Abstract

SALLES, Jerusa Fumagalli de  and  PARENTE, Maria Alice Mattos Pimenta. Variability in the performance of neuropsychological tasks of second-grade children with reading and writing difficulties. Arq. bras. psicol. [online]. 2008, vol.60, n.1, pp.32-44. ISSN 1809-5267.

There are many subdivisions of reading and writing difficulties in children, and the neuropsychological factors related to each of them may also vary. The goals of this study were to investigate the variability in the performance of neuropsychological tasks in fourteen second-grade children with reading and writing difficulties and to compare those with fifteen second-graders who are competent in reading and writing, as well as with nine cases of first-graders, approximated to the former group by their performance in reading and writing. The following were evaluated: language, processing speed, perceptive-motor abilities, phonological consciousness, verbal and nonverbal short-term memory. The results of the cases with reading and writing difficulties suggested variability in the neuropsychological profile, with dissociations between verbal and nonverbal functions. About half of these cases presented low performance in phonological consciousness, verbal memory, oral language and processing speed. The other half showed similarities to the competent group of the same grade. A neuropsychological evaluation prior to the process of intervention and study of the cases, as well as the study of groups, are proved to be of extreme importance.

Keywords : Reading and writing difficulties; Developmental dyslexia; Children; Neuropsychological functions.

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