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A test of the cerebellar hypothesis of dyslexia in adequate and inadequate responders to reading intervention

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 March 2010

AMY E. BARTH ,
CAROLYN A. DENTON ,
KARLA K. STUEBING ,
JACK M. FLETCHER ,
PAUL T. CIRINO ,
DAVID J. FRANCIS  and
SHARON VAUGHN
AMY E. BARTH*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Texas Institute of Measurement, Evaluation, and Statistics, Texas Center for Learning Disabilities, University of Houston, Houston, Texas
CAROLYN A. DENTON
Affiliation:
Department of Pediatrics, Children’s Learning Institute, Texas Center for Learning Disabilities, University of Texas Health Sciences Center, Houston, Texas
KARLA K. STUEBING
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Texas Institute of Measurement, Evaluation, and Statistics, Texas Center for Learning Disabilities, University of Houston, Houston, Texas
JACK M. FLETCHER
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Texas Center for Learning Disabilities, University of Houston, Houston, Texas
PAUL T. CIRINO
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Texas Institute of Measurement, Evaluation, and Statistics, Texas Center for Learning Disabilities, University of Houston, Houston, Texas
DAVID J. FRANCIS
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Texas Institute of Measurement, Evaluation, and Statistics, Texas Center for Learning Disabilities, University of Houston, Houston, Texas
SHARON VAUGHN
Affiliation:
Department of Special Education: Learning Disabilities/Behavioral Disabilities Program, Texas Center for Learning Disabilities, University of Texas-Austin, Austin, Texas
*
*Correspondence and reprint requests to: Amy E. Barth, University of Houston, Department of Psychology, 2151 West Holcombe, 222 Texas Medical Center Annex, Houston, Texas 77204-5053. E-mail: aebarth@uh.edu
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Abstract

The cerebellar hypothesis of dyslexia posits that cerebellar deficits are associated with reading disabilities and may explain why some individuals with reading disabilities fail to respond to reading interventions. We tested these hypotheses in a sample of children who participated in a grade 1 reading intervention study (n = 174) and a group of typically achieving children (n = 62). At posttest, children were classified as adequately responding to the intervention (n = 82), inadequately responding with decoding and fluency deficits (n = 36), or inadequately responding with only fluency deficits (n = 56). Based on the Bead Threading and Postural Stability subtests from the Dyslexia Screening Test-Junior, we found little evidence that assessments of cerebellar functions were associated with academic performance or responder status. In addition, we did not find evidence supporting the hypothesis that cerebellar deficits are more prominent for poor readers with “specific” reading disabilities (i.e., with discrepancies relative to IQ) than for poor readers with reading scores consistent with IQ. In contrast, measures of phonological awareness, rapid naming, and vocabulary were strongly associated with responder status and academic outcomes. These results add to accumulating evidence that fails to associate cerebellar functions with reading difficulties. (JINS, 2010, 16, 526–536.)

Keywords

DyslexiaCerebellumResponse to interventionReading disabilitiesPhonological awarenessRapid naming
Type
Research Articles
Information
Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society , Volume 16 , Issue 3 , May 2010 , pp. 526 - 536
Copyright
Copyright © The International Neuropsychological Society 2010

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