The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effects of a multimodal program, designed for practicing reading, on reading development in struggling readers in two different countries. The research question was whether one specific training method will have a positive effect on pupils' reading development in two different countries with…

We investigated the stability and developmental interplay of word reading and spelling in samples of Swedish (N = 191) and U.S. children (N = 489) followed across four time points: end of kindergarten, grades 1, 2, and 4. Cross-lagged path models revealed that reading and spelling showed moderate to strong autoregressive effects, with reading…

This study examined the effects of early phonological training on emergent phonological and reading skills. Children (N = 364) were randomly assigned in small groups to a phonological training group (n = 117), or a control group (n = 247) including both a non-phonological training group and a non-trained control group. The phonological training…

Language abilities in preschool years, including those measured with letter knowledge, are predictors of reading development in later school years. The aim of this study was to investigate variation in children's language abilities before they started school in relation to gender and neighborhood level socioeconomic status (SES). Schools from…

Background: Previous research has shown positive effects of Omega 3/6 fatty acids in children with inattention and reading difficulties. We aimed to investigate if Omega 3/6 improved reading ability in mainstream schoolchildren. Methods: We performed a 3-month parallel, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial followed by 3-month active…

This study investigated if developmental dyscalculia (DD) in children with different profiles of mathematical deficits has the same or different cognitive origins. The defective approximate number system hypothesis and the access deficit hypothesis were tested using two different groups of children with DD (11-13 years old): a group with…

The analyses presented in this report indicate that in several Member States (MS) 15-year-old students in vocational-oriented programmes (VET) perform better in digital reading than in print reading in PISA 2012. When differentiated by programme of study--VET versus general education programmes--VET students perform better in digital than in print…

Word reading skills and reading-related language and cognitive correlates were examined in Swedish 10-15-year-olds with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The full group with ASD did not differ statistically from an age-matched comparison group in word reading, but a poor-readers subgroup was identified who displayed severe difficulties. Normal…

This article investigates the potential for developing advanced reading and interpretative skills in Swedish secondary school. Over six weeks, four separate study groups in seventh grade participated in an intervention study. The purpose was to gather more knowledge about how different teaching strategies affect students' development of advanced…

Literacy acquisition by using computers and computer tablets is rapidly gaining ground in Swedish classrooms. This article explores the hypothesis that computer-writing vitalizes the learning of literacy, in comparison with approaches using books and pencils. The results of two separate studies in two different settings where prewriting and…

For the first time, a pan-European study offers a comprehensive picture of reading literacy and identifies some of the key factors impacting on the acquisition of reading skills for 3-15 year olds. It addresses four key topics: teaching approaches, tackling reading difficulties, teacher education and the promotion of reading outside school. It…

Reading skills at age 7-8 years were examined in a community-representative sample of 21 screened and clinically examined children with language delay (LD) followed prospectively from 2.5 years of age. The present study aimed to (1) determine whether these children with a history of LD had deficits in basic reading skills, i.e. decoding and…

This study presents a comparison between how six teachers and their 17-year-old students talked about texts in civics and nursing science during regular lessons and during two lessons where structured text talk in smaller groups was used. The majority of students were poor readers and attended vocational programmes. The text talks were videotaped.…

In a longitudinal intervention study, the effects of three intervention strategies on the reading skills of children with reading disabilities in Grade 2 were analyzed. The interventions consisted of computerized training programs: One bottom-up intervention aimed at improving word decoding skills and phonological abilities, the second…

High-functioning children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) have been reported to have an early success in reading. Children with attention disorders such as DAMP or ADHD, on the other hand, often struggle acquiring reading skills. The primary aim of the study was two-fold: (a) to compare reading performance of children with ASD, DAMP and…