IMPAIRED RECOGNITION OF TRAFFIC SIGNS IN ADULTS WITH DYSLEXIA

Ten adults with dyslexia (4 women and 6 men, mean age: 26.8 years, ran ge: 19-43 years) and 11 controls (5 women and 6 men age: 20.5 years, r ange: 18-29 years) were tested on their ability to differentiate betwe en real and false traffic signs. The stimuli, computer-presented color pictures, were chosen to minimize the applicability of verbal or writ ten linguistic skills to the task. The adults with dyslexia recognized the traffic signs significantly less well than did the controls. Furt hermore, whereas for the controls there was a significant correlation between traffic sign recognition and driving experience, no such corre lation was found for the adults with dyslexia. The results are interpr eted in terms of a deficit in implicit learning.