Learning to read after schooling disruptions: neurocognitive correlates of reading comprehension in Syrian refugee children and youth.

BACKGROUND: Access to continuous education is critical for literacy development, yet many refugee children experience prolonged schooling disruptions that may alter how foundational reading skills develop. This study examined the influence of disrupted education on reading comprehension and associated neural mechanisms in Syrian refugee children and youth. METHODS: One hundred children and youth between 8 to18 years old completed standardized tests of language comprehension, decoding, and reading comprehension, and participated in functional near-infrared spectroscopy while completing a decoding task. Regression analyses tested cognitive and neural predictors of reading comprehension and the moderating role of educational disruption. Hierarchical clustering was used to identify distinct reading profiles. RESULTS: Consistent with the Simple View of Reading (SVR), both language comprehension and decoding predicted reading comprehension. However, decoding only predicted reading comprehension for children with minimal educational disruption. When educational disruptions were longer, the relation between decoding and reading comprehension was limited, and the relation between language comprehension and reading comprehension was greater. Greater activation in the right inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) predicted better reading comprehension, suggesting potential compensatory recruitment beyond the typical left-lateralized reading network. Cluster analyses identified distinct reading profiles that were predicted by neural activation patterns and educational disruption. CONCLUSIONS: This study extends the SVR by demonstrating that the contribution of decoding and language comprehension to reading comprehension depends on educational experience, and that multiple neural pathways can support reading comprehension after educational disruption. These results highlight heterogeneity in literacy outcomes and underscore the need for tailored reading interventions for displaced children and youth.