This study examines the performance of students with and without learning difficulties in phonological awareness, rapid naming, reading, and writing. The research involved 60 students from grades 2 to 4 in municipal public schools, divided into six groups: three groups with learning difficulties and three groups without. The study used tests for rapid naming, phonological awareness, oral reading, and written expression under dictation. Results showed that students without learning difficulties performed better, while those with learning difficulties had higher ratios in rapid naming tasks but lower performance in phonological awareness, reading, and writing. The study concluded that students with learning difficulties exhibit deficits in the relationship between naming and automatization skills, lexical access, visual discrimination, stimulus frequency use, and competition in code naming, which are crucial for phoneme-grapheme conversion in the Portuguese alphabet system. The findings highlight the importance of addressing these deficits to improve reading and writing skills in students with learning difficulties.This study examines the performance of students with and without learning difficulties in phonological awareness, rapid naming, reading, and writing. The research involved 60 students from grades 2 to 4 in municipal public schools, divided into six groups: three groups with learning difficulties and three groups without. The study used tests for rapid naming, phonological awareness, oral reading, and written expression under dictation. Results showed that students without learning difficulties performed better, while those with learning difficulties had higher ratios in rapid naming tasks but lower performance in phonological awareness, reading, and writing. The study concluded that students with learning difficulties exhibit deficits in the relationship between naming and automatization skills, lexical access, visual discrimination, stimulus frequency use, and competition in code naming, which are crucial for phoneme-grapheme conversion in the Portuguese alphabet system. The findings highlight the importance of addressing these deficits to improve reading and writing skills in students with learning difficulties.