Dyslexia Research Articles

Morphological and Phonological Awareness-Based Intervention in French Canadian University Students With Developmental Dyslexia and Dysgraphia.

Despite appropriate speech-language therapy interventions and school and university accommodations, college and university students with developmental reading (specific reading learning disorder [SRLD]) and spelling (specific spelling learning disorder [SSLD]) difficulties continue to experience difficulties in adulthood, notably for reading fluency, spelling to dictation, and reading comprehension. This study aimed to investigate the effects of a morphological and phonological awareness intervention on word recognition, spelling, and reading comprehension skills in university students with SRLD and SSLD. Participants underwent a 3-week intervention focusing on phonological and morphological awareness. The results revealed significant improvements in morphological awareness, nonword reading, irregular word reading, text-level spelling, and reading comprehension after the intervention. These findings show that interventions targeting phonological and morphological awareness may enhance the literacy skills of university students with SRLD and SSLD. However, other factors, such as individual characteristics and the intervention context, may have also influenced the present results. This highlights the importance of offering speech pathology interventions in higher educational settings to better support adult students with learning difficulties.

Atypical visual selective attention in children with dyslexia: evidence from N2pc and PD.

Atypical visual selective attention in children with dyslexia: evidence from N2pc and PD.

Auditory N1, N2, and MMN to Pure-Tone and Consonant–Vowel Stimuli in Developmental Dyslexia and Benign Rolandic Epilepsy: A Progressive Insight Into the Underlying Disruptive Neurophysiology

PurposeBenign rolandic epilepsy or benign epilepsy in childhood with centrotemporal spikes (BECTS) and developmental dyslexia (DD) are two of the most studied disorders in childhood. Despite decades of research, the neurophysiological mechanisms underpinning these disorders are largely unknown. Here, we use auditory event-related potentials (AERPs) to shed light on these issues, since several authors have reported the existence of language and learning impairments. AERPs reflect the activation of different neuronal populations and are suggested to contribute to the evaluation of auditory discrimination (N1), attention allocation and phonological categorization (N2), and echoic memory (mismatch negativity (MMN]).Patients and MethodsThis study aims to investigate and document AERP changes in a group of children with BECTS and another group with DD. AERPs were recorded to pure-tones and consonant–vowel (CV) stimuli in an auditory oddball paradigm in eight children with BECTS, seven with DD, and 11 gender- and age-matched controls.ResultsThe results revealed perceptual deficits for pure-tone and CV stimuli (pre-attentional and auditory discrimination) in DD, related to N1 reduced amplitude (p<0.05; Fz: 2.57 μV, Cz: 2.75 μV). The BECTS group revealed no significant results for N1; however, there was an increase in N2b latency.ConclusionThe findings in the DD group support the anchor-deficit hypothesis as an explanation for neurolinguistic deficits. The increased N2b latency in the BECTS group could be related to a potential lack of inhibitory mechanisms of pyramidal neurons, as justified by the process of epileptogenesis.

Morphological Awareness: Connecting Language Foundations and Academic Literacy Success for Students With Language and Literacy Deficits.

For school-age students with language and literacy deficits (LLD), such as those with developmental language disorder (DLD) and/or dyslexia, literacy challenges can affect reading comprehension, written language, and overall academic success. Researchers have established that instruction in morphological awareness, especially with a phonological, orthographic, semantic, and syntactic focus, results in positive reading and writing outcomes. The purpose of this clinical focus article is to provide evidence for a multilinguistic literacy intervention approach grounded in morphological awareness, along with a case-based tutorial for its implementation in a relevant academic context. Focusing on the morphological meaning components within words provides an ideal opportunity to reflect on how these units provide clues and support to other linked language components such as phonology or word pronunciation, orthographic spelling, semantic meaning, and syntactic grammar. A discussion is provided for leveraging morphological awareness across a multilinguistic literacy intervention approach to connect foundational linguistic knowledge and bridge strategy, meaning, and purpose. We address how this intervention can be integrated with a classroom curricular unit and implemented via individual, small-group, or classroom-based intervention using a case-based example. Morphological awareness intervention has been found to be effective in supporting the vocabulary, decoding, spelling, and reading comprehension of students with LLD. Thus, infusing this metalinguistic strategy in multilinguistic literacy intervention that integrates academically relevant texts can be a powerful tool for speech-language pathologists and literacy specialists to support the literacy success of students with DLD and/or dyslexia.

