Predictive factors of reading in children with developmental language disorder

The current study aimed to fill the gap in research on factors predictive of word reading in French-speaking children with developmental language disorder (DLD) by finding out whether the same predictors of written word recognition evidenced in typically developing children would be retrieved in children with DLD or if some predictors could be specific to children with DLD, especially in the phonological domain. In total, 38 children with DLD and 44 control children were followed from 6 to 8 years in a longitudinal design including two time points: (1) just before explicit reading instruction, where potential predictors of reading were assessed (oral language skills and reading-related skills), and (2) after 2 years of learning to read, where isolated word reading and text reading were assessed in addition to the assessment of oral language skills and reading-related skills. The study mainly showed that the predictors of reading identified in typically developing children are retrieved in children with DLD except for phonemic awareness; the latter result was probably explained by a floor effect. Among the predictors in the phonological domain, phonological instability appeared as a promising predictor of reading irregular words. These results are consistent with the findings of many previous studies and tend to confirm the idea of a strong link between oral phonological skills and written word recognition skills; they also call for attention to specific features in the phonological development of children with DLD when learning to read, particularly phonological instability as a direction for future exploration.