Sound localization and word discrimination in reverberant environment in children with developmental dyslexia.

OBJECTIVE: Compare if localization of sounds and words discrimination in reverberant environment is different between children with dyslexia and controls.

METHOD: We studied 30 children with dyslexia and 30 controls. Sound and word localization and discrimination was studied in five angles from left to right auditory fields (-90o, -45o, 0o, +45o, +90o), under reverberant and no-reverberant conditions; correct answers were compared.

RESULTS: Spatial location of words in no-reverberant test was deficient in children with dyslexia at 0º and +90o. Spatial location for reverberant test was altered in children with dyslexia at all angles, except –-90o. Word discrimination in no-reverberant test in children with dyslexia had a poor performance at left angles. In reverberant test, children with dyslexia exhibited deficiencies at -45o, -90o, and +45o angles.

CONCLUSION: Children with dyslexia could had problems when have to locate sound, and discriminate words in extreme locations of the horizontal plane in classrooms with reverberation.