Word recognition involves both decoding of word sounds and retrieval of the meaning of a word. This study examined the influence of context on both decoding and meaning recognition. Reading disabled adolescents with specific learning disabilities were compared to normal adolescent readers and young normal readers. The results showed that (a) context facilitated both decoding and meaning recognition for all readers, and (b) reading disabled adolescents showed deficits on both tasks. Some reading disabled adolescents had primary difficulty in decoding while others demonstrated primary difficulty in meaning recognition. No evidence was found of a specific deficit in reading disabled adolescents' use of context.
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