Through a reflexive thematic analysis of a large online support group for dyslexia and a sensemaking lens, this study investigated how mothers made sense of their child\'s dyslexia through metaphors. Mothers used metaphors to characterise their feelings surrounding dyslexia, their school-based interactions and their identity as advocates. The language mothers use offers a generative, textured way to understand the lived experiences of supporting a child with learning differences. Whilst mothers articulated much frustration and anger, they also voiced encouragement, advice-giving, empathy and hope, illustrating how their sense of agency was both threatened and empowered by the experience of having a child with dyslexia. There is much mothers must process, understand and navigate surrounding their child\'s dyslexia and the findings underscore the need for early school-based screening, support and intervention.

Dyslexia is a specific learning difficulty impacting reading, writing and spelling. Practising nursing requires a unique set of skills that encompass effective communication, critical thinking, and organisational skills. This article focuses on the experiences of nurses with dyslexia, shedding light on the distinct challenges they encounter and the resilient strategies they employ to navigate their roles and excel in the health profession.

We report a small study in which we explored the effects of manipulating narrative text on levels of comprehension for students with and without dyslexia. Using two pieces of standardised narrative text deemed to be of similar difficulty and length, we manipulated the texts such that we could present two texts to each participant, one in each condition. The first condition was text using standard inter-word spacing; the second condition used increased inter-word spacing. Scores on standardised comprehension questions were significantly improved for participants with dyslexia. Additionally, given that there is evidence of delayed visual attention disengagement in individuals with specific forms of dyslexia, we hypothesised that the phenomena of migration of letters and words for some readers might be mitigated by increasing inter-word spacing. We did indeed find that incidence of migration was significantly reduced in this condition for all participants.

The language network of the human brain has core components in the inferior frontal cortex and superior/middle temporal cortex, with left-hemisphere dominance in most people. Functional specialization and interconnectivity of these neocortical regions is likely to be reflected in their molecular and cellular profiles. Excitatory connections between cortical regions arise and innervate according to layer-specific patterns. Here, we generated a gene expression dataset from human postmortem cortical tissue samples from core language network regions, using spatial transcriptomics to discriminate gene expression across cortical layers. Integration of these data with existing single-cell expression data identified 56 genes that showed differences in laminar expression profiles between the frontal and temporal language cortex together with upregulation in layer II/III and/or layer V/VI excitatory neurons. Based on data from large-scale genome-wide screening in the population, DNA variants within these 56 genes showed set-level associations with interindividual variation in structural connectivity between the left-hemisphere frontal and temporal language cortex, and with the brain-related disorders dyslexia and schizophrenia which often involve affected language. These findings identify region-specific patterns of laminar gene expression as a feature of the brain\'s language network.

BACKGROUND: Dyslexia is a neurodevelopmental disorder that causes a pattern of learning difficulties that can be characterized by deficits in word reading accuracy, speed or fluency, and reading comprehension. Due to all this damage, emotional difficulties have been described in the literature mainly for childhood and adolescence. Within this emotional component, personality can be included. In Brazil, at the time of carrying out this research, no research had been found that investigated the personality of dyslexic adults. Thus, the present study aimed to investigate the personality of Brazilian adults with dyslexia.
METHODS: A semi-structured interview was administered and the Factorial Personality Battery, based on the Big Five personality traits. The sample was composed of two groups: one with dyslexia and another control. The first was formed by nine participants, aged between 18 and 47 (M = 31.7; standard deviation (SD) = 11.8), six of whom were women. The control group was formed by 60 participants, aged between 18 and 45 years (M = 26.4; SD = 8.8), 38 of whom were women.
RESULTS: The data did not show significant differences between the groups in most of the analyzed factors and subfactors. Increased rates of \"passivity/lack of energy\" and lowered rates of \"openness to new ideas\" were identified in the group with dyslexia.
CONCLUSIONS: These results could be useful for describing personality profiles in dyslexic adults, with these descriptions possibly providing clinical support for diagnoses and intervention procedures.

Graphophonological-semantic flexibility is the cognitive flexibility in reading that enables individuals to manage multiple phonological and semantic aspects of text simultaneously. This study investigated graphophonological-semantic flexibility and its contribution to reading comprehension in children with dyslexia, comparing them to age-matched, typically developing peers. Thirty children aged 8-11 were assessed using a reading-specific sorting task, where they categorized word cards by initial phoneme and meaning within a 2x2 matrix. After sorting, participants explained their arrangements, and their sorting speed, accuracy, and composite scores were evaluated. Additionally, reading comprehension was assessed through passages followed by questions. Results revealed significant differences between children with dyslexia and their peers in sorting accuracy and composite scores. Children with dyslexia exhibited poorer accuracy and longer sorting times, leading to lower composite scores indicative of reduced graphophonological-semantic flexibility. Age showed a positive correlation with sorting accuracy and composite scores. Moreover, sorting accuracy and composite scores were strong predictors of reading comprehension. These findings suggest that children with dyslexia face challenges in managing both phonological and semantic aspects of text concurrently, highlighting the importance of graphophonological-semantic flexibility in reading development.

