Early problems with visual attention in children seem to be linked to later difficulties in learning to read, a hallmark of dyslexia.

Andrea Facoetti at the University of Padua in Italy and his colleagues tested 96 Italian-speaking children in kindergarten on their ability to pick out specific symbols from an array of others, as a measure of their visual-attention skills. Those who scored below average in visual attention were more likely to show below-average reading skills when they reached first and second grade.

The results suggest that visual-attention deficits, rather than developmental delays in language skills, could predict dyslexia diagnoses in children, and could inspire strategies for early detection and treatment.

Curr. Biol. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2012.03.013 (2012)