Neural Networks for Semantic and Syntactic Prediction and Visual-Motor Statistical Learning in Adult Readers With and Without Dyslexia

Abstract Prediction has become a key concept for understanding language comprehension, language production, and more recently reading. Recent studies suggest that predictive mechanisms in reading may be related to domain-general statistical learning (SL) abilities that support the extraction of regularities from sequential input. Both mechanisms have been discussed in relation to developmental dyslexia. Some suggest that SL is impaired in dyslexia with negative effects on the ability to make linguistic predictions. Others suggest that dyslexic readers rely to a greater extent on semantic and syntactic predictions to compensate for lower-level deficits. Here, we followed these two research questions in a single study. We therefore assessed the effects of semantic and syntactic prediction in reading and SL abilities in a population of university students with dyslexia and a group of typical readers using fMRI. The SL task was a serial reaction time (SRT) task that was performed inside and outside the scanner. The predictive reading task was performed in the scanner and used predictive versus nonpredictive semantic and syntactic contexts. Our results revealed distinct neural networks underlying semantic and syntactic predictions in reading, group differences in predictive processing in the left precentral gyrus and right anterior insula, and an association between predictive reading and SL, particularly in dyslexic readers. These findings contribute to our understanding of the interplay between SL, predictive processing, and compensation in dyslexia, providing new insights into the neural mechanisms that support reading.

Spectral and Topological Abnormalities of Resting and Task State EEG in Chinese Children with Developmental Dyslexia

Developmental dyslexia (DD) is a common reading disorder with neurological underpinnings; however, it remains unclear whether Chinese children with DD exhibit spectral power or network topology abnormalities. This study investigated spectral power and brain network topology abnormalities using electroencephalography (EEG) during resting states and a one-back Chinese-Korean character task in 85 Hong Kong Chinese children with DD and 51 typically developing peers (ages 7–11). EEG signals were transformed using the Fast Fourier Transform to estimate spectral power. Functional connectivity matrices were derived using the phase-lag index, and network topology was assessed via minimum spanning tree (MST) analysis. The results suggested that children with DD showed reduced alpha power over central, frontal, temporal, parietal, and occipital scalp areas at rest, and over central and frontal areas during the task. MST results revealed decreased beta band integration at rest but increased alpha band integration during the one-back task. Familiar Chinese stimuli elicited greater alpha and beta power and lower beta band integration compared to unfamiliar Korean stimuli. Moreover, resting-state beta band integration correlated positively with reading fluency in children with DD. These findings point to inhibitory control deficits and cortical hyperactivation in Chinese DD, reflected in disrupted large-scale network topology, and highlight the alpha band as a potential biomarker. They also demonstrate that language familiarity modulates neural efficiency and recruits compensatory networks. Overall, the study provides new insights into the neural basis of reading difficulties in Chinese children with DD.

CNReader: a reading practice tool designed for Chinese children with developmental dyslexia

Developmental dyslexia among Chinese-speaking children presents distinct linguistic, cognitive, and information-processing deficiencies, negatively affecting academic performance and cognitive development. Existing dyslexia interventions largely rely on manual guidance, and due to limited resources and a narrow practice approach, results often fall short. This paper presents an innovative tool, CNReader, designed to support reading training for young Chinese children with dyslexia. Incorporating user-friendly visual text presentation, personalized reading guidance, and artificial intelligence (AI) reading support, CNReader aims to stimulate and enhance children’s reading interest and ability. Our study engaged children with mild dyslexia across three experimental phases. Results demonstrated that CNReader significantly reduced reading error rates, enhanced reading fluency, and improved comprehension. Notably, AI-paired reading emerged as both more appealing to children and more effective than conventional human-assisted approaches. Furthermore, following a 1-month training period, participants exhibited marked improvements in reading speed, accuracy, and engagement. This research validates CNReader’s efficacy as an intervention tool for Chinese dyslexia and underscores the potential of AI integration in reading assistance technologies designed for children with reading disabilities.

