Neuropsychological characteristics of dyslexic children

Abstract

The aim of this study was to identify the neuropsychological characteristics of dyslexic children. Seventy-three children underwent neuropsychological assessment and were divided into two groups: a group with dyslexia (DG; n=39) and a control group (CG; n= 34). A general linear model showed a significant difference between the groups regarding the following abilities: reading, writing and mathematics; forward and backward digit span tasks; semantic and phonological fluency; number of completed categories and total number of cards in the Wisconsin Cards Sorting Test; as well as right and left discrimination on self and on other. These results suggest impairment in executive functions, phonological working memory and semantic memory among dyslexic children, rather than impairment of just phonological abilities, as suggested in previous studies.