Developmental Dyslexia in Spain

Abstract

Spanish-speaking children learn to read words written in a relatively transparent orthography. Variations in orthographic transparency may shape the manifestation of developmental dyslexia. In Spanish, as in other transparent orthographies, reading speed/ fluency seems to be more evident and relevant than accuracy problems. In addition, the prevalence of dyslexia is much lower in Spanish than in less consistent or less transparent orthographies. Spanish students with developmental dyslexia have numerous lags in several cognitive (e.g., phonological awareness, rapid naming, verbal and visual-spatial working memory, and executive functioning), academic (e.g., pseudoword reading, spelling, and vocabulary), and emotional (e.g., reading self-concept, engagement, and reading motivation) areas. Intervention programs developed with Spanish children with dyslexia have ranged from phonological-based programs to fluency-based programs, with and without a computer.