[Proprioception changes induced by prismatic glasses wear in children suffering from developmental dyslexia].

PURPOSE: To evaluate the consequences of proprioception changes induced by a postural treatment on cognitive disturbances in children suffering from developmental dyslexia.

MATERIAL: and methods: Twenty male dyslexic children were treated with prisms within their spectacles and a postural treatment. A control group of dyslexics (n=13) only received spectacles without prisms. All participants were evaluated at the beginning of the study and 6 months later with reading impairment tests and postural examinations.

RESULTS: Mean age was 11 years and 5 months in the treated group and 11 years and 7 months in the control group. Four children were excluded from the 6-month analysis because of poor compliance. All dyslexic children presented with a postural deficiency syndrome. In 13 out of 16 treated children, dyslexia was improved at 6 months, especially for the global leximetric test and the reading of regular and irregular words. However, the treatment did not allow a complete recovery of reading ability when compared with age-matched individuals.

CONCLUSION: Our results show that postural modifications may favorably influence some clinical signs associated with developmental dyslexia. Further studies with a larger sample and with a longer follow-up period are required to better assess the role of postural treatment in developmental dyslexia.