Is developmental dyslexia modality specific? A visual-auditory comparison of Italian dyslexics

► Dyslexics were impaired in processing stimuli in the visual but not auditory modality. ► Reading and lexical decision tasks yielded a consistent deficit in dyslexics. ► Developmental dyslexia is a modality specific disturbance. ► A global factor accounted for performance in reading and visual lexical decision.