Nens en risc de desenvolupar dificultats amb l'escriptura

Resumen

Writing difficulties have been mainly studied from the viewpoint of a specific learning disability. They are therefore treated as a byproduct of a primary diagnosis. Interestingly, research on the writing difficulties of children with dyslexia, language disorders, and other learning disabilities, present similar profiles. The thesis proposes an alternative approach to identifying children with writing difficulties, whether or not they have been diagnosed with language or learning disorder. Such an approach should help clarify general trends in the typical and atypical development of writing, help orient educational practices, and tailor clinical support to the needs of struggling writers, independently of the aetiology of their difficulties. The thesis is organized into three main studies. In the first study, a large sample of children (N = 919) in 2nd and 4th grade was examined to identify children who struggle with writing in a language, Catalan, that does not count with updated, standardized language development tests. This first exploration yielded a framework for identifying struggling writers in the absence of standardized test batteries, and found four profiles of at-risk students: (1) children who produce consistently short texts (LowTextGeneration group); (2) children who have handwriting fluency problems (LowHandwriting group); (3) children who have issues with basic spelling skills (LowSpelling group); and (4) a Multiple Writing Difficulties (MWD) group, who showed difficulties across two or more domains. In the second study, the cognitive and linguistic profile of the at-risk children, as well as the characteristics of text-embedded features (e.g., grammatical accuracy, vocabulary) were examined, comparing them to a group of age-matched peers. Text-embedded characteristics differed often between at-risk and typically developing children; in particular, the MWD group performed significantly below their peers across all measures. However, no cognitive or linguistic impairments were evident. The third study addressed two issues: (1) a subgroup of the at-risk children was retested 18 months later, revealing that they had maintained their at-risk status and most had even worsened their writing profile in comparison with same-grade peers. (2) The online characteristics of the writing process of these children were assessed using SmartPens, revealing that only text-generation-related measures were sensitive to distinguish at-risk from typically developing children. To conclude, the thesis presents compelling evidence for the existence of a writing disorder that may appear in the absence of other learning or language impairments, and which does not resolve itself without targeted instruction. No cognitive or linguistic markers were identified, while process measures were similar across the populations compared. However, the writing difficulties of these children are severe, persistent, and call for further research. Several theoretical and educational implications are discussed, including the need for early intervention to prevent writing difficulties from becoming more pervasive with time.