[Neuropsychological predictors of reading ability in Spanish]

Abstract

Introduction: Learning how to read has been associated with different types of linguistic and non-linguistic skills. However, few studies have looked at the association between neuropsychological test performance and reading skills at different ages during childhood.

Aim: To analyze the association between neuropsychological test scores and reading performance, and to investigate the influence of age, gender and type of school (public or private) over reading test performance.

Subjects and methods: The sample included 625 6 -to-15 year old children (207 Colombians, 418 Mexicans; 277 boys, 348 girls). The following cognitive abilities were assessed: reading speed and reading comprehension and attention, memory (coding and recall), perception, visuospatial and conceptual abilities and executive functions.

Results: The best neuropsychological test predictor for reading speed was Letter Cancellation, and for reading comprehension was Memory for a Story. Children from private schools performed better in most reading tests than children from public schools. Differences between boys and girls were observed in only two reading tests.

Conclusion: Reading speed correlates mainly with attentional skills and reading comprehension with verbal memory. Reading abilities in school age children are influenced mainly by age and type of school and little by gender.