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The Roles of orthography and phonology during written word recognition in children with dyslexia
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The Roles of orthography and phonology during written word recognition in children with dyslexia

Alyssa Dillenburg
University of Iowa
Bachelor of Arts (BA), University of Iowa
Spring 2026
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Abstract

Children with dyslexia experience reading difficulties that can persist throughout their lives, negatively impacting education, vocation, and socialization. These challenges are largely due to difficulty recognizing words, which can make reading slow or inaccurate. Theories and empirical evidence suggest that written word recognition depends on both phonology (sound) and orthography (letters), and that decoding (translating letters to sounds) is a core deficit in individuals with dyslexia. However, little is known about when and the extent to which children with dyslexia use phonological and orthographic information during the act of reading. Recent eye-tracking studies using the Visual World Paradigm have found that children and adults with typically developing reading skills primarily activate phonology even when reading familiar words. Using the same paradigm, the current study found robust activation of both phonology and orthography, suggesting that individuals with dyslexia may have a greater reliance on orthography during written word recognition to compensate for weakness in phonological processing.
 Dyslexia Phonology Orthography Visual World Paradigm Eye Tracking Written Word Recognition

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