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Word processing in dyslexics

An automatic decoding deficit?

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Abstract

Dyslexic children (n=21, mean age=10.2 years) were compared with normal readers of the same age, normal readers of the same reading-age, and poor readers of the same reading-age on measures of phonological decoding and automatic word processing. Three different tasks, varying in phonological demand, were used: a naming task, an auditory-visual matching task, and a lexical decision task. On each task, word-pseudoword profiles were obtained to test phonological decoding skills and unspeeded-speeded profiles were assessed to test automaticity in word processing. Main results indicated that dyslexics have a deficit in automatic phonological decoding skills. The results are discussed within the framework of the phonological deficit and the automatization deficit hypothesis.

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Yap, R., Van Der Leij, A. Word processing in dyslexics. Read Writ 5, 261–279 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01027391

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