Mediators of working memory and reading in a sample of children with reading difficulty: The roles of phonemic awareness and rapid automatized naming.

Working memory (WM) has been consistently linked to reading. However, the mechanism(s) linking WM to reading remain unclear. WM may indirectly exert an effect onto reading through mediators such as phonemic awareness (PA) and/or rapid automatized naming (RAN). In a sample of children with reading difficulty (n = 117), separate mediation analyses tested direct and indirect (through PA and RAN) effects of WM on untimed word decoding and recognition (i.e., basic reading skills) and timed word decoding and recognition (i.e., reading fluency). WM exerted a direct effect on basic reading skills and reading fluency. For basic reading skills, there was a significant indirect effect of WM on reading through the mediation of PA (but not through RAN). By contrast, for reading fluency, there was a significant indirect effect of WM on reading through the mediation of RAN (but not through PA). Findings reinforce the importance of WM, PA, and RAN for broad reading skills, while offering a mechanistic explanation for why poor PA and/or RAN may differentially lead to reading difficulty.

The shifting role of fluid reasoning in reading among children evaluated for ADHD.

Children with attentional difficulties are more likely than their peers to experience challenges in basic reading skills, including phonemic decoding and word recognition. Such challenges may require reliance on higher-order cognitive functions such as fluid reasoning (Gf) to attain reading proficiency. The present study sought to clarify the role of Gf in phonemic decoding and word recognition among children-in grades 1-7 (n = 156)-being evaluated for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Effects of Gf were examined in relation to crystallized knowledge (Gc). Results indicated that Gf exerted a direct effect onto phonemic decoding in early grades (grades 1-2) but not in later grades (grades 3-7). Gf also exerted an indirect effect onto phonemic decoding-through Gc-in later grades (grades 3-7) but not in early grades (grades 1-2). Finally, Gf exerted an indirect effect onto word recognition through phonemic decoding in grades 1-4 but not in grades 5-7. Altogether, findings show that Gf plays a direct role in younger children's phonemic decoding and an indirect role in word recognition (through Gc) in later grades, suggesting a shift in Gf's role across grade levels. Although findings need replication in longitudinal research, current results have implications for both typical and atypical reading development.