Indicadores precoces do Transtorno Específico de Aprendizagem com prejuízo da Leitura (Dislexia): uma Revisão Integrativa

Abstract

Introduction: Also known as dyslexia, the Specific Learning Disorder with impaired reading is a condition in which the individual performs considerably below the reading average, with impairments in the accuracy, in the speed of word recognition and in the phonological decoding process. The prevalence of the disorder in the population ranges from 5% to 10%, while other studies point to a prevalence of up to 17%, depending on the diagnostic criteria used. Genetic and neuroimaging research indicates that dyslexia is hereditary and is characterized by brain differences that are present even before the beginning of the literacy process and that early deficits that represent a warning sign for dyslexia can be measured even in preschool. Despite the evidence in the literature about cognitive and behavioral measures capable of predicting which children will develop dyslexia, even before the start of reading, early identification is still a challenge. This is due to lack of resources, instruments and information that allow parents and teachers to raise this hypothesis in a timely manner. Faced with this scenario, it is necessary to develop a protocol aimed at parents/caregivers, educators/teachers for the identification and follow-up of early signs of Specific Learning Disorders. The present study is a preliminary part of the construction of this instrument, and aims to conduct a systematic review of the literature on the early indicators of Specific Learning Disorder with impaired reading – the Dyslexia. Objective: To gather the main early indicators described in the literature as cognitive predictors of Specific Learning Disorder with impaired reading (Dyslexia), through a comprehensive bibliographic survey in databases that covered the last three decades of studies in this area. Method: A systematic review of the literature was carried out through the elaboration of a search strategy that was used in PSYCINFO, PUBMED and LILACS platforms, followed by the compilation of scientific findings aimed at the early identification of dyslexia. Period for data collection occurred between the beginner of 2021 to 2022. Inclusion Criteria: Longitudinal design studies, sample consisting of children at family risk for dyslexia, cognitive and behavioral signs and symptoms, age group from birth to 6 years. Conclusion: Longitudinal studies conducted with children at family risk of dyslexia provide convergent evidence that dyslexia is strongly associated with early difficulties in language development and delays in phonetic-phonological abilities and those underlying their own reading ability. Twelve skills could be considered reliable early indicators of dyslexia. They are: categorical perception of speech sounds, symbolic play and communicative gestures, pronunciation accuracy, sentence length, syntatic complexity, receptive and expressive vocabulary, rapid automatic naming, inflectional morphology, phonological awareness, letter knowledge, short-term verbal memory, visuospatial memory and executive skills.