Annals of Dyslexia最新文献

{"title":"Teacher identification of reading difficulties among Arabic-speaking third graders in Israel: a pilot study.","authors":"Sumod Khatib-Abbas, Orly Lipka","doi":"10.1007/s11881-025-00331-4","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s11881-025-00331-4","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Recently, concerns have been raised about Arabic-speaking students' reading achievement in Israel. Understanding language teachers' ability to identify poor reading skills is crucial to improve students' literacy outcomes. This pilot study examined three main aspects: the factors Arabic-speaking language teachers use to determine their third-grade students' word reading fluency and comprehension, their ability to identify students who need an intervention based on their reading performance, and the differences between teachers who make accurate and those who make inaccurate assessments of their students' literacy skills. The pilot study included a preliminary sample of 58 teachers and 112 students, with one to three students selected from each teacher's classroom for assessment. All participants were native Arabic speakers. Initial findings suggest that the main factors informing teachers' decisions on reading fluency and comprehension are vocabulary size (65.70%-77.70%), linguistic skills (63.9%-76%), and oral reading level (62%-74.30%), while less emphasis was placed on test scores (25.9%-31%) and parents' reports (13.9%-32.80%). Four distinct profiles of students at risk of reading difficulties (ARORD) emerged: low word reading fluency and comprehension (22%), low fluency only (12%), low comprehension only (4%), and a typical group (62%). Teachers identified students with difficulties in both areas with 80% accuracy, in reading comprehension with 60%, in word reading fluency with 0%, and in the typical group with 65%. The data indicated that teachers who taught more student-facing hours were better at identifying students ARORD. The implucations highlighte the need for teachers training focused on enhancing Arabic teachers' ability to accurately assess literacy skills and become familiar with different profiles of students' reading difficulties.</p>","PeriodicalId":47273,"journal":{"name":"Annals of Dyslexia","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-06-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144250257","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Content analysis of state-level review materials for K-2 core literacy curricula.","authors":"Alisha Demchak, Katlynn Dahl-Leonard, Emily J Solari, Colby Hall, Stephanie Tatel, Katie E Wilburn","doi":"10.1007/s11881-025-00334-1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s11881-025-00334-1","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Within the last two decades, several states have enacted literacy-related legislation with the goal of improving national literacy outcomes for students. In alignment with this legislation, some states have undertaken a core literacy curriculum review process. These processes often involve the development and implementation of an evaluation system (e.g., rubric, checklist), resulting in a list of approved, high-quality, core literacy curricula that school systems are either required or recommended to adopt. However, little is known about the materials states use to review core literacy curricula. This study sought to identify which states engage in the review of K-2 core literacy curricula and to examine the materials they use to identify high-quality curricula. A content analysis of K-2 core literacy curriculum review materials from 24 states revealed large variability across materials. Overall, there was preliminary support of evidence-based content and pedagogy reflected in the materials. At the same time, there was potential for better alignment with some evidence-based practices. Further examination of K-2 core literacy curriculum review materials and the processes in which they are used is crucial to ensure clarity and consistency for educators, policymakers, and publishers. With sustained focus on evidence-based approaches and cross-state collaboration and alignment, there exists the potential to create meaningful and lasting improvements in literacy instruction and outcomes for all students.