Rapid automatised naming and alternating stimulus including letters and numbers: an exploratory comparative eye-tracking study in a sample of university students with and without learning disabilities

PURPOSE: Rapid Automatized Naming (RAN) tasks are widely used to assess processing speed and automaticity, both of which are crucial for fluent reading and academic achievement. However, university students with learning disabilities (LD) often experience difficulties in these tasks, particularly under increased cognitive demands. To better understand the underlying visual and cognitive processes, this study investigated the RAN performance of 15 university students with and without LD using eye-tracking technology as a fine-grained method of analysis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Participants completed one RAN task involving numbers, and one Alternating Stimuli RAN task involving letters and numbers. Eye movement data were assessed using multiple metrics, including total gaze duration, fixation count, first fixation duration, and average fixation duration. RESULTS: The analyses revealed that students with LD showed significantly longer gaze times and more frequent fixations across all task conditions, reflecting lower automaticity and higher cognitive load. These differences were especially marked in the alternating condition, which requires greater attentional control and cognitive flexibility. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings contribute to a deeper understanding of the attentional and processing challenges faced by students with LD and highlight the value of eye-tracking for identifying subtle processing differences that traditional assessments may overlook. Implications for early identification, intervention design, and future research are discussed.