Single versus multiple cognitive deficit models of reading development: A behavioural study of the cognitive profiles of Dutch poor reading children through a case series analysis

Abstract

This study investigated the cognitive profiles of poor reading Dutch children after one year of formal reading education. Its aim was to uncover which of the five leading models of cognitive profiles best fitted the cognitive profiles of the participating children, (i) the Single Phonological Deficit model, (ii) the Single Deficit Subtypes model, (iii) the Phonological Core, Multiple Deficits model, (iv) the Multiple Deficits model, or (v) the Hybrid/Multifactorial model. The study’s main objective was to help gain insight into how reading problems could potentially be detected early. The recruited poor readers were tested on a test battery designed to tap into the domains of Phoneme Awareness, Naming Speed, Broader Language Skill and Orthography. A case series analysis was conducted to compare the performance of the poor readers (n = 30) to the performance of the control group (n = 36) on each task and uncover the cognitive profiles of the poor readers. The results revealed a large variability in cognitive profiles that was best accounted for by the Hybrid/Multifactorial model. This finding is argued to provide grounds to reassess the basis on which diagnostic decisions are currently made.