Orthographic connectivity in Arabic reading: a case study of an individual with deep dyslexia and letter-by-letter reading

ABSTRACT

Arabic orthography is complex, partly as a consequence of variations in orthographic connectivity. In this article, we present the case study of CHS, an Arabic individual with deep dyslexia associated with letter-by-letter reading. In the experimental study, we specifically explored the influence of orthographic connectivity on CHS’s word recognition and reading abilities. Our results show that CHS’s performance was better preserved for words and non-words made up of connected letters than made up of non-connected letters. CHS demonstrated impairment of visuoperceptual mechanisms, which affected the processing of complex orthographic material. These results provide insight into the cognitive processes associated with reading Arabic.

KEYWORDS:

• Deep dyslexia
• Arabic reading
• letter-by-letter reading
• orthographic connectivity
• perceptual impairment

Acknowledgments

The authors are indebted to CHS and control participants for their collaboration in this study. They also express their gratitude to Mrs Toumi Rachida for her help and encouragements.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.