This study explores whether activation and inhibition word processes contribute to the characteristic speed deficits found in transparent orthographies (Wimmer, Appl Psycholinguist 14:1-33, 1993). A second and fourth grade sample of normal school readers and dyslexic school readers participated in a lexical decision task. Words were manipulated according to two factors: word frequency (high vs. low) and syllable frequency (high vs. low). It has been repeatedly found that words with high-frequency syllables require extra time for deactivating the lexical syllabic neighbors: the so-called inhibitory effect of positional frequency syllable (Carreiras et al., J Mem Lang 32:766-780, 1993). We hypothesized that dyslexic readers would show a stronger inhibitory effect than normal readers because they are slower decoders and they may also be slower at the activation and inhibition of word representations that are competing (i.e., syllabic candidates). Results indicated an interaction between word and syllable frequency (i.e., a strong inhibitory effect was found in the low-frequency word condition). According to our hypothesis, the inhibitory effect size was almost three times bigger in dyslexics than in the normal readers. This difference shows an alteration, not a developmental lag. Interestingly, the inhibitory effect size did not interact with school grade. Thus, reading experience did not impact the lexical processes involved on the inhibitory effect. Our outcomes showed how activation and/or inhibition of lexical processes can contribute to the lack of speed beyond decoding deficit.

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Difficulties in implementing effective instruction for at‐risk students arise from two challenges: the transfer of evidence‐based knowledge and the lack of economic resources. Computer‐assisted programmes offer a suitable solution, providing quality instruction using low‐cost resources. Thirty‐two first‐grade students with early learning difficulties were identified and paired based on at least three of the pre‐intervention reading measures (reading efficiency of monosyllabic and disyllabic items, words, pseudowords and text reading speed). Each pair was assigned to one of two different intervention programmes: a computer‐assisted intervention programme (CAIP) focused on syllables or the programme provided by the Spanish State School Assistance Services (SSAS). Every week, the CAIP participants received in pairs four 15‐min training sessions on syllable decoding plus one 30‐min group comprehension session. The CAIP was delivered by trainee students. The SSAS programme typically consisted of a 1‐hr individual or in small groups sessions per week delivered by trained practitioners. Both programmes were administered for 11 weeks. The CAIP intervention showed better results than the SSAS intervention for both decoding and comprehension, with moderate to large effect sizes.

Un conjunto de tareas de conciencia fonológica, identificación y discriminación de fonemas y juicios de orden temporal fue administrada a una muestra de niños disléxicos y sus respectivos grupos de control edad (CE) y control nivel lector (CNL). Los estímulos de las tareas de identificación y discriminación fueron nueve sílabas de un contraste de lugar de articulación en el continuo /ba-da/, construidas mediante la manipulación de los formantes 2 y 3. Los datos fueron analizados siguiendo dos métodos. Las comparaciones ANOVA mostraron diferencias significativas en las tareas de discriminación y juicio de orden temporal entre los disléxicos y los grupos controles, mientras que los paráme-tros de la tarea de identificación (pendiente y límite categorial) no alcanzaron la significación. Se desarrolló también un procedimiento para evaluar la desviación. El 44% de los niños disléxicos mostraron al menos dos medidas con una desviación estándar de 1.65. Además, hubo una relación entre las ejecuciones en conciencia fonológica y percepción del habla. En general los resultados fueron muy similares a los principales hallazgos descritos en la bibliografía. Por tanto, defendemos que las medidas procedentes de las tareas de percepción del habla podrían ser incorporadas como un elemento complementario en el procedimiento de diagnóstico de la dislexia evolutiva.Palabras Clave: Dislexia; Percepción del Discurso; Consciencia Fonológica; Phonological Awareness, Diagnóstico.A set of phonological awareness, phoneme identification, discrimination and temporal order tasks were administered to dyslexic children and chronological age (CA) and reading-level (RL) comparison groups. The identification and discrimination task stimuli consisted of nine /ba-da/ syllables over an articulation continuum. Syllables were obtained by manipulating formants 2 and 3. Data were analyzed using two methods. ANOVA comparisons showed significant differences between the dyslexic and control groups in the discrimination and temporal order tasks, whereas parameters from the identification task (slope and boundary) did not reach significance. A procedure to assess deviance was also developed. 44% of dyslexic children showed at least two 1.65 standard deviation measures. Moreover, there was an association between phonological awareness and speech perception performance. Generally, the results were similar to the main findings described in the literature. Thus, we suggest that measures from speech perception tasks could be incorporated as complementary elements in developmental dyslexia diagnosis procedures.