WEST-E Special Education Practice Test

What primary deficit might students with language-based reading impairment exhibit?

1. Difficulty in speech production

2. Challenges in reading comprehension

3. Impaired social communication

4. Issues with oral language sequencing

The correct answer is: Challenges in reading comprehension

Students with a language-based reading impairment predominantly struggle with reading comprehension. This type of impairment often arises from deficits in the underlying language skills necessary for understanding text. Children may have adequate decoding skills, meaning they can sound out words, but they might not grasp the meaning of those words in context, leading to difficulties in comprehending what they read. These challenges stem from issues related to vocabulary, syntactic knowledge, and the ability to make inferences based on text, which are all critical components of reading comprehension. Students may find it challenging to connect ideas, summarize information, or infer meaning, which are integral skills for understanding complex texts. Other options represent different areas of deficit that can occur in various conditions; for instance, difficulties in speech production typically relate to articulatory challenges or speech delays and impaired social communication focuses on the pragmatic aspects of language usage in social contexts. Issues with oral language sequencing, while relevant in some language-related disorders, do not necessarily align specifically with the key features of language-based reading impairments.