This article describes the implementation of small-group reading instruction as secondary- and tertiary-level components of a three-tier model of prevention and intervention. The study consisted of 83 students who were targeted in the winter of kindergarten as being at high risk for reading failure. Intervention consisted of evidence-based…

This article presents critical issues related to word reading development within Ehri's theoretical context by focusing primarily on the relation of decoding skill (of nonwords) to word reading and the development of unitization. Within this context, issues and considerations related to research, measurement, and reading development are presented…

Two studies examined response to varying amounts of time in reading intervention for two cohorts of first-grade students demonstrating low levels of reading after previous intervention. Students were assigned to one of three groups that received (a) a single dose of intervention, (b) a double dose of intervention, or (c) no intervention.…

The RAVE-O (Retrieval, Automaticity, Vocabulary Elaboration, Orthography) program is an experimental, fluency-based approach to reading intervention that is designed to accompany a phonological analysis program for children with developmental reading disabilities. The goals, theoretical principles, and applied activities of the RAVE-O curriculum…

This study, with 38 9-year-old poor readers and 40 reading age-matched normally achieving readers, examined qualitative differences in poor readers relative to normally achieving readers of the same reading level. Results suggest that poor readers have worse grapheme phoneme conversion skills and greater reluctance to relinquish the lexical route…

This article presents evidence that initial and advanced reading abilities are predominantly mediated by the right and left cerebral hemispheres, respectively. Premature reliance on left hemisphere reading strategies or later failure to shift from earlier right hemisphere strategies are hypothesized as resulting in two different types of dyslexic…

This study evaluated Frith's 3-phase model of reading acquisition with 300 children in 2 cohorts who were followed from kindergarten through grade 3. Varying relationships were found among global language abilities, word recognition abilities, and reading comprehension depending on grade level. Implications for the study and treatment of…

The "Failure-free" Reading Program was evaluated with 39 students (ages 8 to 12) with severe reading problems. The program involves previewing, listening, content presentation, reading, and reviewing. Improved performance in letter-word identification, word attack, comprehension, and dictation was evident after the intensive intervention.…

Reading-related skills were tested in adults with and without reading disabilities (RD) or with profound hearing impairment (PHI). Both RD and PHI groups demonstrated low levels of phonological awareness but the RD group also exhibited deficits in verbal short-term memory, morphological awareness, speeded written naming, reading comprehension, and…

Reading-disabled children (n=92) were classified as either scotopic or nonscotopic using the Irlen Differential Perceptual Schedule. Use of either colored or clear overlays over reading material resulted in improved reading rate, accuracy, and comprehension when scotopic children read with the preferred colored overlay filter. Nonscotopic children…

Sixty children (ages 8-10) with severe reading disabilities received daily intensive one-to-one instruction that differed in depth and extent of instruction in phonemic awareness and phonemic decoding. Both approaches were highly effective in improving reading accuracy and comprehension although measures of reading rate showed continued severe…

This study tested the role of visual processing speed and IQ in reading with 124 children either with or without reading disability. Results indicated that processing speed explains a significant amount of variance in reading comprehension, as does IQ. Path analyses indicated that the effect of IQ on reading is partially mediated by decoding in…

This article reviews Bakker's developmental neuropsychological model (the Balance Model) of reading development (EC 602 750), notes the need for validating research before employing these procedures in clinical practice, and raises some conceptual problems such as evidence that learning disability subtypes evolve over time. (Author/DB)

A longitudinal (from kindergarten through grade 2) study with 244 children evaluated 3 hypotheses regarding the causal relationship between phonological processing abilities and reading acquisition. The study found a bidirectional relationship between phonological processing skills and reading skills and stability in individual phonological…

This commentary on a paper by Diane Sawyer (EC 602 748) on relations between various language skills and the development of reading ability addresses potential limitations in the implementation of structural equation modeling. The commentary concludes that the data presented by Sawyer do not support the interpretation that reading comprehension…