Risk and resilience correlates of reading among adolescents with language-based learning disabilities during COVID-19

Abstract

Students with language-based learning disabilities (LBLD) can face elevated socio-emotional well-being challenges in addition to literacy challenges. We examined the prevalence of risk and resilience factors among adolescents with LBLD (N = 93), ages 16–18, and the association with reading performance during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data were collected at the start and end of the first fully remote academic year of COVID-19 (2020–2021). Participants completed standardized word and text reading measures, as well as self-report surveys of executive functions (EF), and socio-emotional skills associated with resilience (grit, growth mindset, self-management, self-efficacy, and social awareness) or risk (anxiety, depression, COVID-19 related PTSD, and perceived COVID-19 impact). Survey data at the start of the school year (Time 1) captured three underlying factors associated with socioemotional risk, socioemotional resilience, and regulation (i.e., EF). Path analyses revealed that students’ Time 2 oral reading scores were significantly and uniquely predicted by socioemotional resilience, even when controlling for word-level reading at Time 1. Socioemotional risk, EF, and perceived COVID-19 impact were not directly related to Time 2 oral reading scores; however, students’ resilience mediated the associations between risk and reading outcomes. These results demonstrate that adolescents’ mental health concerns, self-regulatory ability, and socioemotional resilience were all associated with their experiences of the COVID-19-related stress. However, despite the high-risk context of the pandemic, and socio-emotional challenges faced by students with LBLD, our findings indicate that resilience directly predicts end-of-year reading outcomes and mediates the impact of socioemotional risk on achievement.

Analysis of Psychological and Social Functioning in Undergraduate Students with a Specific Learning Disorder (SLD)

“…Furthermore, environments that are not welcoming and responsive to the needs of children and adolescents with learning difficulties can aggravate the distress e.g., [58]. Research on risk factors for the well-being of children and adolescents with SLDs has fueled a growing interest in the construct of resilience, described as a dynamic process in which risk and protective factors interact and allow for the emergence of adaptive resources [59,60]. Therefore, psychosocial distress is not an inevitable fate for children and adolescents with SLDs.…”

Sustainability of Inclusive Education in Schools and Higher Education: Teachers and Students with Special Educational Needs

“…The motivation and attitude of the user to information and communication technologies is no less a significant component in the topic of digital inequality, as well as physical access to the Internet and its resources, digital skills, and literacy of participants in the educational process, as well as the practice of the actual use of information no-communicative technologies [83,84]. Research shows that e-equality or inequality depends not only on the availability of technology but also on relationships with families, collaboration between teachers, and online learning strategies [85,86].…”