Cognitive Correlates of Japanese Language (Hiragana) Reading Abilities among School-Aged very Low Birth Weight Children

Previous studies have examined that the reading abilities of Very Low Birth Weight (VLBW) children are poorer than those of Normal Birth Weight (NBW) children. However, little is known about the cognitive functions that have been used to explain the reading problems in VLBW children. This study investigated that the effects of attention function on reading abilities in VLBW children. 23 VLBW children (mean age 9.1 years old) and 23 NBW children (mean age 9.2 years old) completed a reading test (containing word reading and non-word reading tasks), attention tasks, a phonological task and a naming task. The group differences were significant for the non-word reading task and attention tasks. Moreover, there were significant correlations between scores on the reading test and those on attention tasks. Multiple stepwise regression analysis suggested the reading scores were influenced by attention. These results of the present study suggest that attentional dyslexia is a characteristic of reading among VLBW children.