Eye Movements and Attention of Very Low Birthweight Children during Single Word Reading

We examined eye movements, includ ing fixation frequencies and duration, while reading short (four letters), long (seven to ten letters), and non-words. Frequency of fixation for VLBW children was significantly different from that found for NBW children. Children had significantly more frequent fixation on long words compared to sho rt words and non-words, and more frequent fixations on non-words compared to short words. VLBW children showed a marginally shorter fixation duration than did the NBW children during the non-word reading, but there was no significant difference between groups for long words and short words. There we re significant correlations between fixation frequency per word and scores on attention task. The results indicated that the eye movement patterns of VLBW children corresponded to those of children with co-occurring reading and attention problems.
Source: Journal of Developmental and Physical Disabilities - Category: Disability Source Type: research