DYSLEXIC SUBTYPES AND SEVERITY LEVELS - ARE THERE GENDER DIFFERENCES

The prevalence of dyslexia among 100 children participating in a longi tudinal study was examined. At age 10 years, The Dyslexia Screener (TD S) test, a direct assessment of coding skills used in reading and spel ling, was administered. The incidence of suspected dyslexia of borderl ine or worse severity among boys and girls was not significantly diffe rent, nor did males and females differ significantly in terms of TDS-s uspected dyslexic types of severity levels. Results challenge the wide ly held belief of an increased incidence of reading disability among m ales and, in conjunction with findings from other recent studies, unde rscore the need for establishing objective and reliable screening proc edures in addition to teacher referral in identifying children in need of special services. Possible factors mediating previous estimates of incidence and the implications of these findings are discussed.