Bringing the Simple View of Reading to the clinic: Relationships between oral and written language skills in a clinical sample

• The Simple View of Reading (SVR) was applied to a clinical practice database.
• Clinical cases were categorized into subtypes of reading disorder following the SVR.
• Most cases with impaired listening comprehension or word recognition also had impaired reading comprehension.
• Oral and written language dimensions were related in clinical cases.
• Oral expressive language was similar to listening comprehension.

PurposeThe Simple View of Reading (SVR) predicts subtypes of reading disorder based on weaknesses in word recognition, listening comprehension, or both. This practice-based research study explores predictions of the SVR within a clinical practice setting.MethodThe study is a retrospective analysis of 112 assessment records from school-aged children (aged 6.0–16.7) referred for speech-language evaluation. Available scores within four areas (listening comprehension, word recognition, reading comprehension, and oral expression) were extracted and then converted to composites. Composite scores were used to categorize children into SVR subtypes. We examined the distribution of children across subtypes and the relationships among the four constructs.ResultsChildren were distributed across all SVR subtypes, but few had impairments only in word recognition. Children with impairments in listening comprehension or word recognition showed poorer reading comprehension than those that did not, but there was imperfect prediction of reading comprehension impairment at an individual level. There were more significant correlations among constructs for younger children. Oral expression and listening comprehension were closely related across analyses.ConclusionsThe SVR is a clinically useful model for capturing variation and explaining relationships among oral and written language in school-age children.