Verbal short-term memory in developmental dyslexia: The role of the temporoparietal area.

Verbal short-term memory in developmental dyslexia: The role of the temporoparietal area.

A different finding on the role of cerebro-cerebellar RSFC in reading skills among Chinese children with developmental dyslexia.

A different finding on the role of cerebro-cerebellar RSFC in reading skills among Chinese children with developmental dyslexia.

Handwriting deficits in the comorbidity of dyslexia and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and their electrophysiological correlates.

Handwriting deficits in the comorbidity of dyslexia and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and their electrophysiological correlates.

The Role of Rapid Automatized Naming in Children with Developmental Dysgraphia in German.

Various researchers have identified naming speed (rapid automatized naming [RAN]) as a predictor for reading skills and dyslexia. Although fewer studies investigate the connection between RAN and writing acquisition, their results suggest a connection between alphanumeric RAN tasks and spelling skills. Since the cognitive processes relevant to RAN have not yet been researched, it is unclear which components connect spelling performance and naming speed. Various authors propose a connection through orthographic and visual knowledge. This study investigated whether and how alphanumeric (letters and digits) and non-alphanumeric RAN (colors, objects) relate to spelling skills in German. Therefore, we investigated naming speed abilities in German 8- to 11-year-olds (n = 103) with pure developmental dysgraphia (i.e., isolated spelling deficit without reading deficit; n = 22), combined developmental dysgraphia and dyslexia (n = 26), and typical spelling and reading skills (n = 55). We found significant differences between children with pure developmental dysgraphia and children with typical reading and spelling skills for alphanumeric, but not non-alphanumeric RAN tasks. Our findings suggest that alphanumeric RAN, in contrast to non-alphanumeric RAN, is related to spelling. The study thus reveals the relevant difference between alphanumeric and non-alphanumeric RAN tasks and points toward distinct underlying cognitive mechanisms.

Directed Weighted EEG Connectogram Insights of One-to-One Causality for Identifying Developmental Dyslexia.

Developmental dyslexia (DD) affects approximately 5-12% of learners, posing persistent challenges in reading and writing. This study presents a novel electroencephalography (EEG)-based methodology for identifying DD using two auditory stimuli modulated at 4.8[Formula: see text]Hz (prosodic) and 40[Formula: see text]Hz (phonemic). EEG signals were processed to estimate one-to-one Granger causality, yielding directed and weighted connectivity matrices. A novel Mutually Informed Correlation Coefficient (MICC) feature selection method was employed to identify the most relevant causal links, which were visualized using connectograms. Under the 4.8[Formula: see text]Hz stimulus, altered theta-band connectivity between frontal and occipital regions indicated compensatory frontal activation for prosodic processing and visual-auditory integration difficulties, while gamma-band anomalies between occipital and temporal regions suggested impaired visual-prosodic integration. Classification analysis under the 4.8[Formula: see text]Hz stimulus yielded area under the ROC curve (AUC) values of 0.92 (theta) and 0.91 (gamma band). Under the 40[Formula: see text]Hz stimulus, theta abnormalities reflected dysfunctions in integrating auditory phoneme signals with executive and motor regions, and gamma alterations indicated difficulties coordinating visual and auditory inputs for phonological decoding, with AUC values of 0.84 (theta) and 0.89 (gamma). These results support both the Temporal Sampling Framework and the Phonological Core Deficit Hypothesis. Future research should extend the range of stimuli frequencies and include more diverse cohorts to further validate these potential biomarkers.

