The implementation of a web application for screening children with dyslexia

Abstract

Developmental dyslexia is defined as an unexpected specific and persistent failure to acquire efficient reading skills despite conventional instruction, adequate intelligence and sociocultural opportunity. The main aim of the present research protocol was to construct a web screening battery of tests in order to screen children’s reading, orthographic and cognitive skills. The main hypothesis of the present study was that Greek students that were already diagnosed as dyslexic, shall present significantly lower scores. A total of sixty, right handed children (30 male and 30 female, age range 8–11 years old M = 8.93, SD = 0.83) participated in this study. Reading, cognitive and orthographic skills of children with dyslexia and typically achieving children were examined, using a battery that consisted of seven tasks. Subsequent analysis of variance revealed that the children with dyslexia had statistically significant (p < 0.01) lower mean scores of correct answers and larger latencies in all tasks compared to their average peers that participated at the control group.