th grade and beyond. Compared with typical readers, dyslexic
readers had lower reading scores as early as first grade, and their
trajectories over time never converge with those of typical readers.
These data demonstrate that such differences are not so much a
function of increasing disparities over time, but instead reflect
marked differences already present in first grade between typical and
dyslexic readers.
The authors also conclude that implementing effective reading
programs as early as kindergarten or even preschool offers the
potential to close the achievement gap.
Related research in early intervention
The study builds on recent studies by UC Davis researchers and others
that find that interventions in early reading are available and
effective.
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Ferrer is among a group of UC Davis faculty who recently received a
$3.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education to study and
implement early reading intervention in schools in Yolo and
Sacramento counties, and in Texas.
Additional information:
Related: $3.5 million grant to UC Davis will help study early reading instruction http://news.ucdavis.edu/search/news_detail.lasso?id=11245
Journal article http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022347615008239