Gnosis-praxic Skills Related to Disabilities in Learning to Read and Write in Individuals Aged 9 to 12 Years

Abstract

Learning disabilities constitute one of the main causes of school failure; their early manifestation may be evidenced in the gnosis-praxis skills that support reading and writing processes. Objective: To describe the performance of gnosis-praxis skills in school children (aged from 9 to 12 years old), associated to the existence or not of reading and/or writing difficulties. Participants: 53 children of a public school in Sabaneta – Colombia, divided into two groups, one consisting of 16 children with difficulties in reading and/or writing and, the other, by 37 children without difficulties in these processes. Results: the intergroup comparison showed significant statistical differences, in crucial aspects for reading and writing process: the visoconstructional image formation, speed, planning and motor coordination, obtained from the gnosis – praxis tasks of Letter-Number Sequencing (WISC-IV) and Tapping (BANETA). Additionally, statistical differences were found in the subtests of Stereognosis (BANETA) and significant correlations between Tapping and the speed rate in writing words. Conclusion: Gnosis – praxis skills are not the predominant processes in intergroup differences, even though motor skills are linked to learning process and the difficulties they may arise, as suggested by the correlations given between the motor speed subtest and the writing process. In addition, processing speed and operational memory are shown as crosscutting processes in gnosis-praxis, reading and writing skills.