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Specific Language Impairment: Current trends in research
Edited by Stavroula Stavrakaki
[Language Acquisition and Language Disorders 58] 2015
► pp. 89–112

Comparing SLI and dyslexia: developmental language profiles and reading outcomes

| Utrecht University, Utrecht institute of Linguistics OTS
| University of Amsterdam, Research Institute of Child Development and Education
| Royal Dutch Kentalis
| University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam Center for Language and Communication
| University of Amsterdam, Research Institute of Child Development and Education
In light of the striking overlap in symptoms, it has been proposed that SLI and dyslexia reflect the same underlying disorder, differing only in severity. An alternative view is that SLI and dyslexia overlap (only) partially, sharing some risk factors, and differing on various others. We will address this debate by presenting results from a longitudinal study of children at familial risk of dyslexia and children with SLI. We focus on two experimental tasks conducted with preschool children, assessing morphosyntactic ability and phonological processing. The performances of each group were compared and related to language and literacy profiles established at age 8. The results agree most with the hypothesis that SLI and dyslexia share risk factors, but are not fully overlapping.
Published online: 11 August 2015
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https://doi.org/10.1075/lald.58.04wij
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