Abstract
The present study aims to compare the performance between Brazilian children with Developmental Dyslexia (DD) and children without learning difficulties on tests of attention and Executive Functions. The study sample consists of study group (20 subjects) attending the Learning Disability clinic of Univesity Hospital and control group (20 subjects) from public school in Campinas-SP. The instruments utilized were: WISC-III factor indexes and subtests, cancellation test, Trail Making Test, Stroop Color Word Test, Tower of London, Wisconsin Card Sorting Test and verbal fluency test. The results revealed differences between groups in scores of different instruments. The findings suggest that children with dyslexia have difficulties in performing visuospatial and auditive attention tasks, as well as tasks involving different components of executive functions, such as flexibility, inhibitory control, strategy use, working memory and verbal fluency. Such changes may be part of dyslexia and accompany the core deficit in the phonological component of language.
Highlights
Developmental Dyslexia (DD) is a neurobiological disorder characterized by difficulties in acquiring reading and/or written skills as a result of deficit in the phonological component of language
Developmental Dyslexia is accompanied by impairments in different cognitive functions such as visuospatial attention and Executive Functions (EF) (Ruffino et al, 2010; Franceschini et al, 2012; Lima, Salgado-Azoni, & Ciasca, 2012)
The diagnosis was followed the criteria of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV-TR) (APA, 2002), International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10) (WHO, 2008) and clinical characteristics: intelligence quotient (IQ) ≥ 80 assessed by Wechsler Intelligence Scale for ChildrenWISC-III (Wechsler, 2002); performance 2SDs below age on measures of reading/writing and phonological processing: speed reading, reading accuracy, written under dictation, written spontaneously, rapid automatized naming test (RAN), phonological awareness test and phonological working memory test
Summary
Developmental Dyslexia (DD) is a neurobiological disorder characterized by difficulties in acquiring reading and/or written skills as a result of deficit in the phonological component of language. These characteristics are unexpected when considering the level of intelligence and effective instruction in the classroom (Lyon, Shaywitz, & Shaywitz, 2003). Developmental Dyslexia is accompanied by impairments in different cognitive functions such as visuospatial attention and Executive Functions (EF) (Ruffino et al, 2010; Franceschini et al, 2012; Lima, Salgado-Azoni, & Ciasca, 2012). The difficulty is evident for the recruitment of cognitive resources necessary for performance of complex tasks involving reaction time and reading fluency (Heiervang & Hugdahl, 2003). In visual attention tasks using reaction time measures, children with DD show higher resolution time (Facoetti et al, 2010)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
