Very few studies have investigated the development of visual search of aligned stimuli in relation to normal reading acquisition and in developmental dyslexia. In this study we used a new computerised experimental task which requires a visuo-motor response (RT) to a target appearing unpredictably in one out of seven different spatial positions on a horizontally aligned array of 18 geometrical figures. The aims of the study were to investigate: 1) the visual scanning development in normal children from pre-school to school age; 2) whether visual scanning performance in kindergarten children could predict reading acquisition; 3) the visual scanning abilities in a group of developmental dyslexic children. The main results were: 1) a significant decrement of RTs with age and a progressive increase of the left-to-right gradient with reading experience; 2) visual scanning abilities in kindergarten proved to be a good predictor of reading acquisition; 3) dyslexics were slow scanners and did not present the left-to-right strategy typical of normal readers. The results support the hypothesis of a relationship between visual scanning and reading abilities. © 2008 - IOS Press and the authors. All rights reserved.
CITATION STYLE
Ferretti, G., Mazzotti, S., & Brizzolara, D. (2008). Visual scanning and reading ability in normal and dyslexic children. In Behavioural Neurology (Vol. 19, pp. 87–92). Hindawi Limited. https://doi.org/10.1155/2008/564561
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