Differences between Dyslexic and Non-Dyslexic Children in the Performance of Phonological Visual-Auditory Recognition Tasks: An Eye-Tracking Study

Abstract

The object of this study was to explore further phonological visual-auditory recognition tasks in a group of fifty-six healthy children (mean age: 9.9 ± 0.3) and to compare these data to those recorded in twenty-six age-matched dyslexic children (mean age: 9.8 ± 0.2). Eye movements from both eyes were recorded using an infrared video-oculography system (MobileEBT® e(y)e BRAIN). The recognition task was performed under four conditions in which the target object was displayed either with phonologically unrelated objects (baseline condition), or with cohort or rhyme objects (cohort and rhyme conditions, respectively), or both together (rhyme + cohort condition). The percentage of the total time spent on the targets and the latency of the first saccade on the target were measured. Results in healthy children showed that the percentage of the total time spent in the baseline condition was significantly longer than in the other conditions, and that the latency of the first saccade in the cohort condition was significantly longer than in the other conditions; interestingly, the latency decreased significantly with the increasing age of the children. The developmental trend of phonological awareness was also observed in healthy children only. In contrast, we observed that for dyslexic children the total time spent on the target was similar in all four conditions tested, and also that they had similar latency values in both cohort and rhyme conditions. These findings suggest a different sensitivity to the phonological competitors between dyslexic and non-dyslexic children. Also, the eye-tracking technique provides online information about phonological awareness capabilities in children.

Distribution of Visual and Oculomotor Alterations in a Clinical Population of Children with and without Neurodevelopmental Disorders

“…A great variety of scientific studies have confirmed the presence of significant alterations in oculomotricity in children with neurodevelopmental disorders [ 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 ]. However, these altered oculomotor patterns are not specific to this type of disorders [ 4 ], as they are also present in healthy children, and they have the potential to affect reading [ 36 ].…”

Visual Attentional Training Improves Reading Capabilities in Children with Dyslexia: An Eye Tracker Study During a Reading Task

“…Fifty children with reading disorders (from 7.8 to 12 years old) were recruited from the Robert Debré Pediatric Hospital. The children in the study underwent a complete evaluation (see our previous studies [ 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 ]).…”

“…Facoetti et al [ 7 ] reported also in children with dyslexia a specific disability in orienting as well as in sustained focusing visuospatial attention. Our group further explored oculomotor capabilities in dyslexic children and suggested a deficit in visual attentional processing in relation to the immaturity of cortical structures responsible for saccades triggering [ 8 , 9 , 10 ]. Reading, in fact, corresponds to a complex cognitive process during which several mechanisms are involved: visual perception, eye movements such as saccades and fixations, and semantic and linguistic abilities; consequently, a deficit in one of these different components could cause impairment in reading acquisition.…”

Clinical Characterization of Oculomotricity in Children with and without Specific Learning Disorders

“…A speech therapist, a psychologist and a pediatrician evaluated the conditions of these children and performed a diagnosis according to the DSM-5 diagnostic criteria [ 24 ]. According to previous studies, these children are expected to show oculomotor abnormalities in most of cases [ 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 ].…”