Visuo-Spatial Skills in Atypical Readers

Abstract

Atypical learners, including those with developmental dyslexia or reading disorder (RD) and twice exceptionality (2e), exhibit a wide variety of cognitive profiles. The empirical data reviewed in this chapter suggest that RD individuals as a group do not generally exhibit superior visual-spatial abilities, but there appear to be specific types of visuo-spatial (VS) skills that RD individuals may show strengths in. This may be particularly true for a subset of RD individuals who could be classified as 2e-RD. This chapter aims to highlight the need for a different theoretical and applied approach to how VS skills in RD populations are considered; it also suggests the need for different methodologies to assess those skills. Recommendations are made for future research to better characterize the VS aspects of the RD profile, their possible neurological underpinnings, and what may be unique VS processing mechanisms in RD and 2e-RD populations.