Conference Contribution Details
Mandatory Fields
Caoilainn Doyle , Lorraine Boran , Alan Smeaton , Geraldine Scanlon
Annual Meeting of Cognitive Neuroscience Society
EXECUTIVE FUNCTION PREDICTS READING AND SOCIO-EMOTIONAL OUTCOMES IN CHILDREN WITH DEVELOPMENTAL DYSLEXIA
New York, US
2016
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Optional Fields
02-APR-16
05-APR-16
Dyslexia is characterized by a difficulty in developing reading skills despite adequate instruction and intellectual ability. Also, socio-emotional control difficulties are associated with dyslexia. Despite extensive research, there remains little consensus on the neuro-cognitive underpinnings of dyslexia and associated behaviors. Executive function (EF) is a candidate factor for explaining both reading and socio-emotional difficulties in dyslexia. Addressing methodological issues from previous EF profiling studies, this study aims to (1) examine EF in dyslexia using Miyake’s 3 factor model, and (2) examine the predictive relationship of EF with reading and socio-emotional control difficulties in dyslexia. Fifty five children (27 dyslexia, 28 control) aged 10-12 years completed a battery of executive function (inhibition, updating, and switching), reading and socio-emotional (parent rating scale) measures. Children with dyslexia made significantly more errors compared to controls on all measures of executive function (inhibition: F(1,52)=6.78, p<.05; updating: F(1,53)=20.54, p<.001; and switching F(1,53)=11.57, p<.01), reading ability (F(1,53)=64.46, p<.001) and socio-emotional behaviour (U=132.5, p<.001). Switching ability predicted severity of reading impairment in dyslexia (R2 =.47, p<.001), while inhibition predicted severity of social control problems in dyslexia (R2 =.28, p=<.01). Results suggest that EF may be implicated in the symptom expression of dyslexia and may be a candidate cognitive training intervention for children with dyslexia