Beyond Phonology: Characteristics of Reading-Disabled (Dyslexic) Adults With Proficient Phonemic Awareness

The current study investigates factors beyond phonology that contribute to dyslexia by comparing adult compensated dyslexics with and without phonemic impairments in Hebrew, a Semitic language with a unique abjadic orthography. Thirty-four university students diagnosed with pure dyslexia were divided into two subgroups based on phoneme awareness (PA) performance: those with PA deficits (Low-PA, n = 17) and those with proficient PA (Hi-PA, n = 17). Both groups were compared to typical readers (n = 25) on various reading and cognitive tasks. Results revealed that Hi-PA dyslexics exhibited a reading rate disability with relatively accurate performance, while Low-PA dyslexics demonstrated both accuracy and rate deficits. Findings challenge the notion that deficient phonemic awareness is a necessary and sufficient condition for reading impairment, as proficient phonemic awareness did not ensure reading competence. The study highlights the heterogeneity of dyslexia and suggests that slowness in reading and in written language tasks such as rapid automatized naming (RAN) remains a prominent characteristic of dyslexia in adulthood. The results underscore the need to recognize different subtypes for tailored interventions, focusing on reading accuracy and language skills for Low-PA (principally phonological and morphological awareness) and accelerating speed for all adult dyslexic subgroups.