Self-reported symptoms of developmental dyslexia predict impairments in everyday cognition in adults.
Self-reported dyslexia symptoms in adults forecast daily memory and attention slips, so add quick cognitive supports when you hear reading complaints.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Protopapa et al. (2022) asked adults to fill out a short checklist about dyslexia symptoms. They also asked how often the person loses their keys, forgets why they walked into a room, or drifts off during conversations.
The team then looked at whether higher dyslexia scores went hand-in-hand with more of these everyday slips. They made sure ADHD symptoms were not the real cause of the lapses.
What they found
Adults who rated themselves high on dyslexia symptoms also reported more daily memory and attention failures. The link stayed strong even after ADHD was ruled out.
In plain words, reading struggles in school may signal broader life-long cognitive hiccups.
How this fits with other research
Sterling et al. (2008) used the same survey style with adults on the spectrum. They found that higher-IQ autistic adults report more depression, showing that self-report tools can flag hidden struggles in bright adults with developmental conditions.
Pastor-Cerezuela et al. (2020) looked at kids, not adults, and tied sensory issues in autism to weaker memory and attention. Christina’s adult dyslexia data echo this pattern: developmental conditions keep impacting cognition long after school ends.
Chiviacowsky et al. (2013) showed that children tagged for language impairment also have extra motor and reading problems. Christina adds dyslexia to the list—one diagnosis often brings surprise cognitive companions.
Why it matters
If your adult client mentions past reading problems, probe for everyday forgetfulness or zoning out. Simple supports—written step lists, phone alarms, or breaking tasks into chunks—can cut errors at work and home. No need to wait on a formal dyslexia label; symptom self-report is enough to start compensating.
Want CEUs on This Topic?
The ABA Clubhouse has 60+ free CEUs — live every Wednesday. Ethics, supervision & clinical topics.
Join Free →Add a two-question dyslexia screen to your intake and pair any high score with visual task breakdowns and reminder alerts.
02At a glance
03Original abstract
BACKGROUND: Research into the impact of dyslexia on everyday cognition in adults with dyslexia is relatively limited and has tended to focus on university students. AIMS AND METHODS: The present online study aimed to add to this small corpus by investigating the everyday effects of dyslexia on memory and attention in a larger community-based sample. One hundred and seventy-two adult volunteers completed five well-established self-report questionnaires, assessing dyslexia and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder symptomatology and everyday experiences with memory, attention, and mind-wandering. RESULTS: After controlling for ADHD symptomatology, hierarchical regression analyses revealed that higher levels of dyslexia-related symptomatology were associated with greater, more frequent everyday memory and attentional problems, but not with a greater propensity to mind-wandering. Increased levels of dyslexia symptomatology were positively associated with the frequency of both everyday attentional lapses (at least when performing a pair of tasks or easy tasks while inhibiting intervening stimuli) and everyday memory failures. No significant associations were found between dyslexia symptomatology and attentional lapses when performing difficult tasks in the presence of concurrent stimuli or between dyslexia symptomatology and the propensity to mind-wandering. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: Dyslexia symptomatology was perceived as being associated with more everyday memory and attention problems in adulthood. Adjustments to educational and workplace settings and interventions to compensate for these difficulties are proposed.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2022 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2022.104288