Year of Award

2025

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Type

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Degree Name

Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences

Department or School/College

Department of Speech, Language, Hearing, and Occupational Sciences

Committee Co-chair

Julie Wolter, Cathy Off

Commitee Members

Danielle Fahey, Rachel Severson, Amy Ratto-Parks

Keywords

phonological awareness, orthographic awareness, morphological awareness, developmental language disorder, dyslexia, language, word reading, reading comprehension, language impairment, literacy

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the roles of phonological, orthographic, and morphological awareness in predicting language and literacy success for children with developmental language disorder (DLD), DLD with dyslexia, and typically developing (TD) children. DLD, a prevalent yet underdiagnosed condition, is associated with significant psychosocial and academic challenges, including a roughly 50% likelihood of developing dyslexia. Current identification systems rely on inconsistent parent/teacher referrals, which miss approximately 60% of children with DLD and over 33% with dyslexia, limiting access to effective interventions. This study longitudinally examines whether kindergarten screenings of three metalinguistic skills—phonological, orthographic, and morphological awareness—predict second-grade language, word reading, and reading comprehension abilities. Data from 93 children in Massachusetts and Montana were analyzed using multiple regression. Results showed morphological awareness significantly predicted language (p < .001, partial R² = 0.186) and reading comprehension abilities (p = .001, partial R² = 0.079), while phonological awareness predicted word reading (p = .012, partial R² = 0.040) and reading comprehension (p = .018, partial R² = 0.052) abilities. Group interactions revealed phonological and orthographic awareness as key differentiators for literacy challenges, particularly in the DLD/dyslexia group. Theoretical implications of these findings support morphological awareness as a binding agent across language and literacy function, even for disordered populations which was previously unknown. Clinically, these findings support including morphological and phonological awareness in early screening tools and clinical practice to enhance identification and intervention of language and literacy disorders for at-risk children.

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© Copyright 2025 Melissa Catherine Phelan