Foundations of Dyslexia & Language-Based Learning Disabilities Flashcards

A 10-year-old with dyslexia reads at a 2nd-grade level despite average intelligence and adequate instruction. According to RTI frameworks, this student likely requires which level of intervention?

Answer: Tier 3 — intensive individualized intervention

A student reading three or more years below grade level despite prior instruction meets criteria for Tier 3 intensive, individualized intervention within an RTI/MTSS framework.

Which aspect of phonological processing involves the ability to hold and manipulate speech sounds in short-term memory?

Answer: Phonological memory (verbal working memory)

Phonological memory refers to the ability to store phonological information in short-term/working memory and is one of three core components of phonological processing (along with PA and RAN).

Research by Stanovich (1986) introduced the 'Matthew Effect' in reading, which means:

Answer: Early reading difficulties compound over time as poor readers read less and fall further behind

The Matthew Effect describes how early reading failure leads to less reading practice, slower vocabulary growth, and widening achievement gaps compared to strong readers.

Which federal law explicitly requires schools to use 'objective criteria' including 'a pattern of strengths and weaknesses' when identifying students with specific learning disabilities?

Answer: Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) 2004

IDEA 2004 allows states to use either RTI data or a pattern of strengths and weaknesses approach (alongside other criteria) to identify students with specific learning disabilities including dyslexia.

A student with dyslexia writes 'wuz' for 'was' and 'sed' for 'said.' These phonetically plausible misspellings indicate which type of spelling knowledge?

Answer: Phonological spelling strategy with limited orthographic knowledge

Phonetically plausible errors show the student is applying phoneme-grapheme correspondences but lacks the orthographic pattern knowledge needed for conventional spelling.

Which of the following best distinguishes dyslexia from an intellectual disability when reading difficulties are present?

Answer: Dyslexia is characterized by unexpected reading difficulty relative to overall cognitive ability and adequate instruction

The defining feature of dyslexia is unexpected reading difficulty—the reading deficit is disproportionate to the student's overall cognitive ability and cannot be explained by intellectual disability alone.

Which of the following is a hallmark characteristic of the written language of older students with dyslexia who have partially compensated for reading difficulties?

Answer: Use of simple vocabulary to avoid misspelling more complex words they know orally

Compensated students often use simpler, safer vocabulary in writing to avoid misspelling multisyllabic words they know and use orally, masking their true language knowledge.