</p>","PeriodicalId":47273,"journal":{"name":"Annals of Dyslexia","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-06-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144235543","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Testing variations in sublexical units to improve word reading for students with word reading disabilities.","authors":"Alexis N Boucher, Nathan H Clemens, Sharon Vaughn, Greg Roberts, Marcia A Barnes","doi":"10.1007/s11881-025-00332-3","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s11881-025-00332-3","url":null,"abstract":"&lt;p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Word reading disabilities (WRD) represent the most common disability in reading; however, questions remain regarding how to design instruction that results in significant, long-lasting effects on word reading outcomes for individuals who experience considerable difficulties that persist within and beyond primary grades. Two related studies examined effects of variations in targeted sublexical content on word reading efficiency of students in grades 2-4 with WRD. Study 1 addressed effects of instruction and practice targeting complex vs. simple letter units. Study 2 addressed effects of instruction and practice targeting multiple pronunciations of a letter unit vs. standard pronunciations alone. In Study 1, statistically significant differences at posttest on taught ( &lt;math&gt;&lt;mrow&gt;&lt;mi&gt;β&lt;/mi&gt; &lt;mo&gt;=&lt;/mo&gt; &lt;mn&gt;9.43&lt;/mn&gt; &lt;mo&gt;,&lt;/mo&gt; &lt;mi&gt;t&lt;/mi&gt; &lt;mfenced&gt;&lt;mn&gt;56&lt;/mn&gt;&lt;/mfenced&gt; &lt;mrow&gt;&lt;mo&gt;=&lt;/mo&gt; &lt;mn&gt;2.32&lt;/mn&gt; &lt;mo&gt;,&lt;/mo&gt; &lt;mi&gt;p&lt;/mi&gt; &lt;mo&gt;=&lt;/mo&gt; &lt;mn&gt;0.02&lt;/mn&gt; &lt;mo&gt;;&lt;/mo&gt; &lt;mi&gt;g&lt;/mi&gt; &lt;mo&gt;=&lt;/mo&gt; &lt;mn&gt;0.17&lt;/mn&gt; &lt;mo&gt;,&lt;/mo&gt; &lt;mn&gt;95&lt;/mn&gt; &lt;mtext&gt;% CI&lt;/mtext&gt; &lt;mspace&gt;&lt;/mspace&gt; &lt;mrow&gt;&lt;mo&gt;[&lt;/mo&gt; &lt;mn&gt;0.01&lt;/mn&gt; &lt;mo&gt;,&lt;/mo&gt; &lt;mn&gt;0.33&lt;/mn&gt; &lt;mo&gt;]&lt;/mo&gt;&lt;/mrow&gt; &lt;mo&gt;)&lt;/mo&gt;&lt;/mrow&gt; &lt;/mrow&gt; &lt;/math&gt; and untaught &lt;math&gt;&lt;mfenced&gt;&lt;mi&gt;β&lt;/mi&gt; &lt;mo&gt;=&lt;/mo&gt; &lt;mn&gt;8.44&lt;/mn&gt; &lt;mo&gt;,&lt;/mo&gt; &lt;mi&gt;t&lt;/mi&gt; &lt;mfenced&gt;&lt;mn&gt;56&lt;/mn&gt;&lt;/mfenced&gt; &lt;mo&gt;=&lt;/mo&gt; &lt;mn&gt;2.09&lt;/mn&gt; &lt;mo&gt;,&lt;/mo&gt; &lt;mi&gt;p&lt;/mi&gt; &lt;mo&gt;=&lt;/mo&gt; &lt;mn&gt;0.04&lt;/mn&gt; &lt;mo&gt;;&lt;/mo&gt; &lt;mi&gt;g&lt;/mi&gt; &lt;mo&gt;=&lt;/mo&gt; &lt;mn&gt;0.15&lt;/mn&gt; &lt;mo&gt;,&lt;/mo&gt; &lt;mn&gt;95&lt;/mn&gt; &lt;mtext&gt;% CI&lt;/mtext&gt; &lt;mspace&gt;&lt;/mspace&gt; &lt;mrow&gt;&lt;mo&gt;[&lt;/mo&gt; &lt;mo&gt;-&lt;/mo&gt; &lt;mn&gt;0.01&lt;/mn&gt; &lt;mo&gt;,&lt;/mo&gt; &lt;mn&gt;0.31&lt;/mn&gt; &lt;mo&gt;]&lt;/mo&gt;&lt;/mrow&gt; &lt;/mfenced&gt; &lt;/math&gt; words included in Aligned Word Lists favored the complex letter unit condition. In Study 2, statistically significant differences at posttest on taught words included in Aligned Word Lists favored the standard pronunciations condition &lt;math&gt;&lt;mrow&gt;&lt;mo&gt;(&lt;/mo&gt; &lt;mi&gt;β&lt;/mi&gt; &lt;mo&gt;=&lt;/mo&gt; &lt;mo&gt;-&lt;/mo&gt; &lt;mn&gt;4.15&lt;/mn&gt; &lt;mo&gt;,&lt;/mo&gt; &lt;mi&gt;t&lt;/mi&gt; &lt;mfenced&gt;&lt;mn&gt;60&lt;/mn&gt;&lt;/mfenced&gt; &lt;mo&gt;=&lt;/mo&gt; &lt;mo&gt;-&lt;/mo&gt; &lt;mn&gt;2.04&lt;/mn&gt; &lt;mo&gt;,&lt;/mo&gt; &lt;mi&gt;p&lt;/mi&gt; &lt;mo&gt;=&lt;/mo&gt; &lt;mn&gt;0.045&lt;/mn&gt; &lt;mo&gt;;&lt;/mo&gt; &lt;mi&gt;g&lt;/mi&gt; &lt;mo&gt;=&lt;/mo&gt; &lt;mo&gt;-&lt;/mo&gt; &lt;mn&gt;0.18&lt;/mn&gt; &lt;mo&gt;,&lt;/mo&gt; &lt;mn&gt;95&lt;/mn&gt; &lt;mtext&gt;% CI&lt;/mtext&gt; &lt;mspace&gt;&lt;/mspace&gt; &lt;mrow&gt;&lt;mo&gt;[&lt;/mo&gt; &lt;mo&gt;-&lt;/mo&gt; &lt;mn&gt;0.35&lt;/mn&gt; &lt;mo&gt;,&lt;/mo&gt; &lt;mn&gt;0.004&lt;/mn&gt; &lt;mo&gt;]&lt;/mo&gt;&lt;/mrow&gt; &lt;mo&gt;)&lt;/mo&gt;&lt;/mrow&gt; &lt;/math&gt; and group differences in average student performance were non-significant on untaught words &lt;math&gt; &lt;mrow&gt;&lt;mfenced&gt;&lt;mi&gt;β&lt;/mi&gt; &lt;mo&gt;=&lt;/mo&gt; &lt;mo&gt;-&lt;/mo&gt; &lt;mn&gt;0.22&lt;/mn&gt; &lt;mo&gt;,&lt;/mo&gt; &lt;mi&gt;t&lt;/mi&gt; &lt;mfenced&gt;&lt;mn&gt;60&lt;/mn&gt;&lt;/mfenced&gt; &lt;mo&gt;=&lt;/mo&gt; &lt;mo&gt;-&lt;/mo&gt; &lt;mn&gt;0.06&lt;/mn&gt; &lt;mo&gt;,&lt;/mo&gt; &lt;mi&gt;p&lt;/mi&gt; &lt;mo&gt;=&lt;/mo&gt; &lt;mn&gt;0.96&lt;/mn&gt; &lt;mo&gt;;&lt;/mo&gt; &lt;mi&gt;g&lt;/mi&gt; &lt;mo&gt;=&lt;/mo&gt; &lt;mo&gt;-&lt;/mo&gt; &lt;mn&gt;0.01&lt;/mn&gt; &lt;mo&gt;,&lt;/mo&gt; &lt;mn&gt;95&lt;/mn&gt; &lt;mtext&gt;% CI&lt;/mtext&gt; &lt;mspace&gt;&lt;/mspace&gt; &lt;mfenced&gt;&lt;mo&gt;-&lt;/mo&gt; &lt;mn&gt;0.17&lt;/mn&gt; &lt;mo&gt;,&lt;/mo&gt; &lt;mn&gt;0.17&lt;/mn&gt;&lt;/mfenced&gt; &lt;/mfenced&gt; &lt;mo&gt;.