Links between organized visual search and reading ability in French primary school children

The impact of visual search in Chinese children with developmental dyslexia on reading comprehension: the mediating role of word detection skill and reading fluency

Introduction

Previous research has highlighted the influence of visual search (VS) on reading comprehension (RC); however, the underlying mechanisms of this effect remain poorly understood, particularly in children with reading disabilities. This study explores disparities in VS, word detection skills (WD), reading fluency (RF), and RC between Chinese children with developmental dyslexia (DD) and their typically developing peers across different age groups.

Methods

The sample comprised 191 students from grades 2, 4, and 6, including 92 children with dyslexia and 99 chronological age-matched controls. Variance analysis was used to examine differences in VS, WD, RF, and RC performance. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was employed to assess the relationships among these variables.

Results

Children with DD performed significantly worse than their typically developing peers on VS and RC tasks, with the most notable differences emerging in the middle and higher grades. Additionally, children with DD showed weaker WD skills and RF, with these disparities evident across all grade levels. SEM indicated that VS directly influences RC, with WD and RF serving as mediators in the relationship between VS and RC.

Discussion

These findings elucidate the complex interplay between visual processing and linguistic skills in reading development, particularly within the Chinese language context. The study underscores the importance of targeted interventions for children with dyslexia, emphasizing strategies that address the unique challenges these learners face in Chinese reading environments.

A Systematic Review on Visual-Processing Deficits in Neurofibromatosis Type 1: What Possible Impact on Learning to Read?

This systematic review aimed to examine the possible implication of visual-perceptual, visuo-attentional and oculomotor processing in the reading deficits frequently experienced by children with Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1), as previously shown in dyslexia. Using PRISMA methodological guidelines, we examined 49 studies; most of these reported visual-processing deficits in this population, raising the importance of directly studying the visuo-perceptual and visuo-attentional processes and eye-movement control involved in the learning-to-read process in NF1. The discussion provides a reflection for a better understanding of how visual-processing skills interact with reading deficits in NF1, as well as new avenues for their screening and care.

Visual search organization in a cancellation task in developmental dyslexia

There is converging evidence that performance on visual search tasks, often assessed with cancellation tasks, is associated with performance on reading tasks. However, results have been inconsistent across studies dealing with developmental dyslexia. One limitation of previous research is that accuracy, rather than search strategies, was assessed. The present study is the first to investigate visual search strategies during a cancellation task in developmental dyslexia. Here, 24 dyslexic and 33 non-dyslexic children were included. Difficulties in visual search accuracy and organization were highlighted in the dyslexic group compared to the non-dyslexic group. Visual search patterns were also different if dyslexic children had more difficulties in the lexical or the sublexical reading route. While several questions remain to be addressed regarding the influence of other visual attentional processes on the relationship between visual search and reading, this study supports the use of visual search tasks in dyslexia assessment.

The visual-attention span deficit in developmental dyslexia: Review of evidence for a visual-attention-based deficit

The visual attention span (VAS) deficit hypothesis in developmental dyslexia posits that a subset of dyslexic individuals shows a multielement parallel processing deficit due to reduced visual attention capacity. However, the attention-based interpretation of poor performance on VAS tasks is hotly debated. The purpose of the present paper is to clarify this issue through a critical review of relevant behavioural and neurobiological findings. We first examine the plausibility of alternative verbal interpretations of VAS performance, evaluating whether performance on VAS tasks might reflect verbal short-term memory, verbal coding or visual-to-verbal mapping skills. We then focus on the visual dimensions of VAS tasks to question whether VAS primarily reflects visuo-attentional rather than more basic visual skills. Scrutiny of the available behavioural and neurobiological findings not only points to a deficit of visual attention in dyslexic individuals with impaired VAS but further suggests a selective endogenous attentional system deficit that relates to atypical functioning of the brain dorsal attentional network. The overview clarifies the debate on what is being measured through VAS tasks and provides insights on how to interpret the VAS deficit in developmental dyslexia.