Classification Predictive Modeling of Dyslexia

Dyslexia is a reading disability that affects children across language orthographies, despite adequate intelligence and educational opportunity. If learning disabilities remain untreated, a child may experience long-term social and emotional problems, which may influence future success in all aspects of their lives. Early detection and intervention will help to close the gap between typically developing and reading impaired children in acquiring reading skills. We have demonstrated that animal models of dyslexia, genetic models based on candidate dyslexia susceptibility genes, and children with specific reading impairment show a common deficit on a virtual Hebb-Williams maze task. Since virtual maze task does not require oral reporting (rapid access to phonological processing) or rely on text, performance is not influenced by a potential difference in reading experience between groups. Although the correlation between dyslexia and the performance in the virtual Hebb-Williams maze task has been demonstrated, classification of atypical participants (i.e., dyslexic participants) through real-time observation of their performance on the virtual Hebb-Williams maze task is not feasible at this time. A computational model based on machine learning algorithms, that can predict reading ability based on maze learning performance, would enable real-time feedback of the performance in the form of at-risk percentages for reading. This paper presents the preliminary results of employing machine-learning based computational models to classify virtual maze performance on this task. Reading data and maze learning outcomes were analyzed from 227 school-aged children (8–14 years of age). Applying multiple variables, such as age and biological sex, into machine learning algorithms resulted in the prediction accuracy above 70%. Successful development of this predictive model would allow for early detection of risk for reading impairment, which can lead to early interventions to close the gap between typically developing and reading impaired children in acquiring reading skills.