Abstracts - Earli

KN4 101 September 2007 12:30 - 13:30Room: KonferenciaInvited PaperPrevention of reading difficultiesBarbara Foorman, Florida State University, USAChair:Cordula Artelt, Otto-Friedrich Universität, GermanyDuring the past few decades reading research has highlighted correlates and causes of readingsuccess as well as reading difficulties. Learning to read entails normally developed language skills,knowledge of phonological structures, knowledge of how written units connect with spoken units,phonological recoding and fluency, and print exposure. Neurological, familial, socioeconomic, andinstructional causes will be discussed as candidate causes of reading difficulties. Central points arethat (a) brain activation patterns can change as a result of effective intervention, (b) genetic andenvironmental factors share the variability in reading disability, (c) instructional factors are oftenunderestimated as a cause of reading difficulties, and (d) the emphasis needs to be on preventionrather than remediation. Research on effective early reading instruction at the classroom level andat the level of intensive, pull-out interventions will be provided and the challenges of scaling willbe discussed. Concluding comments will emphasize the importance of systemic, multi-tieredapproaches to preventing reading difficulties in school settings.– 865 –