Early Precursors of Familial Dyslexia: A Prospective Longitudinal Study

Developmental dyslexia is a neurobiological disorder, characterized by deficits in the auditory (phonological), visual, motor and linguistic domains. In the longitudinal Dutch Dyslexia Programme (DDP) 180 children with a familial risk of dyslexia (FR), and a control group of 120 children were studied from the age of 2 months to 9 years. Data collection focused on auditory and visual ERPs between 2 and 47 months of age and reading assessments at age 7 to 9 years.Layman's descriptionIn the Dyslexia programme, young children were followed for a period of ten years to find early indications of dyslexia. This information will help to improve literacy programmes for dyslexic children starting at an early age. Researchers from various disciplines, such as brain researchers, linguists and geneticists, are participating in the programme.