Twice-exceptionality is characterized as the presence of high performance concomitantly with deficiencies or incompatible conditions. An example is when giftedness manifest associated with neurodevelopmental disorders. This study is a clinical case report referring to the evaluative and interventional process of a 9- year-old child with the paradoxical combination of giftedness associated with dyslexia. It aims to compare the performance in phonological processing, reading and writing before and after phonological remediation. In the first assessment, the child demonstrated alphabetic level in reading, a transition phase between syllabic-alphabetic and alphabetical writing levels, and below-expected performance in phonological processing skills. After intervention, the results showed consistent improvements in phonological processing, the consolidation of alphabetical writing and orthographic reading level. In general, children with isolated dyslexia have persistent difficulties in several skills after intervention. The evolution shown after phonological remediation, especially at reading level, shows different characteristics than expected. Thus, it can be concluded that twice-exceptionality may have favored the overcoming of some of the shown difficulties more successfully. Studies on these combined conditions can contribute to a better understanding of this framework during the development of learning and to formulate specialized interventions.
A dupla-excepcionalidade é caracterizada pela presença de alto desempenho concomitante a deficiências ou condições incompatíveis, como é o caso de altas habilidades associadas a transtornos do neurodesenvolvimento. Esse estudo é um relato de caso clínico referente ao processo avaliativo e interventivo de uma criança de 9 anos com a combinação paradoxal de altas habilidades associadas à dislexia. O objetivo foi comparar o desempenho nas tarefas de processamento fonológico, leitura e escrita pré e pós remediação fonológica. Na primeira avaliação, a criança apresentou nível alfabético na leitura, fase de transição entre os níveis silábico-alfabético e alfabético na escrita e desempenho abaixo do esperado nas habilidades do processamento fonológico. Após a intervenção, houve melhora em habilidades do processamento fonológico, consolidação da escrita alfabética e do nível ortográfico de leitura. Em geral, crianças com dislexia isolada apresentam dificuldades persistentes em várias habilidades após intervenção. A evolução demonstrada após a remediação fonológica, principalmente no nível de leitura, mostra características diferentes do esperado. Assim, pode-se concluir que a dupla-excepcionalidade pode ter favorecido a superação de algumas de suas dificuldades de forma mais exitosa. Estudos sobre estas condições combinadas podem contribuir para a melhor compreensão deste quadro durante o desenvolvimento da aprendizagem e para a formulação de intervenções especializadas.

BACKGROUND: Higher prenatal testosterone exposure regulates brain development and affects learning and intelligence directly. The digit ratio (2D:4D) is regarded as an indicator of prenatal testosterone exposure. This study aims to investigate the 2D:4D ratios and intelligence levels in individuals with specific learning disorders (SLD) and compare the ratios with healthy subjects.
METHODS: The study included a total of 117 patients diagnosed with SLD and 67 healthy controls. We measured the 2D:4D ratios and administered the Wechsler-Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised to assess intelligence quotient (IQ) scores in the SLD group. Sociodemographic data was obtained for both patients and healthy subjects and compared in both groups, as well as 2D:4D ratios.
RESULTS: Compared to healthy controls, both-hand 2D:4D ratios were found to be lower in the SLD group. In addition, male and female participants with SLD showed lower 2D:4D ratios in both hands than controls. The total scores on the WISC-R were found to decrease as the right-hand 2D:4D ratios and the age increased in the SLD group.
CONCLUSIONS: Our findings add to the literature examining the influence of prenatal testosterone exposure on learning and intelligence in the SLD sample. Further research in this domain may yield valuable insights into the underlying mechanisms and potential clinical implications for the management of SLDs examining additional variables that could potentially impact alongside the impact of sex hormones on brain development.

Rapid automatized naming (RAN) has surged in popularity recently as an important indicator of reading difficulties, including dyslexia. Despite an extensive history of research on RAN, including recent meta-analyses indicating a unique contribution of RAN to reading above and beyond phonemic awareness, questions remain regarding RAN\'s relationship to reading. Specific questions exist regarding how PA mediates that relationship and how best to use data from RAN measures to identify risk for reading failure. Through multiple studies, we demonstrate that RAN is not merely subsumed by skills typically assessed when conducting universal screening for reading difficulties (i.e., phonemic segmentation fluency and letter naming fluency), but contributes unique information above and beyond these measures. Additionally, we discuss the process for the development of cut points for risk for Acadience RAN, along with guidance regarding how educators can interpret RAN scores as an indicator of risk for future reading difficulties. The results presented here support the idea that difficulties associated with RAN are not merely reflections of difficulties with other early literacy skills typically assessed during universal screening, but constitute separate and distinct difficulties that may precipitate later reading problems.

The patient was an 85-year-old man with a one-year history of difficulty reading kana. Neuropsychological evaluation revealed kana (phonogram)-selective reading impairment and kanji (ideogram)-dominant writing impairment. MRI revealed significant cerebral atrophy in the left occipital cortex, leading to the clinical diagnosis of posterior cortical atrophy (PCA). Cerebrospinal fluid amyloid β1-42 levels were reduced, and amyloid PET showed accumulation in the posterior cingulate cortex, precuneus, and frontal lobe. In contrast, tau PET showed no accumulation in the atrophied brain areas. Episodes of REM sleep behavior disorder and decreased uptake on meta-iodobenzylguanidine (MIBG) myocardial scintigraphy suggested the involvement of Lewy body pathology. PCA with distinct laterality has been rarely reported, and ‍this is the first case to present Kana-selective reading impairment and Kanji-dominant writing impairment with neurodegenerative background.