Visual Sequential Memory in Reading Disability

Abstract

Relationships between visual sequential memory and reading in 81 normal and 43 disabled readers were investigated. The children had normal intelligence and a mean reading grade of 2.5. The mean chronological age of the normals was 8.5 years, and the mean of the disabled was 10.3. Partial correlations between three tests of visual sequential memory and three tests of reading were computed. Significant, positive associations were identified between visual sequential memory and paragraph comprehension, oral reading and word recognition. The intercorrelations of the visual memory tests were moderate indicating that these tests do not measure identical abilities. The results suggest that reading disability may derive from the lack of coordination among three different visual memory functions which are required for reading.

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