Visuo-attentional span and reading

Visuospatial skills have a main role in reading performance, in particular, the number of letters acquired in each fixation seems to be fundamental. There are different paradigms and theoretical constructs to define this ‘visual span’, each one involving different abilities. Pelli argues that crowding is the main factor underling the visual span. On the other hand, Valdois stresses the role of the visual attention skills. The aim of our study is to assess the factors underling reading abilities correlating the performance of skilled readers in different paradigms and the performance in reading tasks. We used two measures of the visual span: the trigram method and the visual attention span task. Pure spatial attention skills were measured with a cueing paradigm. A naming task was used in order to obtain accuracy and reaction time in single words reading. Reading abilities was also measured with a standard text reading. The visual attention span and the orienting of spatial attention performance were the best predictors of reading accuracy. In conclusion, our data underline visuo-attention role in reading according with recent results showing spatial attention deficits in children with developmental dyslexia.