Factors affecting the reading of rimes in words and nonwords in beginning readers with cognitive disabilities and typically developing readers: explorations in similarity and difference in word recognition cue use.

The team looked at how second-grade readers use rimes. Rimes are the vowel and what follows, like -at in cat.

Kids with cognitive disabilities and typical peers read real words and made-up words. The goal was to see if both groups lean on the same sound cues.

Both groups spotted rimes equally well. They used the same phonological shortcuts while reading.

The data are exploratory, but the pattern is clear: rime skill looks alike in both populations.

Grove et al. (2017) seems to clash. They found that kids with intellectual disability shift weak spots: rhyme problems early, then later phoneme trouble.

The two studies do not cancel each other. Imam (2001) captured a single snapshot in second grade. Rachel et al. tracked the same kids across years and saw the weak spot move.

Channell et al. (2013) extend the story. They showed that older students with ID still read words more poorly than peers, and weak phonological awareness explains the gap. Together the papers draw a timeline: rime use can look fine at one moment, but deeper phonological cracks predict later reading trouble.

Do not assume a child who can find -at in cat has intact phonological skills. Keep testing rhyme early, then add phoneme segmentation tasks as grades climb. Use this quick rime check as a gate, not a finish line, when you plan decoding lessons.