Vol.:(0123456789) Reading and Writing https://doi.org/10.1007/s11145-019-09977-0 1 3 Spelling error analysis of written summaries in an academic register by students with specifc learning disabilities: phonological, orthographic, and morphological infuences Ruth Huntley Bahr 1  · Stephanie Lebby 1  · Louise C. Wilkinson 2 © Springer Nature B.V. 2019 Abstract Students in grades 5–9 (N = 29) with specifc learning disabilities (SLDs) (dys- graphia, dyslexia, or oral and written language learning disability, OWL LD) were asked to take notes and handwrite or type summaries of social studies texts about world geography and cultures that they read or heard. This activity required acti- vating knowledge of academic language for the disciplinary content. Fine-grained analyses of their spelling errors focused on the phonological, orthographic and mor- phological aspects of word spelling afected while writing in an academic register. Nonparametric statistical analyses revealed no signifcant diferences attributable to SLD diagnosis or combinations of the mode of the source text (reading or listening) and transcription (handwriting with stylus or typing with keyboard). Students gener- ated similar degrees of error complexity in their spelling errors when writing in this disciplinary academic register regardless of the nature of their SLD, mode of presen- tation of source texts, or mode of transcription. Three types of common misspelling patterns across SLDs, mode of presentation, and mode of transcription are described in this exploratory study. Instructional applications for teaching students with SLDs to spell words in English, a morphophonemic orthography, when composing in an academic register are discussed as well as proposed future research directions. Keywords Spelling · Specifc learning disability · Academic vocabulary · Academic writing · Typing · Handwriting * Ruth Huntley Bahr rbahr@usf.edu Stephanie Lebby skreis@mail.usf.edu Louise C. Wilkinson louisewilkin@gmail.com 1 Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, University of South Florida, 4202 E. Fowler Ave, PCD 1017, Tampa, FL 33620, USA 2 School of Education, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY, USA