Effect of overlay but not electronic blue filters on reading time and eye movements of children with developmental dyslexia

This study aimed to examine the effects of colored blue electronic and overlay filters on reading time and eye movements of children with and without dyslexia. Children with (n = 15, 11.1 ± 1.6 years old) and without dyslexia (n = 15, 10.6 ± 1.7 years old) seated on a chair, with their heads stabilized by a forehead and chin support. They read different texts shown on a 14-inch laptop screen with no filter, blue electronic filter, and blue overlay filter. Eye movements were recorded using an eye-tracking system (ETG 2.0–SMI), and the total reading time duration, number and duration of fixation, and number and duration of saccades were obtained. Children with dyslexia showed longer reading durations and higher numbers of both fixations and saccades. In addition, they read faster with the blue overlay filter compared with the other conditions. Furthermore, the blue overlay filter reduced the fixation duration and increased the saccade duration. These results show that a blue overlay filter improves reading time in children with dyslexia owing to changes in eye movement patterns.

Binaural Temporal Fine Structure Sensitivity for Children With Developmental Dyslexia.

Atypical temporal processing is thought to be involved in the phonological difficulties that characterize children with developmental dyslexia (DYS). The temporal sampling (TS) theory of dyslexia posits that the processing of low-frequency envelope modulations is impaired, but the processing of binaural temporal fine structure (TFS) is preserved in children with DYS. Binaural TFS sensitivity was assessed for children with DYS utilizing the methods developed by Flanagan et al. for typically developing (TD) children. New results for 58 children with DYS (ages 7-9.6 years) were compared with those for 30 age-matched controls (chronological age-matched [CA]) reported in Flanagan et al. Threshold frequency, that is, the highest frequency at which an interaural phase difference (IPD) of 30° or 180° could be distinguished from an IPD of 0° was determined using a two-interval forced-choice task in which the frequency was adaptively varied, with stimuli presented via headphones. For those who were able to perform the task above chance, the median TFS180 thresholds were: DYS = 886 Hz; CA = 999Hz. For TFS30 thresholds: DYS = 388 Hz; CA = 442 Hz. A linear mixed-effects model with dependent variable threshold frequency and fixed effects of group (CA and DYS) and phase (180° and 30°) showed no significant difference between groups (p > .05) and no significant interaction between group and phase. Both groups performed more poorly than young typically hearing adults (p < .001) for both phases. Binaural TFS sensitivity does not differ significantly for children with DYS and TD children. For both groups, the development of binaural TFS sensitivity is protracted. The results are consistent with TS theory.

The Face Processing Deficit in Developmental Dyslexia: A Meta-Analysis.

Many studies have investigated face processing abilities in developmental dyslexia (DD) while conflicting evidence of both impaired and intact face processing has been reported. A systematic meta-analysis was conducted on the topic of the face processing abilities of DD. A total of 15 studies (34 effect sizes) were identified, representing data from 311 individuals with DD and 336 typically developing controls. A random-effects robust variance estimation model was used to synthesise the data. The average weighted standardised mean difference (Hedges' g) was 0.51 (95% confidence interval [0.24, 0.79], p = 0.001). A moderate level of heterogeneity was found while no publication bias was found between study-level effect sizes. Explorative meta-regression analyses showed that age, gender, and task type were not significant moderating factors. The results indicate that individuals with DD have face processing deficits compared with controls, suggesting domain-general deficits in DD and part of shared cognitive mechanisms underlying face and word processing.

Maturation of speech-elicited event-related potentials from birth to 28 months: typical development with minor effects of dyslexia risk.

Maturation of speech-elicited event-related potentials from birth to 28 months: typical development with minor effects of dyslexia risk.

Letter and Word Processing in Developmental Dyslexia: Evidence from a Two-Alternative Forced Choice Task.

