Abstract

Reading is essential for learning, from literature to physics, from paper to screens on e-readers and smart phones. Even if it is well known that learning to read implies good language skills, children also need to develop good oculomotor and visual-perception skills. Thereby, any deficits in visual processing may affect learning. The possible impact of visual deficits is rarely considered, especially with regard to eye movements and visual perception. Hence, these deficits are usually discovered much later or remain undiagnosed. The present study aimed at assessing the usefulness of visual processing related measures in the early detection of reading difficulties. Visual skill differences that are apparent early in kindergarten might provide predictive insights into risk for learning difficulties at school entry. We used a prospective, longitudinal approach where visual processes (assessed with the Developmental Eye Movement (DEM) test) were measured in 51 preschoolers, and the impact of these processes on future reading development was explored one year later, in Grade 1. Results showed that (1) 31% of our sample of preschoolers showed visual processing impairments (without any clinical complaints) and (2) reading accuracy and speed in first graders were significantly correlated with visual skills assessed in kindergarten, thus confirming the significant role of oculomotor and visual-perception processes in the acquisition of reading skills. These suggests the potential for these measures to be used clinically for identifying children at risk for low academic achievement, enabling appropriate targeting of early interventions.

摘要

从文学到物理，从纸张到电子阅读器和智能手机上的屏幕，阅读对于学习都是必不可少的。即使众所周知，学习阅读意味着良好的语言技能，但儿童也需要培养良好的动眼神经和视觉感知技能。因此，视觉处理中的任何缺陷都可能影响学习。很少考虑视觉缺陷的可能影响，特别是在眼球运动和视觉感知方面。因此，这些缺陷通常在很久以后才被发现或仍未得到诊断。本研究旨在评估视觉处理相关措施在早期发现阅读困难中的有用性。幼儿园早期明显的视觉技能差异​​可能为入学时学习困难的风险提供预测性见解。我们使用了一个前瞻性，纵向方法，其中测量了 51 名学龄前儿童的视觉过程（通过发展性眼动 (DEM) 测试评估），并在一年后的 1 年级探索了这些过程对未来阅读发展的影响。结果表明 (1) 31我们的学龄前儿童样本中有 % 表现出视觉处理障碍（没有任何临床症状），并且（2）一年级学生的阅读准确性和速度与幼儿园评估的视觉技能显着相关，从而证实了动眼神经和视觉感知过程在阅读技能的获得。这些表明这些措施有可能在临床上用于识别有学业成绩低风险的儿童，从而能够适当地针对早期干预措施。