ABSTRACT

Writing difficulties have typically been investigated as the consequence of learning disabilities. However, several characteristics of texts and the underlying cognitive skills are often shared across these populations. Our aim was to investigate the writing and cognitive profile of children at risk of writing difficulties, regardless of whether they have concomitant diagnoses. Drawing from a sample of 357 primary school children, we identified children who showed low levels on a single writing component, such as handwriting (15), spelling (39) or text generation (17), and 11 children who showed difficulties across two or more components. We compared them to a typically developing group (50) on a series of writing features (e.g., spelling, vocabulary) and cognitive and linguistic skills (e.g., working memory, morphosyntax). Children who struggled with a single writing component showed difficulties also in other components. Children with multiple writing difficulties struggled with most writing features. All children displayed similar levels in key cognitive and linguistic skills. Our data thus present compelling evidence of children who struggle with writing, despite no obvious cognitive or linguistic impairments.

摘要

通常，由于学习障碍导致写作困难。但是，这些人群经常共享一些文本特征和潜在的认知技能。我们的目的是调查有书写困难风险的儿童的写作和认知状况，无论他们是否有伴随诊断。我们从357名小学儿童的样本中，我们识别出在单个书写部分上表现出较低水平的孩子，例如手写（15），拼写（39）或文本产生（17），以及11名在两个或两个以上方面表现出困难的孩子更多组件。我们将他们与一个典型的发展中的小组（50）进行了比较，包括一系列的写作特征（例如，拼写，词汇）以及认知和语言技能（例如，工作记忆，词法）。那些只为写作而苦苦挣扎的孩子在其他方面也表现出困难。有多种写作困难的孩子在大多数写作方面都遇到困难。所有儿童的关键认知和语言技能水平都相似。因此，尽管没有明显的认知或语言障碍，我们的数据仍能提供令人信服的证据，证明他们的孩子在写作方面挣扎。