Anneli Veispak

Parallel versus Sequential Processing in Print and Braille Reading.

In the current study we investigated word, pseudoword and story reading in Dutch speaking braille and print readers. To examine developmental patterns, these reading skills were assessed in both children and adults. The results reveal that braille readers read less accurately and fast than print readers. While item length has no impact on word reading accuracy and speed in the group of print readers, it has a significant impact on reading accuracy and speed in the group of braille readers, particularly in the younger sample. This suggests that braille readers rely more strongly on an enduring sequential reading strategy. Comparison of the different reading tasks suggests that the advantage in accuracy and speed of reading in adult as compared to young braille readers is achieved through semantic top-down processing.

Differential cognitive and perceptual correlates of print reading versus braille reading

The relations between reading, auditory, speech, phonological and tactile spatial processing are investigated in a Dutch speaking sample of blind braille readers as compared to sighted print readers. Performance is assessed in blind and sighted children and adults. Regarding phonological ability, braille readers perform equally well compared to print readers on phonological awareness, better on verbal short-term memory and significantly worse on lexical retrieval. The groups do not differ on speech perception or auditory processing. Braille readers, however, have more sensitive fingers than print readers. Investigation of the relations between these cognitive and perceptual skills and reading performance indicates that in the group of braille readers auditory temporal processing has a longer lasting and stronger impact not only on phonological abilities, which have to satisfy the high processing demands of the strictly serial language input, but also directly on the reading ability itself. Print readers switch between grapho-phonological and lexical reading modes depending on the familiarity of the items. Furthermore, the auditory temporal processing and speech perception, which were substantially interrelated with phonological processing, had no direct associations with print reading measures.

Probing the perceptual and cognitive underpinnings of braille reading. An Estonian population study

Similar to many sighted children who struggle with learning to read, a proportion of blind children have specific difficulties related to reading braille which cannot be easily explained. A lot of research has been conducted to investigate the perceptual and cognitive processes behind (impairments in) print reading. Very few studies, however, have aimed for a deeper insight into the relevant perceptual and cognitive processes involved in braille reading. In the present study we investigate the relations between reading achievement and auditory, speech, phonological and tactile processing in a population of Estonian braille reading children and youngsters and matched sighted print readers. Findings revealed that the sequential nature of braille imposes constant decoding and effective recruitment of phonological skills throughout the reading process. Sighted print readers, on the other hand, seem to switch between the use of phonological and lexical processing modes depending on the familiarity, length and structure of the word.

Morphological awareness and visual processing of derivational morphology in high-functioning adults with dyslexia: An avenue to compensation?

This study examined the processing of derivational morphology and its association with measures of morphological awareness and literacy outcomes in 30 Dutch-speaking high-functioning dyslexics, and 30 controls, matched for age and reading comprehension. A masked priming experiment was conducted where the semantic overlap between morphologically related pairs was manipulated as part of a lexical decision task. Measures of morphological awareness were assessed using a specifically designed sentence completion task. Significant priming effects were found in each group, yet adults with dyslexia were found to benefit more from the morphological structure than the controls. Adults with dyslexia were found to be influenced by both form (morpho-orthographic) and meaning (morphosemantic) properties of morphemes while controls were mainly influenced by morphosemantic properties. The reports suggest that morphological processing is intact in high-functioning dyslexics and a strength when compared to controls matched for reading comprehension and age. Thus, reports support morphological processing as a potential factor in the reading compensation of adults with dyslexia. However, adults with dyslexia performed significantly worse than controls on morphological awareness measures.

Speech audiometry in Estonia: Estonian words in noise (EWIN) test

Abstract Objective: Currently, there is no up-to-date speech perception test available in the Estonian language that may be used to diagnose hearing loss and quantify speech intelligibility. Therefore, based on the example of the Nederlandse Vereniging voor Audiologie (NVA)-lists (Bosman, 1989; Wouters et al, 1994) an Estonian words in noise (EWIN) test has been developed. Design: Two experimental steps were carried out: (1) selection and perceptual optimization of the monosyllables, and (2) construction of 14 lists and an evaluation in normal hearing (NH) subjects both in noise and in quiet. Study sample: Thirty-six normal-hearing (NH) native speakers of Estonia (age range from 17 to 46 years). Results: The reference psychometric curve for NH subjects was determined, with the slope and speech reception threshold being well in accordance with the respective values of the NVA lists. The 14 lists in noise yielded equivalent scores with high precision. Conclusion: The EWIN test is a reliable and valid speech intelligibility test, and is the first of its kind in the Estonian language.

Estonian words in noise test for children (EWINc)

Abstract Objective Based on the example of the Nederlandse Vereniging voor Audiologie (NVA)-lists (Bosman, 1989; Wouters et al., 1994) and in addition to the Estonian words-in-noise (EWIN) test for adults (Veispak et al., 2015), a words-in-noise test has been developed for Estonian children (EWINc). Design Two experimental steps were carried out: (1) selection and perceptual optimization of the monosyllables; construction of 14 lists, (2) an evaluation of the lists in normal hearing (NH) children both in noise and in quiet. Study sample Forty-three NH native speakers of Estonian (average age 7.9 years). Results The reference psychometric curve for all lists combined both in noise and in quiet for NH children was determined, with the slope and speech reception threshold differing from the respective values of the Estonian adults in accordance with previous research. The 14 lists in noise as well as in quiet were proven to be of equal difficulty with very little variation in the SRTs averaged over the lists. Conclusion The EWINc is a precise and reliable test for quantifying speech intelligibility in Estonian children.