Movement sequencing and phonological fluency in (putatively) nonimpaired readers

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Science
• Developmental Psychology
• Neuroscience

Background:

• Reading disabilities in children are frequently associated with motor coordination deficits.
• A proposed link suggests that motor challenges affecting speech development may also hinder phonological awareness, crucial for reading.
• This hypothesis posits that reading fluency and motor coordination are interconnected, even in non-impaired readers.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the relationship between phonological decoding skills and motor coordination in fluent readers.
• To determine if coordination abilities covary with reading fluency in a non-clinical population.

Main Methods:

• Assessed college undergraduates with varying reading fluency levels.
• Measured phonological decoding skills.
• Recorded the speed and variability of sequential finger tapping on one hand (dominant and nondominant).

Main Results:

• Found significant correlations between phonological decoding abilities and the speed and consistency of finger tapping.
• These interrelationships were specific to reading measures emphasizing phonological decoding.
• Reading measures not reliant on phonological decoding did not show a similar association with coordination.

Conclusions:

• Phonological decoding is a skill that, when underdeveloped, can have lasting impacts on reading.
• Motor coordination appears linked to the foundational skill of phonological decoding.
• Targeted practice in phonological decoding may benefit individuals even in highly literate populations.