HSE Psycholinguists Launch Digital Tool to Spot Dyslexia in Children
Specialists from HSE University's Centre for Language and Brain have introduced LexiMetr, a new digital tool for diagnosing dyslexia in primary school students. This is the first standardised application in Russia that enables fast and reliable assessment of children’s reading skills to identify dyslexia or the risk of developing it. The application is available on the RuStore platform and runs on Android tablets.
Reading is one of the most complex cognitive skills. It depends on phonological and orthographic processing and requires hand–eye coordination, memory, and attention. Dyslexia is a specific reading disorder characterised by impaired reading acquisition despite preserved nonverbal intelligence. According to the International Dyslexia Association, between 15% and 20% of people worldwide experience reading difficulties. Without timely diagnosis and support, children with reading problems may grow into adults who struggle to use written information in their daily lives.
However, if dyslexia is identified at the primary school age, children have the opportunity to compensate for the disorder and learn to read effectively. Psycholinguists at the HSE Centre for Language and Brain have developed LexiMetr, a tool for assessing reading skills and detecting reading disorders (dyslexia) in students across grades one to four. The application is available on RuStore.
Until now in Russia, reading performance has been assessed using a method adapted in the 1990s by Alexander Kornev, which involves reading a text aloud and answering comprehension questions. While this approach remains reliable and widely used, modern speech therapy practice requires more convenient, technology-based solutions, especially for large-scale screening.
LexiMetr, developed by the Centre for Language and Brain, offers an alternative. This digital test allows users to determine within three minutes whether a child’s reading performance meets age norms and indicates the risk or presence of dyslexia. No prior preparation is needed: all instructions are built into the interface, and results can be easily marked up and saved.
A distinctive feature of the test is its detailed age standards. The application includes data for three groups of children: Russian-speaking monolinguals, bilinguals from national republics, and children learning Russian as a foreign language. LexiMetr has also been successfully validated, demonstrating comparable reading performance between texts displayed on a tablet and traditional paper sheets.
Nina Zdorova, Research Fellow at the HSE Centre for Language and Brain
'The LexiMetr test is the result of many years of work by a large team at the HSE Centre for Language and Brain. Our development draws on cutting-edge research in dyslexia, psychometrics, speech therapy, psycholinguistics, and UX design. We hope the application will support speech therapists and teachers in their daily practice. Accurate and timely diagnosis highlights a child’s reading difficulties and enables early intervention, giving children the opportunity to successfully master reading and avoid future challenges.'
Nina Zdorova
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