Auditory attention influences trajectories of symbol-speech sound learning in children with and without dyslexia

Validation of the Askisi-Lexia neuropsychological web-based screener: A neuropsychological battery for screening cognitive and phonological skills of children with dyslexia

DSM-5 classifies dyslexia as a "specific learning disorder with impairment in reading", emphasizing deficits in phonological processing and letter knowledge. Children with dyslexia commonly exhibit challenges in reading accuracy, fluency, and associated cognitive deficits. Computerized neuropsychological assessments have gained prominence for their precision and control in evaluating cognitive abilities. This manuscript presents the validation outcomes of Askisi-Lexia, a web-based neuropsychological screener developed to assess cognitive and phonological skills in children. The screener effectively differentiated between dyslexic and non-dyslexic participants, with dyslexic children demonstrating significantly lower scores and prolonged response times across all nine tasks (five targeting phonological skills and four evaluating cognitive abilities). Additionally, Askisi-Lexia exhibited high sensitivity and specificity across all subtests. Reliability analysis revealed high internal consistency and test-retest reliability. Notably, moderate correlations were observed between Askisi-Lexia and Test-A, a well-established traditional paper-and-pencil assessment, underscoring the screener's validity. These findings highlight the efficacy of web-based tools in assessing phonological and cognitive deficits associated with dyslexia. The study underscores the potential of web-based screening applications as practical, engaging, and efficient methods for dyslexia assessment. Such tools facilitate identification and intervention, contributing to significant advancements in educational and clinical practice for children with reading-related challenges.

Action video games normalise the phonemic awareness in pre-readers at risk for developmental dyslexia

Action video-games (AVGs) could improve reading efficiency, enhancing not only visual attention but also phonological processing. Here we tested the AVG effects upon three consolidated language-based predictors of reading development in a sample of 79 pre-readers at-risk and 41 non-at-risk for developmental dyslexia. At-risk children were impaired in either phonemic awareness (i.e., phoneme discrimination task), phonological working memory (i.e., pseudoword repetition task) or rapid automatized naming (i.e., RAN of colours task). At-risk children were assigned to different groups by using an unequal allocation randomization: (1) AVG (n = 43), (2) Serious Non-Action Video Game (n = 11), (3) treatment-as-usual (i.e., speech therapy, n = 11), and (4) waiting list (n = 14). Pre- and post-training comparisons show that only phonemic awareness has a significantly higher improvement in the AVG group compared to the waiting list, the non-AVG, and the treatment-as-usual groups, as well as the combined active groups (n = 22). This cross-modal plastic change: (i) leads to a recovery in phonemic awareness when compared to the not-at-risk pre-readers; (ii) is present in more than 80% of AVG at-risk pre-readers, and; (iii) is maintained at a 6-months follow-up. The present findings indicate that this specific multisensory attentional training positively affects how phonemic awareness develops in pre-readers at risk for developmental dyslexia, paving the way for innovative prevention programs.