Can reading disabilities be diagnosed without using intelligence tests?

Unlike conventional procedures, which use IQ in making diagnostic and eligibility decisions regarding learning disabilities, this demonstration study used listening comprehension and other reading-related tasks to make a differential diagnosis of reading disabilities. Tests of listening and reading comprehension were administered to 180 children from Grades 3 through 8. A regression equation was then derived to predict reading comprehension from listening comprehension. The regression equation was applied to the listening comprehension scores of seven children from Grades 3 to 8 who had reading difficulties, and their reading comprehension was predicted. Based on the discrepancy between their actual reading comprehension and the predicted reading comprehension, their reading difficulty was attributed to one of the following three factors: (a) poor decoding, (b) poor comprehension, or (c) a combination of poor decoding and poor comprehension. The validity of these diagnostic decisions was assessed by testing independently these children's word-decoding skill and reading speed. The results suggest that this diagnostic procedure has potential utility.