ORGANIZATIONAL DEFICITS IN DYSLEXIA - POSSIBLE FRONTAL-LOBE DYSFUNCTION

We examined the organizational skills of normal and dyslexic subjects on a battery of cognitive tasks. TWenty dyslexic and 20 normal readers were administered five language and visuospatial measures and compared on both quantitative performance scores and qualitative problem-solving strategies. Relative to control subjects, dyslexics were impaired on verbal fluency, recalled fewer words on a verbal learning task and had difficulty solving conceptual problems and completing mazes. In addition, dyslexic subjects had difficulty generating and executing efficient problem-solving strategies. Even when presented with a goal-directed, organized approach, dyslexic subjects continued to employ less efficient strategies. It is suggested that the deficient strategy formulation and execution in dyslexic individuals may result from primary frontal lobe dysfunction. © 1990, Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. All rights reserved.