Describing the cognitive characteristics of reading disability

Abstract

The present study examined cognitive correlates of reading disability (RD) as a function of comorbidity. Students with RD vs. RD+MD (math disability) vs. RD+ADHD (attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder) and RD+MD+ADHD (n = 212), as well as students typical achievement (TA, n =51) were tested on a large cognitive battery. Profile analysis, conducted to examine how the cognitive and reading profiles of these groups were alike and different, cognitive analysis revealed that, across subtypes, students with RD were particularly weak in phonological awareness and oral expression and relatively strong in visuospatial short-term memory relative to peers with TA. Among the RD subtypes, those with RD-only were less impaired on cognitive measures but the subtypes did not have different patterns of strength and weakness.