The present study aimed to investigate letter processing in children with dyslexia and typically developing readers as a function of the type of orthographic context. In Experiment 1A, children performed a two-alternative forced choice task (Reicher-Wheeler paradigm) using as probes either high-frequency words, pronounceable pseudo-words, or unpronounceable non-words. The group differences in letter recognition were clearly distinguished from those present in typical word and pseudo-word reading conditions (Experiment 1B), as a global factor was present only in the latter case. In Experiment 2, the two-alternative forced choice task required the child to search for the target letter in the subsequent multi-letter string (i.e., words, pseudo-words, or non-words), thus reducing the memory load. Detecting the target letter was more difficult in a word than in a pseudo-word or non-word array, indicating that the word form's lexical activation interfered with the target's analysis in both groups of children. In Experiment 3, children performed the two-alternative forced choice task with symbols (Greek letters) either in the Reicher-Wheeler mode of presentation (Experiment 3A) or in the search condition (Experiment 3B). Children with dyslexia performed identically to typically developing readers in keeping with the selectivity of their orthographic difficulties. The present data indicate that children with dyslexia suffer from an early deficit in making perceptual operations that require the conjunction analysis of a set of letters. Still, this deficit is not due to an inability to scan the letter string. The deficit is confined to orthographic stimuli and does not extend to other types of visual targets.

Review of Visual Attention Span Characteristics and Intervention in Developmental Dyslexia

Developmental dyslexia is a specific learning disorder with an incidence rate of approximately 5% - 17.5% globally. It is a learning disorder that affects an individual's reading ability and the acquisition of reading-related skills, with core characteristics including difficulties in decoding text, slow reading speed, and limited comprehension. It not only impacts an individual's academic performance but may also have long-term effects on their self-esteem, social skills, and future career development. This article synthesizes multiple kinds of literature to conduct an in-depth analysis of the visual attention span characteristics and influencing factors of individuals with developmental dyslexia and discusses the relevant effects in detail. Research shows that the developmental dyslexia group has a visual attention span deficit, and this deficit is modulated by multiple factors. Meanwhile, two intervention methods, visual attention training tasks and action video games, have been proven to effectively improve the visual attention ability and reading performance of children with dyslexia.

Research of Children Dyslexia Classification Recognition based on Graph Convolutional Neural Networks

Developmental dyslexia is a common neurodevelopmental disorder that significantly affects children' normal learning and life. Early identification and intervention are crucial for patients. However, current models for classifying dyslexia fail to automatically extract features based on patient data and overlook the interrelationships between brain nodes in patients. Therefore, this paper proposes a graph convolutional neural network model that constructs a brain network from patients' fMRI data as an adjacency matrix, calculates node feature matrices, trains GCN models for classification, and achieves the diagnosis of dyslexia patients. Experimental results show that the model has an identification accuracy of 94%, precision of 95%, recall of 94%, and F1 score of 94%. This study provides a new approach for identifying and diagnosing dyslexia, which is beneficial for early intervention in dyslexia patients.

Teachers' Perceptions and Preparedness for Teaching English as a Foreign Language to Students with Developmental Dyslexia: A Systematic Review.

Students with developmental dyslexia (DD) face significant challenges when learning English as a foreign language (EFL), highlighting the need for targeted support in educational systems. EFL teachers' perceptions and preparedness regarding DD are crucial for effective instruction and improved learning outcomes in inclusive classrooms. However, no systematic review has yet explored EFL teachers' perceptions and preparedness to teach students with DD. This systematic review, conducted in accordance with the PRISMA guidelines, examines existing research between 2005 and 2025 on EFL teachers' perceptions and preparedness to teach students with DD. Studies were retrieved from databases including APA PsycNet, Crossref, ERIC, ProQuest, PubMed, and Scopus databases. Of 17,798 results, 16 studies met the inclusion criteria. The findings reveal mixed EFL teachers' perceptions toward DD and inadequate training specific to DD. Moreover, practical teaching strategies and targeted interventions remain underrepresented in the literature. Most teachers lack formal DD-specific training, leading to insufficient classroom support. This review emphasizes the urgent need for improved in-service training and the development of effective resources. Future research should prioritize developing and evaluating practical teaching strategies and professional development programs on teacher preparedness in EFL contexts.