The relationship between reading ability, phonological working memory and visual attention in primary school children: A comparative study between normal readers and dyslexics

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between reading proficiency on the one hand and visual
attention on phonological working memory on the other hand, which is a key skill for reading acquisition. A group
of students from grades 4 and 5 were selected on the basis of a number of diagnostic criteria including the score
obtained in word and pseudoword reading. Then, they were classified into two subgroups of readers, normal group
(n = 75) and dyslexics (n = 20). After the implementation of the phonological working memory (oral and visual
forms), and thevisual attention test (letter and object tasks), the main results show the existence of:
- Significant differences between the two groups of readers in phonological working memory for both oral and
visual forms and visual attention.
-Significant correlation between reading and phonological working memory for both verbal and visual forms.
- Significant correlation between reading and visual attention in the letter cancellation task, but not in the images
form.
These findings indicate the importance of the role of the phonological working memory and the visual attention in
the development of reading abilities (recognition and decoding), and have been discussed in light of previous
studies