Can Difficulties in Language Acquisition and Specific Learning Disabilities Be Separated Among English Learners?

Abstract

This study investigated the prevalence of latent classes at risk for reading or math disabilities in elementary-age children whose first language is Spanish. To this end, children ( N = 394) in Grades 1, 2, and 3 were administered a battery of vocabulary, reading, math, and cognitive measures in both Spanish and English. Three important findings occurred. First, five latent classes emerged (average achievers, poor achievers, reading disabled, English language learners, Spanish-dominant achievers) that varied in language and achievement scores. Second, probability estimates indicated that 10% of the total sample was at risk for learning disabilities (below cutoff score), and approximately 40% of the sample reflected a language acquisition group not at risk for academic difficulties. Finally, the best model for correctly predicting the odds of latent classes differing from average achievers included English measures of short-term memory, naming speed, and the executive component of working memory. The results support the notion that statistically distinct latent classes emerge under the umbrella of children identified as English learners and that children at risk for specific learning disabilities can be separated among a heterogeneous sample of children who are acquiring English as a second language.

The stability of learning disabilities among emergent bilingual children: A latent transition analysis.

“…4 The children in this study were designated as ELs by their school and were 3 Four large elementary urban schools from two large metropolitan areas participated in this study. The sample at Year 1 was also described in Swanson et al (2020). The sample was identified by the school district as English learners.…”

“…The present study also determined whether the cognitive processes related to language, reading, and math measures vary as a function of latent class (also see Swanson et al, 2020). For example, deficits in the phonological system (phonological storage) have been attributed to RD in English (e.g., Stanovich & Siegel, 1994) and Spanish (e.g., González & Valle, 2000).…”

“…Latent class analysis (LCA) is a statistical method used to identify subgroups of individuals characterized by similar multidimensional patterns of responses (e.g., Muthén & Muthén, 2012). A rationale for using latent class or mixture modeling is that although reading and/or math performance in children at risk for learning disabilities can be represented as a continuous outcome variable, the sample may be composed of different groups (or classes) of individuals (Swanson et al, 2016, 2018, 2020). This group membership is not directly observed in continuous outcomes variables, even though the distribution of children’s reading and/or math proficiency may reflect at least two different latent classes (e.g., children at risk and not at risk for academic difficulties).…”

Making FAPE Appropriate Now for Students with Learning Disabilities

“…In reality, decades of research show that students with LD do differ from their peers—not only in how they learn, but in the instructional practices needed to support their learning. Despite ongoing confusion over how to operationally define and identify students as having LD (Büttner & Hasselhorn, 2011; Hale et al, 2010; Siegel, 2019; Ysseldyke et al, 1983), they do have characteristics that distinguish them from other struggling learners, including having distinct neuronal architecture and functioning (Ashkenazi et al, 2013; Peck et al, 2018) and difficulties with processing information, characteristics that may be rooted in such cognitive functions as working memory, self–regulation, and motivation (Berkeley & Ray, 2019; Johnson et al, 2010; Peng & Fuchs, 2016; Quirk & Schwanenflugel, 2004; Sainio et al, 2019; Swanson et al, 2020). Students with LD who are found to be eligible for special education services typically learn at a slower rate, achieve less, and retain knowledge and skills less successfully than nondisabled struggling peers, even when receiving the same interventions, and despite receiving supports such as accommodations (Johnson et al, 2010; Sanchez & O'Connor, 2015; Schwartz et al, 2021).…”

Reading and writing difficulties in bilingual learners

“…It is imperative in the education system to be able to distinguish second language acquisition from reading and writing difficulties among bilingual learners from early childhood to adolescent periods (Olsen, 2010;Parrish et al, 2006). So far, sources of reading difficulties in bilingual children reported in the literature include limited code-based skills and linguistic comprehension including vocabulary and oral comprehension (Kieffer & Vukovic, 2012), working memory (Swanson et al, 2020), inference-making skills and reading engagement (Barber et al, 2022), among many other factors.…”