A single case study of a Cantonese dyslexic secondary school student

Abstract

The present case study aimed to identify weaknesses in literacy and cognitive functions of a Hong Kong Cantonese dyslexic child, AL. The screening tool was able to identify AL’s areas of weaknesses in L1 (Cantonese) as well as L2 (English) when compared to the mean score obtained from the normal reading (NR) control group (N = 21). From the assessment result, AL exhibited weaknesses in English Dictation, English and Chinese Reading, English and Chinese Phonological Awareness on Rhyme and Onset, and Working Memory. This suggests that dyslexic in native language L1 (Cantonese) will also result in dyslexic in second language L2 (English). In light of the assessment results, behavior observation, interview and school report, intervention techniques were provided in this research for AL’s teachers and guardians to effectively improve her literacy and cognitive abilities. From the regression analysis results of the normal readers, significant correlational and casual relationships among the literacy and cognitive composite tests were identified. Correlational relationships were found between (1) English Reading with English and Chinese Dictation, (2) Rapid Automatized Naming (RAN) with English and Chinese Reading, (3) Phonological Awareness on Rhyme across both languages, and (4) Working Memory and English and Chinese Phonological Awareness tests on Rhyme and Onset. Causal relationships were also found between literacy and cognitive components: (1) Chinese and English reading predicts RAN, (2) Phonological rhyme predicts phonological onset, (3) Phonological rhyme and onset predict working memory, and (4) English dictation and Chinese reading predict English reading.