The prevalence of dyslexia in a school sample in the Veneto Region
Renzo Tucci, Claudio Vio
There is no recent and reliable study on the prevalence of dyslexia in Italy. The heterogeneity of tests used, the variability of criteria to define learning disabilities and differences in the chronological ages of students have characterised previous studies and consequently the variability of the obtained estimates. In 2008 the CENDi (National Epidemiological Committee on Dyslexia) was founded to provide a broader national survey on the true prevalence of dyslexia in Italy. Using the same methodology suggested by CENDi, in 2009 in the geographic areas of Verona and Venice in the Veneto Region, 78 primary year four classes and 1,195 pupils were assessed with three successive screening levels, two of which were conducted at the pupils’ schools and the last one at the child neuropsychiatry and developmental psychology unit of Verona and Venice. The observed prevalence of dyslexia was about 3.19%, perfectly comparable to the percentage of 3.1-3.2% (Barbiero et al., 2012) observed in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia Region.
Keywords
Prevalence, dyslexia, epidemiology, Learning Disabilities.