The cerebellar deficit hypothesis and dyslexic tendencies in a non-clinical sample

In order to assess the relationship between cerebellar deficits and dyslexic tendencies in a non-clinical sample, 27 primary school children aged 8-9 completed a cerebellar soft signs battery and were additionally assessed for reading age, sequential memory, picture arrangement and knowledge of common sequences. An average measure of the soft signs data established a single construct which we treated as our primary index of cerebellar function. Overall cerebellar function was significantly correlated with reading age, picture arrangement and knowledge of common sequences even when IQ was partialled out. Graphical representation of our data indicated a continuous rather than discrete distribution for each measure. Results are discussed in terms of the CDH and continuum approaches to dyslexia.