&lt;/mo&gt;&lt;/mrow&gt; &lt;/math&gt; Given the modest sample sizes (N = 64) and amount of instruction provided in each study (i.e., 6 lessons), further research is warranted to better understand the impact of variations in targeted sublexical content on word rea","PeriodicalId":47273,"journal":{"name":"Annals of Dyslexia","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-05-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144112345","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Correction: Orthographic‑phonological mapping impairments in Chinese children with developmental dyslexia: insights from an ERP investigation.","authors":"Yixuan Song, Jiexin Gu, Siqi Song, Xiuwei Quan","doi":"10.1007/s11881-025-00329-y","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s11881-025-00329-y","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":47273,"journal":{"name":"Annals of Dyslexia","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-05-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144081359","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Relationships of trait anxiety, test anxiety, and academic performance of Chinese undergraduates with typical developments and high- and typical-functioning specific learning disabilities.","authors":"Li-Chih Wang, Kevin Kien-Hoa Chung","doi":"10.1007/s11881-025-00328-z","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s11881-025-00328-z","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This study aimed to compare trait anxiety and test anxiety among Chinese undergraduates with typical development, high-functioning specific learning disabilities (SLD), and typical-functioning SLD, and to examine the mediating role of test anxiety in the relationship between trait anxiety and academic performance across these three groups. The study included 239 s-year undergraduate students from universities in Taiwan, with 134 typically developing students, 54 students with typical-functioning SLD, and 51 students with high-functioning SLD. Our results indicated that the high-functioning SLD group reported significantly lower levels of trait anxiety and test anxiety compared to both the typically developing and typical-functioning SLD groups. The typical-functioning SLD group exhibited the highest levels of test anxiety. Mediation analyses revealed that test anxiety significantly mediated the relationship between trait anxiety and academic performance in the high-functioning SLD group, while only a direct effect of trait anxiety on academic performance was found in the typical-functioning SLD group. No significant direct or indirect effects were found in the typically developing group. Our findings highlight distinct anxiety profiles and differential patterns of direct and indirect effects of trait anxiety on academic performance among Chinese undergraduates with high-functioning SLD, typical-functioning SLD, and typical development.</p>","PeriodicalId":47273,"journal":{"name":"Annals of Dyslexia","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-04-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144054106","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The role of self-compassion in adults with dyslexia.","authors":"Georgia Niolaki, Alexandra-Iuliana Negoita, Aris Terzopoulos, Jackie Masterson","doi":"10.1007/s11881-025-00327-0","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s11881-025-00327-0","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The emotional aspect of dyslexia has recently received more attention. A growing body of literature highlights the links between dyslexia and self-perception (such as self-esteem and self-efficacy) and psychopathology (such as anxiety). However, there