Beyond the usual cognitive suspects: The importance of speechreading and audiovisual temporal sensitivity in reading ability

• Published in: Learning and individual differences Vol. 54; pp. 60 - 72
• Main Authors: Francisco, Ana A., Groen, Margriet A., Jesse, Alexandra, McQueen, James M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Inc 01.02.2017
• Subjects: Audiovisual temporal sensitivity; Dyslexia; Individual differences; Reading; Speechreading; Dyslexia; Reading; Speechreading; Audiovisual temporal sensitivity; Individual differences
• ISSN: 1041-6080; 1873-3425
• DOI: 10.1016/j.lindif.2017.01.003

The aim of this study was to clarify whether audiovisual processing accounted for variance in reading and reading-related abilities, beyond the effect of a set of measures typically associated with individual differences in both reading and audiovisual processing. Testing adults with and without a diagnosis of dyslexia, we showed that—across all participants, and after accounting for variance in cognitive abilities—audiovisual temporal sensitivity contributed uniquely to variance in reading errors. This is consistent with previous studies demonstrating an audiovisual deficit in dyslexia. Additionally, we showed that speechreading (identification of speech based on visual cues from the talking face alone) was a unique contributor to variance in phonological awareness in dyslexic readers only: those who scored higher on speechreading, scored lower on phonological awareness. This suggests a greater reliance on visual speech as a compensatory mechanism when processing auditory speech is problematic. A secondary aim of this study was to better understand the nature of dyslexia. The finding that a sub-group of dyslexic readers scored low on phonological awareness and high on speechreading is consistent with a hybrid perspective of dyslexia: There are multiple possible pathways to reading impairment, which may translate into multiple profiles of dyslexia. •We tested whether audiovisual processing accounted for variance in reading and reading-related abilities.•Audiovisual temporal sensitivity contributed uniquely to variance in reading ability.•Speechreading contributed uniquely to variance in phonological awareness in dyslexic readers only.