Impact of the Time of Diagnosis on the Perceived Competence of Adolescents With Dyslexia

Abstract

Abundant research has shown that the academic setting provides an important positive reinforcement for the development of high self-perceptions, in other words, for how children view or perceive themselves (e.g., Pajares & Schunk, 2001). The perceptions children develop about their academic capacities play a large role in how children perceive themselves more generally and have been argued to also largely shape the way they perceive the world at large and engage in new experiences (Usher & Pajares, 2008). The consequences in terms of self-perceptions for children whose reading and learning experiences are altered and who are thereby faced with difficulties on an academic level, such as children with dyslexia, can thus be significant and warrant investigation. Developmental dyslexia can be defined as a neurodevelopmental disorder that affects children's ability to produce accurate and fluent word reading and spelling and that is characterized by problems in phonological awareness, verbal memory, and verbal processing speed (Rose, 2009). The importance of the ability to read as a required skill throughout and beyond the academic domain and its use as a traditional criterion of initial school achievement (Chapman & Tunmer, 2003) highlights the far-reaching consequences reading difficulties could entail for how children with dyslexia perceive themselves. As indicated by Burden's (2008) review on dyslexia in relation to several aspects of self-perception including self-efficacy, self-concept, and selfesteem, most of the self-perception research to date, however, has focused on children or adolescents with learning disabilities (LD). The term LD encompasses a set of various conditions (e.g., mathematics, reading, writing disabilities) identified within the education system but not necessarily based on a clinical diagnosis, thus making the comparative replicability of research findings across studies somewhat challenging (Burden, 2008). Most studies have, in fact, ignored the different developmental profiles within 762124L DQXXX10.1177/0731948718762124Learning Disability QuarterlyBattistutta et al.

Examining frustration intolerance beliefs among adults with dyslexia or developmental coordination disorder

“…This difference on the overall FIB score may, in part, be related to the time of diagnosis. In the present study, participants with dyslexia were diagnosed earlier (i.e., during preadolescence) than individuals with DCD (i.e., during emerging adulthood), which may have made them more tolerant of their disorder and its impact on their daily lives (e.g., Battistutta, Commissaire, & Steffgen, 2018).…”

Clustering analysis of factors affecting academic career of university students with dyslexia in Italy

“…It is worth noting that facing the diagnosis of dyslexia can be emotionally and psychologically challenging: recognizing it early, especially before the beginning of school, is crucial to help affected people fill their learning gap 29 . Indeed, the earlier the intervention, the better the expectations of effectiveness.…”

Lese- und/oder Rechtschreibstörungen (LRS) im Jugendalter

“…Bei früh diagnostizierter LRS im Grundschulalter zeigen Betroffene ein besseres Verständnis der eigenen Probleme und höhere Einschätzungen der eigenen (generellen und schulischen) Kompetenzen als Betroffene mit einer späteren Diagnose im Jugendalter. Mit einer späteren Diagnose ist häufig auch eine schwierigere akademische Laufbahn verknüpft [31].…”