About the project
The study included 170 children at familial risk of dyslexia and 300 controls from uanaffected families who were studied cross-sectionally. The aim of the study was to explore the developmental links between early linguistic, cognitive and emotional factors and later problems with written language. The children were followed from age 2 through age 9. Findings suggest that approx. 50% of the at risk children sruggled in learning to read and write. Longitudinally there were significant relationships between general language skills at age 2 and reading comprehension at age 9. Phonological awareness at ages 5 and 6 was a particularly powerful facilitator of early reading accuracy, which again facilitated speeded reading and reading comprehension.