[Dysphasia and dyslexia in the light of PASS theory]

The PASS theory of intelligence understands the cognitive function as an information process or program that can be differentiated in planning, attention, successive and simultaneous. Every process is linked to an anatomical region: planning to frontal cortex, attention to frontal cortex and subcortical structures, successive to frontal cortex and non-frontal cortex and simultaneous to non-frontal cortex. Effective remediation is possible when a PASS pattern is known.

To verify whether dysphasia and dyslexia have a typical PASS pattern.

The subjects were divided in three groups comprising 12 children with dysphasia, 12 children with dyslexia and 10 children with dysphasia and dyslexia, all of them between 6 years and 12 years of age, the majority boys. All children were administered the DN:CAS test to define the PASS pattern. A control group with 45 normal children was used.

Dysphasia shows poor successive and simultaneous process. Dyslexia shows poor successive process. The successive deficiency is poorer and in different way in dyslexia than in dysphasia which is inferable from comparative analysis between groups.

Dysphasia and dyslexia show a typical PASS pattern that allows an appropriate remedial training as a neurocognitive approach. The PASS diagnosis is a psychogenetic diagnosis which is different from the usual diagnosis based on semiology or results obtained with tests that explore non-PASS cognitive function.