Ricerc@Sapienza

Deficits in reading, writing and calculation tend to co-occur, such that both isolated cases (eg children with only dyslexia) and mixed cases (eg children with dyslexia and dyscalculia) are present. The aim of the study is to account for both associations and dissociations by reference to the same unitary "proximal" model of the factors accounting for performance in these skills. We plan to examine a sufficiently large number of children to have a sufficient number of both dissociated cases and associated cases (N = 50 to 70 children between 10 and 12 years of age). All children will have with a diagnosis of dyslexia, dysgraphia and dyscalculia (made according to current clinical standards) whether "isolated" or in a mixed form.
As dependent variables, we will use measures with a clear functional value in everyday life such as reading a meaningful text aloud, writing upon dictation a meaningful passage, and carrying out a variety of calculation tasks (including all four operations) with both accuracy and speed being considered.
Independent variables (i.e., cognitive dimensions) will be modeled on the basis of an integrated model of reading, writing and calculation developed by the our research group. It is hypothesized that independent competences are present for these three behaviors and that this may account for dissociations among learning disorders. On the other hand, association among learning disorders may be due to an acquisition factor and particularly on the "ability to consolidate instances" which is responsible for automatized behavior.