OBJECTIVE: To study the medium (MLR) and long latency (LLAEP) components of auditory evoked potentials in children with dyslexia vs. children without learning problems. METHODS: The study had cross-sectional design with quantitative, qualitative, and descriptive analysis. The study population comprised 30 children, 15 diagnosed with dyslexia and 15 without learning disabilities. All children were >8 years old and screened at the Laboratory of Research Deviations Learning Department of Speech FFC / UNESP. The medium and long latency of auditory evoked potentials, were analyzed by t-test using Statistical software. Results and Discussion: The Na and Nb in C4 components of the MLR in the right ear were elongated in the dyslexic group as compared with the control group. When components of the LLAEP were compared between groups, inter amplitude N2-P3, measured at Cz and Fz, differed significantly for both ears. These results suggest processing deficits that would hinder primary and secondary school students, who must utilize complex auditory skills. CONCLUSIONS: The detection of a dysfunction in auditory processing aids in the early diagnosis of children with dyslexia, by allowing then to utilize auditory-linguistic training in an expedient fashion. However, further studies are needed to elucidate auditory pathway function in this population. Future research should include LLAEP speech stimulation to investigate the linguistic sound stimuli perceived by dyslexic schoolchildren.
