The effects of text-to-speech on reading comprehension in junior high school students with reading disabilities: an eye-tracking study in Taiwan

This study examined reading comprehension and eye movement patterns under silent reading and text-to-speech (TTS) conditions in three groups of junior high school students: those with dyslexia, those with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) who have reading difficulties, and typically developing students (TDS). A 3 × 2 mixed factorial design was employed to compare performance across conditions and groups. Results indicated that TTS significantly improved comprehension for students with ADHD-related reading difficulties, whereas no such benefit was observed for students with dyslexia. For students with dyslexia, however, TTS reduced total reading time and cognitive effort while maintaining comprehension comparable to silent reading. Eye-tracking data revealed that during silent reading, both the dyslexia and ADHD groups exhibited longer total reading times, more fixations, and shorter saccades compared to the typically developing group. Under the TTS condition, these differences were attenuated, suggesting that auditory guidance can regulate visual attention. Notably, students with ADHD showed longer fixation durations under TTS, possibly reflecting increased focus. In contrast, TTS did not benefit TDS, disrupting their natural reading patterns and yielding no comprehension gains. These findings suggest that TTS can enhance reading efficiency and comprehension for students with reading difficulties, but may interfere with normal reading processes for proficient readers. This underscores the need to tailor reading support strategies to individual student needs.