Event-related potentials (ERPs) elicited by task-irrelevant visual stimuli were recorded from 34 control and 32 dyslexic 10- to 12-year-old boys while they performed silent and oral reading at two levels of difficulty. All subjects were extensively screened for neurological problems, IQ, and sensory acuity. Specific features of the ERPs were affected in amplitude and latency by the experimental variables: group membership, oral vs. silent reading, difficulty level, and recording site (within and between hemispheres). A specific effect of difficulty on the central and parietal ERP was seen in the dyslexics but not the controls. Different patterns of asymmetry were found for the two groups in silent vs. oral reading at midtemporal placements. A marked asymmetry (R greater than L) was found at the midtemporal region for both groups.