Morphological awareness and its role in compensation in adults with dyslexia

Law, J. M. , Wouters, J. and Ghesquière, P. (2015) Morphological awareness and its role in compensation in adults with dyslexia. Dyslexia, 21(3), pp. 254-272. (doi: 10.1002/dys.1495) (PMID:25620091)

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Abstract

This study examines the role of morphological awareness (MA) in literacy achievement and compensation in word reading of adults with dyslexia through an exploration of three questions: (1) Do adult dyslexics demonstrate a deficit in MA, and how is this potential deficit related to phonological awareness (PA)? (2) Does MA contribute independently to literacy skills equally in dyslexics and control readers? and (3) Do MA and PA skills differ in compensated and noncompensated dyslexics? A group of dyslexic and normal reading university students matched for age, education and IQ participated in this study. Group analysis demonstrated an MA deficit in dyslexics; as well, MA was found to significantly predict a greater proportion of word reading and spelling within the dyslexic group compared with the controls. Compensated dyslexics were also found to perform significantly better on the morphological task than noncompensated dyslexics. Additionally, no statistical difference was observed in MA between the normal reading controls and the compensated group (independent of PA and vocabulary). Results suggest that intact and strong MA skills contribute to the achieved compensation of this group of adults with dyslexia. Implications for MA based intervention strategies for people with dyslexia are discussed.

Item Type:Articles
Keywords:Adults, dyslexia, morphology, morphological awareness, reading compensation, word reading.
Status:Published
Refereed:Yes
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:Law, Dr Jeremy
Authors: Law, J. M., Wouters, J., and Ghesquière, P.
College/School:College of Social Sciences > School of Social & Environmental Sustainability
Journal Name:Dyslexia
Publisher:Wiley
ISSN:1076-9242
ISSN (Online):1099-0909
Published Online:25 January 2015

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