| Abstract [eng] |
When children start school, you may notice that some do well in school and others have difficulties. In recent years, the number of children with reading and writing difficulties has been increasing. The aim of this study was to assess the cognitive ability profiles of children with reading and writing difficulties. The participants were 25 second grade pupils, 12 girls and 13 boys. The age of the participants ranged from 8 to 9 years (M=8.36; SD=0.490). Teachers of second grade pupils whose parents gave their permission for their children to be included in the study were asked to complete 'Pupil's Reading and Writing Difficulties for Teachers Questionnaire'. Pupils in second grade were tested with the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, third edition and the Bender-Gestalt II. Results: Most children with reading and writing difficulties have average general, verbal and non-verbal skills. Most children with reading and writing difficulties exhibit difficulties in practical knowledge and understanding of behavioural norms, difficulties in long-term memory capacity, and in discerning significant details from insignificant ones, and in fluid intelligence. Children with reading and writing difficulties have the same visual-motor abilities as their peers, while their short-term memory abilities are lower than those of the general population of peers.The profile of cognitive abilities of children with reading and writing difficulties differs from those reported in the literature: the ACID, the ACIDS, the SCAD. Children with reading and writing difficulties have lower levels of knowledge/information gathering, mental calculation, language development, word meaning comprehension, social maturity and awareness, ability to apply practical knowledge to social situations, knowledge of behavioural norms and standards, the ability to evaluate past experiences, and ability to predict spatial relationships of objects, compared to that of the general population of peers. |
