Table Of ContentA Longitudinal Study
of Dyslexia
Bergen's Multivariate Study
of Children's
Learning Disabilities
Hans-Jorgen Gjessing
Bjorn Karlsen
A Longitudinal Study
of Dyslexia
Bergen's Multivariate Study
of Children's
Learning Disabilities
With 23 Figures
Springer Science+Business Media, LLC
Hans-JOrgen Gjessing, Ph.D.
Professor, Department of Educational Psychology
University of Bergen
5007 Bergen, Norway
Bjorn Karlsen, Ph.D.
Professor Emeritus
Sonoma State University
Rohnert Park, CA 94928
USA
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Gjessing, Hans-J~rgen.
A longitudinal study of dyslexia : Bergen's multivariate study of
children's leaming disabilities / by Hans-J~rgen Gjessing & Bj~rn
Karlsen.
p. cm.
1. Dyslexia-Norway-Longitudinal studies. 2. Dyslexic children
Norway-Longitudinal studies. 3. Bergenprosjektet. 1. Karlsen,
Bj~m. II. TitIe.
[DNLM: 1. Bergenprosjektet. 2. Dyslexia-in infancy & childhood.
3. Longitudinal Studies. WM 475 G539L]
RJ496.A5G54 1989
618.92'8553'009481-dc 19
DNLMIDLC
for Library of Congress 89-4127
CIP
PPrriinntteedd oonn aacciidd--ffrreeee ppaappeerr..
© 1989 by Springer Science+Business Media New York
Originally published by Springer-Verlag New York Ine. in 1989
Softcover reprint ofthe hardcover lst edition 1989
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Typeset by Publishers Service, Bozeman, Montana.
9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
ISBN 978-1-4612-6452-1 ISBN 978-1-4419-8704-4 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-1-4419-8704-4
Preface
Psychological and educational researchers in the Scandinavian countries have
cooperated in a research effort relating to children's learning disabilities for more
than a decade. Support has come from the federal governments and other funding
agencies in Norway, Sweden, and Denmark through the Secretariat for Scan
dinavian Cultural Cooperation. A number of independent studies have already
been published, dealing with various aspects oflearning disabilities in the literacy
skills of reading and writing.
The largest and most comprehensive study was the Bergen Project, a longitudi
nal study of an entire cohort of children, with special emphasis on those who
developed specific learning disabilities in reading and writing (dyslexia). These
dyslexic children were studied, diagnosed, and treated over a period of nine
years, along with various control and comparison groups, which included a large
subgroup with general learning disabilities (retarded).
The Bergen Project involved the collection of voluminous data. The children
were identified by means of special diagnostic tests and treated using remedial
materials and techniques that had been developed to deal with various types of
dyslexia. The ophthalmology team not only tested the children, but they also
prescribed and provided glasses, and even performed surgery when necessary.
The pediatric neurologists did general pediatric and neurological examinations,
following up many of the cases with EEGs and CT (computerized tomography,
brain x-rays).
Three book length reports on the Bergen Project have been published, along
with some articles and, of course, the tests and instructional materials. But these
reports have been in Norwegian and thus not available to a broader audience. This
book remedies that situation: it is a final report of the entire project in English.
Since the project entailed literally hundreds of variables, and since a major thrust
of the project was to study how all these variables correlated and interacted, the
statistical work-up of the data became quite complex. The data are reported in
various tables, but the interpretations in the text are written to reach the large
number of people who are vitally interested in this topic. This includes educators,
psychologists, counselors, various medical specialists, and other researchers.
Part of the excitement of bringing this report to an international audience is to
present the culmination of several decades of work by Professor H.-J. Gjessing at
vi Preface
the University of Bergen in Norway. Out of his work has evolved the theory that
we are dealing with several types of dyslexia. This research supports the notion
that such types can be identified. Of even more importance is the fact that
individuals exhibiting the different types must be taught differently; teaching
techniques that may be beneficial for some dyslexic children may be detrimental
to others.
This research project was made possible through the assistance and cooperation
of a large number of people over a period of many years: the administration of the
Bergen public schools, teachers, special education specialists, school psycholo
gists, and school health services. We must also thank the many who assisted in the
data collection: the Departments of Ophthalmology and Pediatrics at Haukeland
Hospital (the University Medical School), the Bergen Hearing Institute, and the
University Psychology Faculty (especially the Institute for Psychometrics). Our
deepest appreciation is also extended to the hundreds of children who participated
and to their parents who helped in so many ways.
I personally became involved in this project at an early stage, having done my
Ph.D. study in this field and having developed diagnostic reading tests in the
United States. Later on, I worked full time on this project for 6 months in Bergen
in 1985 and have been solely responsible for all translations and the adaptation
of the material for an English-reading audience.
