Dyslexia: Sensory Deficits or Inattention?

Abstract

An important question in regard to dyslexia is whether or not this condition is the result of sensory deficits. A number of studies have indeed found sensory deficiencies in dyslexic readers. However, it has been proposed that these are due simply to inattention. If so, this would be expected to produce either (i) a general reduction or (ii) random reductions in performance. On the basis of published data, it seems that neither of these is in fact the case. Rather the data indicate reproducible non-random patterns of deficiencies with regard to stimulus conditions. The stimulus specificity of the deficits represents, therefore, an important issue which needs to be addressed by any attempt to account for the sensory deficiencies of dyslexic readers in terms of inattention.