Working memory impairment in children with developmental dyslexia: is it just a phonological deficity?

Although reduced verbal span is well documented in individuals with developmental dyslexia, the existing data on visual-spatial span are inconclusive. The aim of the present study was to ascertain whether the working memory deficit in developmental dyslexia is confined to verbal material or whether it also involves visual-object and visual-spatial information. Results document deficits on span tasks tapping verbal, visual-spatial, and visual-object working memory in dyslexic children and indicate that the working memory deficit in developmental dyslexia is not limited to dysfunction of phonological components but also involves visual-object and visual-spatial information.