Bjorn Karlsen
Contents
Part I Introduction .. .. .. .. ...... ...... ...... ..... ....... .... 1
1. Purposes and Design of the Study; Organization of the Book
H.-1. Gjessing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
2. Description of Earlier Reports on the Bergen Project
H.-1. Gjessing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
3. Methodological Issues in Dyslexia Research
H.-1. Gjessing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Part II School Learning Disabilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
4. School Achievement
R. Solheim. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
5. Socioemotional Characteristics
R. Solheim. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
6. Cognitive and Achievement Characteristics
H.-1. Gjessing and H.D. Nygaard. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Part III Theoretical and Clinical Foundation
of This Study of Dyslexia ...... ..... ... ... ..... .... .. .. . 67
7. Overview of Research on Reading and Dyslexia
H.-1. Gjessing and B. Karlsen. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
8. Dyslexia Models and Theories
H.-1. Gjessing and B. Karlsen. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
9. Function Analysis of Literacy Behavior
H.-1. Gjessing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 106
Part IV Results of the Study of Dyslexia and Dyslexia Types . . . . . .. 127
10. Descriptive Analysis of the Entire Dyslexia Group
H.-1. Gjessing and H.D. Nygaard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 129
viii Contents
11. Multivariate Analyses of Clinical and Statistical Groupings
H.-J. Gjessing and H.D. Nygaard. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 153
12. Eye Examinations
H. Aasved . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 192
13. Neurological Examinations
P. E. Waaler, K. Helland-Hansen, H. Miljeteig, 0. Opshaug,
J. L. Larsen, H. Bruland, and L. lrgens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 210
14. Growth and Efficacy Data: Results of the
Total Experimental Program
H.-J. Gjessing and H.D. Nygaard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 227
Part V The Bergen Project's Contribution to Research
And Its Applied Educational and Clinical Value . . . . . . . . . . . .. 277
15. Summary, Conclusions, and Discussion of the Entire Project
H.-J. Gjessing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 279
Appendix: Sample Selection Procedures and Grouping of Pupils
H. D. Nygaard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 309
Index. . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 345
Part I Introduction
CHAffER 1
Purposes and Design of the Study;
Organization of the Book
H.-J. Gjessing
The Bergen Project was a longitudinal research and developmental study of
primary grade children with severe school learning disabilities. It was carried out
in the elementary schools of Bergen, Norway, beginning in 1977. Its theoretical
goal was the development of a research strategy in which observations and assess
ments of personal and environmental factors are based more on real life functions
and processes than on quantitative scores and products.
The Bergen Project was actually part of a coordinated set of studies of learning
disabilities carried out in the Scandinavian countries of Norway, Sweden, and
Denmark. It was sponsored, in part, by the Scandinavian council of ministries
(Nordisk Ministerrad). This report deals exclusively with the Bergen Project,
which was by far the largest and most comprehensive study of learning disabili
ties carried out in the Scandinavian countries.
Bergen is the second largest city in Norway, having a population of about
250,000. It is located on the west coast and is the main center for higher educa
tion in this area. Because of its location, much of its commercial activity relates
to the sea - shipping, fishing, and the exploitation of the North Sea oil fields. The
population is quite homogeneous and also very stable. This stability is exempli
fied by the attrition rate of 3% in this longitudinal study.
Objectives
The main objectives of the Bergen Project can be summarized as follows:
1. Describe and analyze the development of an entire regional population of
children entering school in a given year with regard to social, emotional,
cognitive, and achievement characteristics.
2. Develop procedures for classroom observation and assessment that will iden
tify those learning and behavior characteristics that affect school achievement
in the primary grades.
3. Explore a system of individual assessment of children's reading and writing
characteristics.
4 H.-J. Gjessing
4. Increase knowledge about the many factors, characteristics, and problems
involved in school learning problems, in particular underachievement, spe
cific reading and writing disabilities, socioemotional problems, visual dys
functions, and neurological problems.
5. Develop a set of flexible instructional materials geared to each child's charac
teristics, problems, and needs.
6. Improve insight and psychological understanding by teachers and other pro
fessionals into the nature and effect of children's school learning difficulties.
7. Develop guidance procedures that will result in better self-insight and under
standing of learning difficulties by the children themselves, their parents, and
their teachers and in more constructive and psychologically sound channeling
of parental efforts to help the children.
8. Develop fairly simple professional, administrative, and financial programs
that can be incorporated into a school's long-range planning and that fit the
school's resources.
9. Collect, coordinate, and evaluate results and experiences from the other Scan
dinavian countries that participated in this series of research projects.
Research Population
The Bergen Project encompassed every child who entered first grade in the pub
lic elementary schools in Bergen in the fall of 1977 , including children with mild
mental retardation. This population numbered over 3,000 in 69 schools. Children
who attended special schools, such as those with severe mental retardation or
with extreme disorders of vision or hearing, were not included for practical rea
sons: we wanted to concentrate on the special and remedial education offerings
of the regular elementary school. On the other hand, because of new philosophi
cal and organizational trends (Gjessing, 1969) relating to integration of the
mildly handicapped into ordinary schools, research data on such children were
sorely needed.
The study covered the first four years of schooling; a final follow-up was done
when the children were in the ninth grade. Initial screening tests were
administered in the fall of 1977 at the beginning of first grade and repeated in the
fall of 1978 at the beginning of second grade. Similar tests were given at the end
of grade 3, beginning of grade 4.
Although extensive data were gathered on the entire cohort, the main emphasis
of the project was the children who developed learning difficulties. These chil
dren were divided into separate target groups: those with specific learning dis
abilities, referred to in the study as dyslexics, and those with general learning
problems ("retarded"). The dividing line between the two groups was not always
clear. ("Dyslexia" is defined and discussed in Part III; "retarded" is defined and
discussed at some length in the Appendix. These two groups make up about 75%
of all children who receive some form of special or remedial education in
Bergen.)
