Discourse level writing in dyslexics--methods, results, and implications for diagnosis

In this paper, we investigate some aspects of the written language production process in dyslexic writers. A group of adult dyslexic writers are compared with a control group and a group of congenitally deaf writers. We present analyses of the actions of both constructing and editing linguistic units during on-line writing. The results suggest that in order to understand the organization of how linguistic units are constructed in writing, we need to take both cognitive and socio-communicative factors into account. We must also recognize that on-line recordings could contribute important data in the diagnosis of writing difficulties. We propose that the temporal distribution, pause frequencies and nested editings on the word level are good candidates for such a diagnostic purpose.