title: Visuospatial deficits of dyslexic children.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The visuospatial deficit is recognized as typical for dyslexia only in some definitions. However problems with visuospatial orientation may manifest themselves as difficulties with letter identification or the memorizing and recalling of sign sequences, something frequently experienced by dyslexics.
  
  
  METHODS
  The experimental group consisted of 62 children with developmental dyslexia. The control group consisted of 67 pupils with no diagnosed deficits, matched to the clinical group in terms of age. We used the Clock Drawing Test (CDT), the Spatial Span subtest from the Wechsler Memory Scale - third edition (WMS - III), the Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure Test in order to analyze visuospatial functioning.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The results show that dyslexics experienced problems with visuospatial functioning, however only while performing difficult tasks. Significant group differences were found for the Clock Drawing Test, Spatial Span - Backward and the precision of figure coping in the Rey-Osterrieth Test. In addition, the results of dyslexic boys were lower than those obtained by all other groups.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our findings provide support for the hypothesis concerning visual deficit as characteristic for dyslexia.
authors: Institute of Psychology, University of Gdansk, Gdansk, Poland. psyml@univ.gda.pl
authors: Malgorzata
authors: M
authors: Lipowska
authors: Ewa
authors: E
authors: Czaplewska
authors: Anna
authors: A
authors: Wysocka
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D004410:Dyslexia / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007361:Intelligence Tests; D008297:Male; D013028:Space Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D014796:Visual Perception / Q000502:physiology*