Visual Attention in Preschoolers Specifically Predicts Future Reading Acquisition

Thanks to my friend and colleague, Dr. Len Press for his extremely interesting blog.  Dr. Press acknowledges our colleague, Dr. Harold Solan, and his research on how visual spatial attention plays a crucial role in reading.

Dr. Press also presents new research by Andrea Facoetti of the University of Padua in Italy and colleagues.  They state, “Visual attention deficits are surprisingly way more predictive of future reading disorders than are language abilities at the pre-reading stage,” Facoetti said in a statement. “Because recent studies show that specific pre-reading programs can improve reading abilities, children at risk for dyslexia could be treated with preventive remediation programs of visual spatial attention before they learn to read.”

The study, published in the journal Current Biology, found the test results showed children who initially had trouble with visual attention were also the ones to later struggle in reading.

Read more of Dr. Press’ blog

By Dr. Lynn Hellerstein, Colorado Optometrist in Vision Therapy