Reading disability is conceptualized as a disorder of several aspects of language. We have found that the acquisition of syntax, phonics, and phonemic coding in short-term memory are significantly delayed in reading disabled children. However, semantic processing appears to be relatively intact. Remedial reading programs should stress the encouragement of expressive language skills, which appear to be at the basis of this disorder.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Baron, J. (1979). Orthographic and word-specific mechanisms in children's reading of words. Child Development, 50, 60–72.
2.
Dunn, L. (1965). Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test.Circle Pines, MN: American Guidance Service.
3.
Gates, A. I., & McKillop, A. S. (1962). Gates-McKillop Reading Diagnostic Tests.New York: Teachers College Press.
4.
Golick, M. (1977). Language disorders in children: A linguistic investigation. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, McGill University, Department of Linguistics, Montreal.
5.
Jastak, J. F., & Jastak, S. R. (1978). Wide Range Achievement Tests.Wilmington, DE: Guidance Associates.
6.
Kirk, S. A., McCarthy, J. J., & Kirk, W. D. (1968). Illinois Test of Psycholinguistic Ability.Urbana: University of Chicago Press.
7.
Marshall, J. C., & Newcombe, F. (1980). The conceptual status of deep dyslexia: An historical perspective. In M. Coltheart, K. Patterson, & J. C. Marshall (Eds.), Deep dyslexia (pp. 1–21). London: Routlege & Kegan Paul.
8.
Ryan, E. B., & Ledger, G. W. (1984). Learning to attend sentence structure: Links between metalinguistic development and reading. In J. Downing & R. Valtin (Eds.), Language awareness and learning to read.New York: Springer-Verlag.
9.
Shankweiler, D., Liberman, I. Y., Mark, L. S., Fowler, C. A., & Fischer, F. W. (1979). The speech code and learning to read. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Learning and Memory, 5, 531–545.
10.
Siegel, L. S. (1983). Deep dyslexia in childhood? Unpublished manuscript, McMaster University, Montreal.
11.
Siegel, L. S. (in press). On the adequacy of the Wide Range Achievement Test (WRAT): A reply to Smart, Dennis & Brailsford. Canadian Psychology.
12.
Siegel, L. S. & Feldman, W. (1983). Nondyslexic children with combined writing and arithmetic disabilities. Clinical Pediatrics, 22, 241–244.
13.
Siegel, L. S., & Linder, B. A. (in press). Short-term memory processes in children with reading and arithmetic learning disabilities. Developmental Psychology.
14.
Vellutino, F. R. (1978). Toward an understanding of dyslexia: Psychological factors in specific reading disability. In A. L. Benton & D. Pearl (Eds.), Dyslexia: An appraisal of current knowledge (pp. 61–111). New York: Oxford University Press.
15.
Vellutino, F. R. (1979). Dyslexia: Theory and research.Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.