is no research on self-compassion in adults with dyslexia. The current study aimed to examine the role of self-compassion in relation to self-esteem, self-efficacy and anxiety in adults with dyslexia. We investigated whether facets of self-compassion have distinct roles within these relationships. We also aimed to identify whether self-compassion mediates the association of self-esteem and self-efficacy with dyslexia and anxiety. Findings are reported from 100 adults with dyslexia who took part in an online survey involving measures of self-compassion, self-esteem and self-efficacy, and anxiety. Self-compassion was related to the other measures and was found to mediate the association of anxiety with self-esteem and self-efficacy, which has not been reported before in adults with dyslexia.</p>","PeriodicalId":47273,"journal":{"name":"Annals of Dyslexia","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-04-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144054148","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Language skills of adults with dyslexia in English as a foreign language: proposal of a language spontaneity deficit hypothesis.","authors":"Uxue Pérez-Litago, Josué M Rojas-Guerra, Cristina Martínez-García, Paz Suárez-Coalla","doi":"10.1007/s11881-025-00326-1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s11881-025-00326-1","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Developmental dyslexia is characterized by reading and writing deficits that persist into adulthood. However, the mechanisms underlying these deficits appear to affect several language domains negatively. The present study aims to investigate how 18 native Spanish-speaking adults with developmental dyslexia perform different language tasks in English as a foreign language. For this purpose, reading and oral comprehension were performed along with written and oral production tasks by adults with dyslexia and their control peers. The results suggest that Spanish adults with dyslexia need more time to read English texts, and their reading comprehension is significantly worse than that of the control group. In written production, differences from the control group were found in the number of spelling errors. In addition, the oral productions showed differences in semantic errors, lexical diversity, and sentence complexity. Interestingly, the group differences for all measures were greater for the oral than for the written production tasks, leading to the hypothesis that this population is negatively affected by the spontaneity of the situation. In terms of practical implications, it seems important to provide special support for adults with dyslexia not only for written language learning but also for oral language learning in English.</p>","PeriodicalId":47273,"journal":{"name":"Annals of Dyslexia","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-03-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143711604","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The mental health and social emotional skills of students with different learning difficulties in China.","authors":"Ling-Ling Wang, Dan-Xin Huang, Dan Cai, George K Georgiou","doi":"10.1007/s11881-025-00325-2","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s11881-025-00325-2","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This study aimed to examine the mental health and social-emotional skills of individuals with mathematics difficulties (MD), reading difficulties (RD), and comorbid difficulties (MDRD) in China. Students with MD (n = 35), RD (n = 27), MDRD (n = 43), and typically-developing peers (TD, n = 167) completed the Children's Depression Inventory, the Children's Loneliness Questionnaire, the Social Anxiety Questionnaire, and the Survey on Social Emotional Skills (SSES). In regard to mental health, results showed that MDRD experienced significantly higher levels of loneliness compared to TD, while MD had significantly higher levels of depression than TD. No significant differences were found in mental health outcomes between the MD, RD, and MDRD groups. In regard to social-emotional skills, the results showed that MD had significantly lower levels of persistence, responsibility, self-control, emotional control, curiosity, and energy compared to TD. MDRD also showed significantly lower curiosity compared to TD. There were no significant differences in task performance, emotional regulation, collaboration, and open-mindedness among the MD, RD, and MDRD groups. These findings suggest that different learning difficulties are associated with distinct profiles of mental health and social-emotional skills.