Orthographic Learning in Adults with Reading Difficulties

Abstract

This study examined the nature and cognitive predictors of orthographic learning in 20 adults with dyslexia and 27 controls. Orthographic learning was assessed with an orthographic choice task and with eye movements in reading a passage embedded with novel words. Participants also completed tasks measuring phonological awareness and rapid automatized naming (RAN). The results indicated that adults with dyslexia learned new words at a rate comparable to or even faster than that of typical readers, but were slower in recalling orthographic representations. Phonological awareness predicted orthographic learning, while RAN was not a significant predictor. These results confirm some previous findings on the predictors of orthographic learning, but also challenge claims that individuals with dyslexia exhibit impairment in orthographic learning.