| Title: |
Specificity, Co-Occurrence, and Growth: Math and Reading Skill Development in Children with Learning Disabilities |
| Language: |
English |
| Authors: |
Katherine Helene Connors (ORCID 0009-0004-2631-2931); Emily L. Guertin (ORCID 0000-0002-0854-8463); Melissa Nichol; Joan M. Bosson-Heenan; Jeffrey R. Gruen (ORCID 0000-0001-7640-2071); Jan C. Frijters (ORCID 0000-0001-5625-4892) |
| Source: |
Journal of Learning Disabilities. 2025 58(6):411-430. |
| Availability: |
SAGE Publications and Hammill Institute on Disabilities. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: https://sagepub.com |
| Peer Reviewed: |
Y |
| Page Count: |
20 |
| Publication Date: |
2025 |
| Sponsoring Agency: |
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) (DHHS/NIH) |
| Contract Number: |
P50HD027802 |
| Document Type: |
Journal Articles; Reports - Research |
| Education Level: |
Early Childhood Education; Elementary Education; Grade 1; Primary Education |
| Descriptors: |
Students with Disabilities; Learning Disabilities; Mathematics Skills; Reading Skills; Grade 1; Elementary School Students; Skill Development; Comorbidity; Student Characteristics; Socioeconomic Status; Racial Differences; Ethnicity |
| Geographic Terms: |
Connecticut (New Haven) |
| Assessment and Survey Identifiers: |
Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence; Test of Word Reading Efficiency; Woodcock Johnson Tests of Achievement; Gray Oral Reading Test |
| DOI: |
10.1177/00222194241312189 |
| ISSN: |
0022-2194; 1538-4780 |
| Abstract: |
Learning disabilities are challenging to characterize because they evolve throughout development, frequently co-occur, and have varying domain specificity. Addressing these challenges, we analyzed longitudinal patterns of growth, co-occurrence, and specificity manifesting in the math and reading skills of children with and without learning disabilities. With a sample of 498 Grade 1 U.S. children followed for 5 years, we used linear mixed-effects models to explore group-level differences among children with math disability (MD), reading disability (RD), co-occurring disability, and no disability. Findings revealed: Math and reading trajectories of children with learning disabilities parallel those of children without disabilities. Skill growth slows over time, regardless of skill level, suggesting disability-related impairments will not resolve without intervention. Impairment levels and growth trajectories of children with co-occurring disabilities match the within-domain patterns of children with isolated disabilities, supporting a longitudinally maintained additive model of co-occurrence. MD and RD show varying specificity. MD impairments are domain-specific and become more pronounced over time. RD impairments impact both domains early, become more domain-specific over time, but maintain curriculum-contingent math deficits. Findings suggest early math intervention should balance linguistic and conceptual support, as the source of a child's math difficulties may not be clear until well into elementary school. |
| Abstractor: |
As Provided |
| Entry Date: |
2025 |
| Accession Number: |
EJ1488653 |
| Database: |
ERIC |