A Developmental Study of the Relation between Oral Language and Early Reading in Learning Disabled and Normally Achieving Children

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to investigate the developmental and group differences in learning disabled and normally achieving children on measures of oral and written language. Sixty five-, six-, and seven-year-old learning disabled children and the same number of normally achieving children were administered the Test of Early Reading Ability (Reid, Hresko, & Hammill, 1981) and the Test of Early Language Development (Hresko, Reid, & Hammill, 1981). Multivariate and univariate analyses of variance indicated significant group differences with normally achieving children scoring higher, and significant age differences with older children scoring higher. Further, significant and substantial correlations were found between the two measures for all groups except the normally achieving six-year-olds. The results were interpreted as support for the view that oral and written language are interactive in their development, and that young children come to school with some reading abilities. The educational implications suggest that the instruction of oral and written language should be approached in an integrated manner, and that teachers should strive to understand what abilities children bring to school before beginning instruction.