Toward a Dyslexia Screening Tool for Urdu: Design, Development, and Initial Validation
Abstract
Dyslexia is a neurodevelopmental disorder that affects the phonological processing necessary to read or write fluently. Despite the importance of early detection, tailored resources for specific linguistic contexts often remain scarce. This paper presents the early-stage development of a linguistically and culturally adapted screening tool, aimed at exploring dyslexia risk among Grade 2 to 6 students in Urdu within Pakistan. The screening tool evaluates word reading, phonological processing, spelling, and comprehension. Moreover, grade-wise cutoff scores were developed based on a sample of 1250 students. Psychometric analysis demonstrated strong reliability (Cronbach’s α > .80), corrected item-total correlations (rc > .30), and convergent validity (p<0.001), with early evidence supporting internal consistency, appropriateness, comprehensiveness, and correlation with similar measures. During the initial validation, the screening tool also flagged 9% of the participating students as potentially at risk for dyslexia in Urdu. The grade-wise data highlighted the significant association of academic performance with literacy challenges. Younger students struggled with phoneme recognition and decoding, while older students found difficulties in comprehension and spelling. Overall, the screener serves as a user-friendly, promising preliminary resource that provides a foundational step toward identifying dyslexia within the Urdu context.
Related
- Development and Initial Validation of a Statistical Image Analysis Framework for Quantitative Bone SPECT/CT in Patients with Prostate Cancer
- Development and initial psychometric validation of the Organ Donation Scale for University Students (ODS-US)
- Development and Initial Validation of the Multi-Dimensional Attention Rating Scale in Highly Educated Adults
- Development, validation and initial application of a patient-reported outcome measure to assess treatment burden for people living with multimorbidity in low-income settings in South Africa (SIMMBA)
- Development and Initial Validation of High-Fidelity 3D Hybrid Simulators for Training in Complex Pediatric Oncologic Surgery.
BibTeX
@misc{shahid2026toward,
title = {{Toward a Dyslexia Screening Tool for Urdu: Design, Development, and Initial Validation}},
author = {Dr Suleman Shahid and Muhammad Bilal Arshad and Ms. Momina Yahya and Mrs. Nimra Munir},
howpublished = {PsyArXiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.31234/osf.io/ebw3u_v2},
url = {https://osf.io/preprints/psyarxiv/ebw3u_v2/},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Toward a Dyslexia Screening Tool for Urdu: Design, Development, and Initial Validation
AU - Dr Suleman Shahid
AU - Muhammad Bilal Arshad
AU - Ms. Momina Yahya
AU - Mrs. Nimra Munir
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/08
PB - PsyArXiv
DO - 10.31234/osf.io/ebw3u_v2
UR - https://osf.io/preprints/psyarxiv/ebw3u_v2/
AB - Dyslexia is a neurodevelopmental disorder that affects the phonological processing necessary to read or write fluently. Despite the importance of early detection, tailored resources for specific linguistic contexts often remain scarce. This paper presents the early-stage development of a linguistically and culturally adapted screening tool, aimed at exploring dyslexia risk among Grade 2 to 6 students in Urdu within Pakistan. The screening tool evaluates word reading, phonological processing, spelling, and comprehension. Moreover, grade-wise cutoff scores were developed based on a sample of 1250 students. Psychometric analysis demonstrated strong reliability (Cronbach’s α > .80), corrected item-total correlations (rc > .30), and convergent validity (p<0.001), with early evidence supporting internal consistency, appropriateness, comprehensiveness, and correlation with similar measures. During the initial validation, the screening tool also flagged 9% of the participating students as potentially at risk for dyslexia in Urdu. The grade-wise data highlighted the significant association of academic performance with literacy challenges. Younger students struggled with phoneme recognition and decoding, while older students found difficulties in comprehension and spelling. Overall, the screener serves as a user-friendly, promising preliminary resource that provides a foundational step toward identifying dyslexia within the Urdu context.
ER -