Literary Deficit 1

Literary Deficit

Nathan L. Tamborello

The University of Houston

Summer 2018 – CUIN 7331

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Of the three types of literary deficits, this research focuses specifically on the area of

reading comprehension deficit (RCD). Of the many facets of RCD, there exist Specific Reading

Comprehension Deficit (S-RCD) or as hyperplexia (ASHA, 2018). This deficit stands in contrast

to another RCD known as dyslexia; whereas dyslexia is trouble with words, S-RCD is knowing

exactly how words are pronounced, yet having no idea what they mean.

Until very recently, little was known about S-RCD in terms of scientific information or

neurological processes. Many students with S-RCD were commonly mistaken for children with

dyslexia or other learning disabilities. However, recent studies by the Vanderbilt University

College of Education and Johns Hopkins School of Medicine show that children with dyslexia

exhibited abnormalities in their occipital temporal cortex (the area of the brain closely associated

with word recognition); however, in children with S-RCD, the abnormalities are shown to be

found instead in the area of the brain closely associated with memory. In students who were

typical developing readers, there existed a higher percent brain signal change within the right

inferior frontal gyrus (the area associated with memory), as opposed to the lower percentage

signal change for children with S-RCD. “In a previous study, neuroscientists found that...those

with S-RCD performed more poorly on tests of planning and special memory” (Learning RX,

2018). The initial reason why S-RCD is commonly not recognised by teachers and instructional

aids until late third and early fourth grade is because the teaching paradigm shifts from decoding

in preprimer to second grade to comprehension in third and fourth.

Identifying these issues early and providing students with resource classes and

intervention instruction is the key to overcoming any possible reading disorders. Many educators

recommend that RCD be addressed by teaching students to use basic comprehension strategies

(Nippold, 2017). For example, when examining an expository text, possible strategies may
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include previewing the passage, monitoring comprehension by asking questions about the

passage, finding main ideas, and summarizing key points in the student’s own words. Teachers

are advised to introduce each respective strategy, one at a time, by modelling it for their students

and providing guided practice in which the students, working in small groups, apply it to a

passage of text that they have just read (Boardman, Scornavacco, & Klinger, 2013). Afterwards,

students engage in a comprehensive discussion about the passage with their group about the

meaning of the passage. Nippold notes that “while these strategies may be helpful to many

adolescents, if some students have deficits in word reading ability or in lexical or syntactic

development, it may be difficult for them to apply the strategies effectively” (2017, pp. 15).

Another approach to helping students with reading comprehension is offered by The

Learning RX and is called “Somebody Wanted But So” (2018). Students label four columns with

the following words: Somebody (which represents characterisation), wanted (which represents

plot events), but (which represents problems/conflicts), and so (resolution). Children fill out the

columns as they read and decipher the meaning and message in passages. The example they offer

is below in figure 1.

Somebody: Wanted: But: So:

Cinderella wanted to stay at the but her carriage so she ran out

ball with the prince would turn into a

pumpkin at midnight

Learning RX (2018)
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Children are able to fill in the chart as they read passages, attempting to decipher the

given meaning by using context. The 4 main words “Somebody Wanted But So” offer the ability

to attribute headings and meanings to particular parts of the text, and allow the child a guide in

which to comprehend meaning.

Any of these strategies (and more) could be given to a classroom teacher to help students

with an RCD, and more specifically an S-RCD, comprehend text and meaning where they

otherwise would be left reading passages in vain, attributing no meaning to the words on the

page. Allowing students to work in groups and assigning students with S-RCD to students

without that specific deficit to work together in collaboration allows for students to extract more

meaning from passages and comprehend texts.

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References:

Boardman A. G., Scornavacco K., & Klinger J. K. (2013). Using collaborative strategic reading

to improve comprehension. In Boon R. T. & Spencer V. G. (Eds.), Adolescent literacy:

Strategies for content comprehension in inclusive classrooms (pp. 105–124). Baltimore,

MD: Brookes.

Disorders of Reading and Writing. (n.d.). Retrieved June 08, 2018, from

https://www.asha.org/Practice-Portal/Clinical-Topics/Written-Language-

Disorders/Disorders-of-Reading-and-Writing/

Nippold, M. A. (2017). Reading Comprehension Deficits in Adolescents: Addressing Underlying

Language Abilities. Language Speech and Hearing Services in Schools,48(2), 125.

doi:10.1044/2016_lshss-16-0048.

What Is S-RCD (Specific Reading Comprehension Deficits) in Children? (n.d.). Retrieved June

8, 2018, from https://www.learningrx.com/what-is-S-RD-specific-reading-

comprehension-in-children