SPECIAL TOPIC: Research on Services for Population with Developmental Dyslexia
Zhao Tianyuan, Ma Jie, Xiao Lili, Feng Wen, He Meihui
[Purpose/Significance] To overcome limitations of previous developmental dyslexia screening methods for school-age children, this paper designs a three-stage experimental process: special factors exclusion, dyslexia screening, and subtype identification. This system refines dyslexia identification methodologies and improves the scientific and accurate screening for dyslexia groups. The identification and analysis of different subtypes of dyslexic individuals is helpful to provide theoretical and data support for the formulation of subsequent intervention experimental programs. It is conducive to improving reading abilities of school-age children with developmental dyslexia, promoting the Reading for All, enhancing public library services for special groups, and achieving the service equalization. [Method/Process] According to the experimental process, students in grades 3-5 from two primary schools in Changchun were screened for special factors (disease and intelligence) related to developmental dyslexia using interview and scale tests. After investigation, the remaining subjects passed a literacy and reading comprehension test to identify the dyslexic group. In the subtype identification, the cognitive ability of the control group and the dyslexic group was tested in five dimensions: phonological awareness, morpheme awareness, quick naming, orthographic awareness, and short-term memory. The subtypes of the dyslexic group were analyzed with the standard segmentation method as the recognition standard. [Result/Conclusion] Phonetic awareness, orthographic processing, and quick naming defects are high-incidence defects in the subtypes of Chinese developmental dyslexia. Morpheme consciousness and short-term memory defects show compound characteristics and coexist with other defects. Among the mixed defects types of Chinese developmental dyslexia subtypes, the quick naming-orthography defect is the main defect. Most children with dyslexia exhibit multiple co-occurring defects, reflecting the concurrency of multiple defects in the subtypes of developmental dyslexia in Chinese. The scientific identification of dyslexia subtypes is helpful in providing targeted guidance for subsequent intervention research.