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There is a PowerPoint file available to accompany this presentation. The BDA Conference 2001 CD-ROM contains 61 PowerPoint files. For details of how to obtain the CD-ROM, please contact the BDA.
Thursday stream 5 Session 14.00 - 15.40 Length 25 minutes
Janet Hatcher
Dyslexia Institute and Centre for Reading and Language, University of York j.hatcher@psych.york.ac.uk
Abstract
It has been established that the primary cause of dyslexia is a language processing problem that affects the ability to reflect on the speech sounds of spoken words. Recent research has indicated that these speech processing problems persist into adulthood, although reading and spelling problems can be compensated to varying degrees. However, still little is known about how particular difficulties that dyslexic students experience impact on their ability to perform in different academic disciplines. The current study involved 22 dyslexics and 50 controls, who were students at the University of York. The aim of the study was to establish a data base of information regarding their cognitive skills, literacy abilities, experiences and the competencies that students in different disciplines need to reach. The results indicated that, although the dyslexic students were comparable to the controls in age and intelligence, they showed impairments in tests of literacy and phonological processing. Furthermore, the project confirmed that the impact of dyslexia differs in subject disciplines. Analyses were conducted to identify the tests which provided the most sensitive indicators of group. The results suggest that dyslexia can be 'diagnosed' in the student population using only a relatively small number of tests. The findings of this study have implications for screening assessment, and for recommendations concerning the most appropriate support that can be offered to dyslexic university students.
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