Recovery from deep alexia to phonological alexia: points on a continuum

Abstract

Reports of five patients whose deep alexic reading all evolved into phonological alexia in a similar fashion point to the hypothesis that deep alexia and phonological alexia represent different points on the same continuum. This hypothesis is explored further through an examination of previously published case reports of eleven patients with phonological alexia. Data from these patients suggest that there is a predictable succession of symptoms which form a continuum of severity of phonological alexia, with deep alexia as its endpoint. An account of the recovery from deep to phonological alexia, based upon a lexical (no-rules) model of reading, is provided (Glosser & Friedman, 1990), and the implications for therapy are considered. The significance of the notion of a continuum of phonological/deep alexia is discussed.