# Understanding Word-Reading & Calculations Comorbid Learning Disabilities

> **NIH NIH R01** · VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $637,472

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
Despite important advances in the treatment of learning disabilities (LDs), the dominant approach to
intervention—direct skills instruction—fails to meet the needs of 25-40% of LD students. This, combined with
the heterogeneity of LDs, indicates the need to expand the framework for LD treatment with innovative
approaches that target the specific needs of subgroups of LD students. This study addresses a subset of
the LD population with a distinctive set of needs: students with comorbid difficulty across word reading &
calculations. This LD subgroup experiences weaker outcomes in both reading & math and poorer response
to reading & math treatment than do peers with difficulty in just 1 of these domains. This study is guided by
an innovative Theoretical Framework, which identifies opportunities for strengthening early word reading &
calculations in theoretically coordinated fashion for this understudied and underserved population. The aim
of this Phase 1/2 Clinical Trial is to extend understanding about connections between early reading & math
and investigate the mechanisms by which effects of coordinated treatment may occur (Phase 1) while also
assessing short-term effects of coordinated treatment (Phase 2). Comorbid 1st-grade students are randomly
assigned to 4 conditions, a control group, coordinated treatment across reading & math, reading-only
treatment, & math-only treatment. We (1) test coordinated treatment’s short-term effects on reading & math
outcomes, while assessing (2) whether improved reading skill serves as a mediator of coordinated
treatment’s effects on math outcomes and whether improved math skill serves as a mediator of coordinated
treatment’s effects on reading outcomes; (3) whether improvement in targeted cognitive processes mediates
coordinated treatment’s effects on reading & math outcomes in similar ways; & (4) whether other associated
cognitive processes moderate coordinated treatment’s effects on reading & math outcomes in similar ways.
This study impacts science by deepening understanding about connections between early reading & math
development and offering insights to guide future directions for accelerating the learning of students with
these comorbid LDs. This study impacts clinical practice by addressing word-reading + calculations
comorbid LDs in a theoretically coordinated manner, which should ease the logistical challenges schools
face in providing multiple forms of intervention to students with comorbidity – challenges that often mean
these children do not receive treatment in both domains. The focus is highly relevant & significant because
comorbid reading & math LDs are associated with long-term negative consequences, including problems
with employment, health, social adjustment, & quality of life.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10011936
- **Project number:** 5R01HD097772-02
- **Recipient organization:** VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Doug Fuchs
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $637,472
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-09-06 → 2024-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10011936

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10011936, Understanding Word-Reading & Calculations Comorbid Learning Disabilities (5R01HD097772-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10011936. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*