Brawn Gabrielle, Kohnen Saskia, Tassabehji May, Porter Melanie
a Psychology Department , Macquarie University , Sydney , Australia.
b Centre for Atypical Neurodevelopment , Macquarie University , Sydney , Australia.
Dev Neuropsychol. 2018;43(5):454-477. doi: 10.1080/87565641.2018.1455838. Epub 2018 Mar 30.
This study investigated whether individuals with Williams syndrome (WS) can attain a functional level of basic reading skills. The Study also investigated broader cognitive factors associated with reading ability in individuals with WS. Thirty individuals with WS participated in this study (mean chronological age 21 years and mean mental age 7 years 7 months). The results supported our hypotheses that: firstly, reading abilities would be heterogeneous in WS; secondly, at least some WS individuals are capable of achieving a functional basic reading level; and thirdly, on average, WS individuals would find reading of nonwords more difficult than reading of regular and irregular words. Moreover, higher reading ability was found to be associated with increased outcomes in adaptive functioning, in particular, Written and Expressive Communication skills and Community Living skills, highlighting the potential benefits of developing reading abilities in WS. Although Intelligence Quotient (IQ) was related to overall basic reading ability generally, it was not found to be a determining factor in reading subtypes. Several cognitive skills known to be related to reading ability in typically developing individuals were found to be associated with reading performance and reading subtypes. Implications for appropriate reading instruction are discussed.
本研究调查了患有威廉姆斯综合征（WS）的个体是否能够达到基本阅读技能的功能水平。该研究还调查了与WS个体阅读能力相关的更广泛的认知因素。30名WS个体参与了本研究（实际年龄平均21岁，心理年龄平均7岁7个月）。结果支持了我们的假设：第一，WS个体的阅读能力存在异质性；第二，至少一些WS个体能够达到功能性基本阅读水平；第三，平均而言，WS个体阅读非单词比阅读常规和不规则单词更困难。此外，研究发现较高的阅读能力与适应性功能的改善相关，特别是书面和表达沟通技能以及社区生活技能，这突出了在WS个体中培养阅读能力的潜在益处。虽然智商（IQ）通常与整体基本阅读能力相关，但未发现它是阅读子类型的决定性因素。研究发现，一些在典型发育个体中已知与阅读能力相关的认知技能与阅读表现和阅读子类型有关。本文讨论了对适当阅读教学的启示。
