This study used eye-tracking methodology in the school setting to examine fourth graders' online processing of text and graphics while reading an illustrated science text. We were interested in identifying patterns of visual behavior, which was examined considering individual differences in reading comprehension, prior knowledge, and spatial…

In two studies dissociations between reading and spelling skills were examined. Study 1 reports equally high prevalence rates for isolated deficits in reading (7%) or spelling (6%) in a representative sample (N = 2,029) of German-speaking elementary school children. In Study 2, children with isolated deficits were presented with the same words to…

This article describes the visual nature of the reading process as it relates to reading speed. It points out that there is a physical limit on normal reading speed and beyond this limit the reading process will be different from normal reading where almost every word is attended to. The article describes a range of activities for developing…

Six common visual dysfunctions are briefly explained and their relationships to reading noted: (1) ametropia, refractive error; (2) inaccurate saccades, the small jumping eye movements used in reading; (3) inefficient binocularity/fusion; (4) insufficient convergence/divergence; (5) heterophoria, imbalance in extra-ocular muscles; and (6)…

An overview of psychophysical studies on visual factors that influence normal- and low-vision reading is presented. General principles, such as the presence or absence of central vision, were found to predict reading performance despite the heterogeneity of low-vision conditions. Results suggested most low-vision subjects meet the visual…

Research on visual and phonological coding in reading words for meaning is reviewed, and two studies are described that examined the word processing of skilled and less skilled elementary school readers. Findings revealed support for previous studies stressing the importance of the automatic nature of reading skills. (CL)

Discusses the following visual needs of learning: acuity, accommodation, neuromuscular coordination, visual motor integration, and other related factors. Urges professionals of all areas to pool their resources so that teachers can become more knowledgeable of certain information regarding the visual process that affects a student's learning…

The article summarizes findings of research on individual differences in reading ability, noting the primary effects of lack of phonological awareness on the ability to phonologically segment, analyze, and synthesize the speech stream. Other sources of individual differences are also addressed: early visual processes, naming processes, context,…

Describes three studies relating to visual functioning. Finds that reading retardation is the result of a clustering of factors, of multiple causation. Discusses the need to determine whether or not a student has the necessary lateral and other functional vision skills to maintain sufficient body energy for the demands of the reading task. (MG)

Sixteen skilled and 16 learning disabled (LD) readers (ages 11-12) viewed nonsense pictures either without names, with names that emphasized the semantic aspects of the picture, or with names unassociated with the pictorial representation. Results suggested that semantic coding deficits in LD readers were localized to retrieval processes.…

Twenty-two third-grade good and poor readers were tested for their ability to name pictures while trying to ignore words or nonword strings of letters printed inside the pictures. Both groups experienced more interference from intracategory than extracategory words, indicating that they processed the words automatically. Only the good readers…

Investigates whether the prelexical phonological route develops prior to the visual route while learning to read Greek. Finds reading accuracy unaffected by the main psycholinguistic properties of words; chronological age did not influence long-term reading acquisition; and beginning readers used phonological information in reading but started to…

Reading comprehension is influenced by external factors and factors within the reader. A discussion of these factors and of the LaBerge reading model provides the context for methods of diagnosing and remediating reading problems. (Author/BW)

Discusses how the visual system operates as an avenue for learning through the intermeshing of its three systems: sensory, motor, and central processing. States that the evaluation of all three systems is vital to the diagnosis of and prescription for poor readers. (MG)

Compares the reading processing strategies of native and proficient nonnative speakers of Chinese. At the word level natives show a phonological strategy, while nonnatives mix phonological and visual processing. At the sentence level natives mix visual and semantic strategies, and nonnatives prefer visual processing. (LMO)