title: Italian developmental dyslexic and proficient readers: where are the differences?
abstract: Italian dyslexic children are characterized by a pervasive reading speed deficit, with relatively preserved accuracy. This pattern has been associated with predominant use of the nonlexical reading procedure. However, there is no evidence of a deficit in the lexical route of Italian dyslexics. We investigated both lexical and nonlexical reading procedures in dyslexic children through two marker effects, namely, the word frequency effect and the effect of contextual grapheme-to-phoneme conversion rules. Although dyslexics were slower and less accurate than controls, they were affected by word frequency, grapheme contextuality, and their interaction in a similar manner as average readers. These results show the use of lexical reading in Italian dyslexics, and refute the claim of a deficit in whole-word processing with consequent over-reliance on the nonlexical route.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of York, Heslington, YO10 5DD York, UK. l.barca@psych.york.ac.uk
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Barca
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Burani
authors.forename: Gloria
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Di Filippo
authors.forename: Pierluigi
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Zoccolotti
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D004410:Dyslexia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D008297:Male; D010507:Periodicity; D011932:Reading; D014825:Vocabulary