Investigating the interactions between mental,linguistic,and metalinguistic skills in Greek students with developmental dyslexia: A pilot study

Abstract

This paper aims to discuss the extent to which possible interactions between mental abilities (intelligence and abstract reasoning), linguistic skills (reading fluency and accuracy and decoding), and metalinguistic skills (phonological awareness, morphology, syntax, and text comprehension) can differentiate students with Developmental Dyslexia (DD) from typical students. Three diagnostic tests were administered in a randomly selected sample from primary schools: the Raven's Educational Test, the Diagnostic Verbal IQ (DVIQ), and the Developmental Dyslexia Diagnostic Test (DDDT). The use of the Gaussian Graphical Model highlighted core differences and associations between typically developed (TD) students and students with DD. Accordingly, it was found that students with DD performed worse on average in all tested tasks (linguistic, metalinguistic, and mental abilities) compared to typical students. In contrast, significant interactions between mental abilities, linguistic, and metalinguistic skills were displayed. Specifically, in both TD and students with DD, strong correlations were found between all the following variables: mental abilities, Production and Sentences Repetition, Comprehension and Sentences Repetition, Comprehension and Text Comprehension. About the students with DD, correlations were found between additional skills, such as mental abilities, Production and Comprehension, Production and Text comprehension, Sentences Repetition, and Text Comprehension. Concerning reading fluency and accuracy, it was found that TD are based on their mental abilities, decoding, and metalinguistic skills. However, in students with DD, despite the strong interaction between their mental abilities and linguistic skills, reading fluency and accuracy are not facilitated by these skills. Furthermore, the mental abilities of students with DD are not correlated with generalized reading comprehension, but only with text comprehension. Unlike typical students, they primarily use metalinguistic concepts rather than their mental abilities to comprehend texts. Finally, their reading difficulties are characterized by decoding errors even at the word level, while no significant interactions were displayed between syntactic comprehension and decoding. In conclusion, the results of this study support particular types of interactions that are necessary to comprehend the elements of the reading process that students with DD adhere to. Interactions that are essential to developing appropriate intervention programs aimed at improving students’ reading skills through effective reading practices.