ERIC Number: EJ1143827
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2017-Jul
Pages: 16
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: EISSN-1467-7687
EISSN: N/A
Are the Literacy Difficulties That Characterize Developmental Dyslexia Associated with a Failure to Integrate Letters and Speech Sounds?
Nash, Hannah M.; Gooch, Debbie; Hulme, Charles; Mahajan, Yatin; McArthur, Genevieve; Steinmetzger, Kurt; Snowling, Margaret J.
Developmental Science, v20 n4 Jul 2017
The "automatic letter-sound integration hypothesis" (Blomert, [Blomert, L., 2011]) proposes that dyslexia results from a failure to fully integrate letters and speech sounds into automated audio-visual objects. We tested this hypothesis in a sample of English-speaking children with dyslexic difficulties (N = 13) and samples of chronological-age-matched (CA; N = 17) and reading-age-matched controls (RA; N = 17) aged 7-13 years. Each child took part in two priming experiments in which speech sounds were preceded by congruent visual letters (congruent condition) or Greek letters (baseline). In a behavioural experiment, responses to speech sounds in the two conditions were compared using reaction times. These data revealed faster reaction times in the congruent condition in all three groups. In a second electrophysiological experiment, responses to speech sounds in the two conditions were compared using event-related potentials (ERPs). These data revealed a significant effect of congruency on (1) the P1 ERP over left frontal electrodes in the CA group and over fronto-central electrodes in the dyslexic group and (2) the P2 ERP in the dyslexic and RA control groups. These findings suggest that our sample of English-speaking children with dyslexic difficulties demonstrate a degree of letter-sound integration that is appropriate for their reading level, which challenges the letter-sound integration hypothesis.
Descriptors: Dyslexia, Phoneme Grapheme Correspondence, Control Groups, Diagnostic Tests, Brain Hemisphere Functions, Hypothesis Testing, English, Language Acquisition, Matched Groups, Priming, Greek, Alphabets, Reaction Time, Comparative Analysis, Speech, Task Analysis, Children, Adolescents, Reading Difficulties, Foreign Countries, Intelligence Tests, Achievement Tests
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: United Kingdom (England)
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: Wechsler Intelligence Scales Short Forms; Wide Range Achievement Test
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A