</p>","PeriodicalId":47273,"journal":{"name":"Annals of Dyslexia","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-03-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143568404","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Correction: Exploring sources of reading comprehension difficulties among adolescents in Taiwan: a latent profile analysis with a focus on content‑area reading","authors":"Hsuan‑Hui Wang,&nbsp;Li‑Yu Hung","doi":"10.1007/s11881-025-00324-3","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s11881-025-00324-3","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":47273,"journal":{"name":"Annals of Dyslexia","volume":"75 1","pages":"178 - 178"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-02-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143517016","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Early akshara knowledge in beginner readers in Sinhala: a cross-sectional study","authors":"Samanmali P. Sumanasena,&nbsp;L. B. Thilini C. Lokubalasuriya,&nbsp;Rajphriyadharshini Rajmohan,&nbsp;W. K. Hasini Iranthika,&nbsp;D. Chamilka C. Sooriyaarachchi,&nbsp;Wageesha P. Widanapathirane,&nbsp;J. Sachini U. Wijesiri,&nbsp;Sambavi Arulananthan,&nbsp;Tamara G. Handy,&nbsp;Balachandran Kumarendran","doi":"10.1007/s11881-024-00318-7","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s11881-024-00318-7","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>A descriptive cross-sectional study was undertaken with Sinhala speaking students from grades 1 and 2 in the Gampaha District of Sri Lanka to determine how akshara graphical features influence emerging reading skills. A battery of locally validated assessments evaluated akshara knowledge (recognition and production), word reading (accurate and fluent), accurate sentence reading and visual perceptual skills. The study examined the graphic complexity of akshara by examining the number of disconnected components (DC), connected points (CP) and simple features (SF). This preliminary study explored how graphic complexity measures and visual perceptual skills correlated with akshara knowledge and how visual perceptual skills and akshara knowledge independently correlated with word and sentence reading abilities. Students from 27 schools participated. Out of the total 4847 students, 2447 (50.5%) were females and 2400 (49.5%) were from grade 1. Results demonstrated that 21 (0.43%) of students could neither recognise nor produce a single akshara, whilst 640 (13.2%) students could not recognise a single akshara with diacritics. It was the graphic complexity of the base akshara in addition to the diacritics added to it and the akshara production with long vowel sounds what students found most challenging. The study found that akshara without diacritic recognition and production was significantly associated with the number of CP and SF and visual perceptual skills, matching and sequencing significantly correlated with akshara with and without diacritic recognition and production for students in both grades. Furthermore, akshara with and without diacritics recognition and production together with visual perceptual skills matching and sequencing independently correlated with accurate word reading, fluent word reading and sentence reading abilities in binary logistic regression analysis. The important implication of this preliminary study is that it urges the field of early educators to consider the role of visual perceptual skills on early akshara learning when teaching akshara to beginner learners, whilst it is essential to further explore factors contributing towards akshara with diacritic knowledge in beginner Sinhala readers.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":47273,"journal":{"name":"Annals of Dyslexia","volume":"75 1","pages":"110 - 148"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-02-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143494178","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}