Family characteristics of children with dyslexia.

Few studies have been devoted to the family characteristics of children with dyslexia. The findings from the studies available are often contradictory with regard to father's socioeconomic status, parents' age, sibship size, and birth order. Mother's socioeconomic status has attracted little attention. The present study was based on a retrospective review of 249 children with severe dyslexia. The major findings were the low occupational status and educational level of parents and the predominance of high-ranking children in large sibships. However, parental age was not found to be an important risk factor. These findings are discussed in the light of previous results. Matrimonial status seemed unimportant. There was objective agreement upon the predominance of large sibships and high ordinal birth positions, although their significance remains poorly understood. No convincing support was found for the aging hypothesis. Mother's low socioeconomic and educational status may be an aggravating factor.