Diagnosis of dyslexic disorders and identification of factors associated with reading learning disabilities within the Moroccan context

Abstract

Reading acquisition disorders constitute the main problem in children's learning. in Morocco, epidemiological data are very rare. Research, mainly in the English language, concerns either the sociological or the cognitive field. Few studies, among them not one in Arabic, have explored the link relating to social and cognitive factors. The purpose of our work is to study and analyze the cognitive and social variables related to different reading skills among Moroccan pupils in primary and secondary public schools. From a sample of 754 learners (388 boys and 366 girls) ranging in age from 9 to 15 years with an average of 11.59 years, the diagnostic tests identified 145 students with deficient skills "Bad readers (BR)," 128 suspected of being in difficulty classified as « intermediate level (IL) » and a group of 481 children as good readers ( GR). Statistical analyses have shown that the first two groups (BR and IL) represent 24% in the favoured areas compared to 43% in the disadvantaged. The analysis of scores and the nature of the errors made on various reading tests show that 41 students, or 5.43% of our sample, present a dyslexia profile. 13 (1.72%) of whom have very severe difficulties. The phonological aptitudes (Rapid automatized naming, phonological short-time memory and especially phonological awareness) mainly reflect the level of reading. These phonological abilities are highly influenced by early attendance of preschool and by the degree of exposure to written language at home. These data, which are unique in Morocco, are consistent to that of the published subject literature. They make it possible to plan preventive actions by generalizing pre-school teaching, particularly in precarious environments. These actions should be based on playful exercises aimed at improving phonological abilities at an early age, while exploiting the brain sensitivity to reading at that age. Phonological awareness and rapid naming are the most implicated factors in the disparity of reading skills. These abilities are highly influenced by the integration of preschool at a very early age and by the degree of exposure to written language activities. Therefore, there is a need to plan preventive actions, based on playful exercises, aiming to improve phonological skills from the pre-school period