School psychologists are often involved in evaluating students who have been referred for reading problems or are suspected of having dyslexia. To accomplish this task, it is important to have a thorough understanding of dyslexia, and know what factors to consider. Therefore, the purposes of this article are to describe: (1) the primary and…

This study investigated the relationship between specific cognitive patterns of strengths and weaknesses and the errors children make on oral language, reading, writing, spelling, and math subtests from the Kaufman Test of Educational Achievement-Third Edition (KTEA-3). Participants with scores from the KTEA-3 and either the Wechsler Intelligence…

In an age of PowerPoint, much everyday public communication is semantically organized as an expository presentation. This contrasts with traditional approaches such as storytelling that are episodically organized and presented as narratives. The constructivist theory of narrative comprehension, along with other theoretical perspectives, suggests…

Relationships between attention/executive functions and language learning were investigated in students in Grades 4 to 9 (N = 88) with and without specific learning disabilities (SLDs) in multiword syntax in oral and written language (OWL LD), word reading and spelling (dyslexia), and subword letter writing (dysgraphia). Prior…

Concern for the impact of prenatal cocaine exposure (PCE) on human language development is based on observations of impaired performance on assessments of language skills in these children relative to non-exposed children. We investigated the effects of PCE on speech processing ability using event-related potentials (ERPs) among a sample of…

Does speaking a language without number words change the way speakers of that language perceive exact quantities? The Piraha are an Amazonian tribe who have been previously studied for their limited numerical system [Gordon, P. (2004). Numerical cognition without words: Evidence from Amazonia. "Science 306", 496-499]. We show that the Piraha have…

Single trial methods reveal unimpaired free recall of unrelated words in Asperger's syndrome (AS). When repeated trials are used (free recall learning), typical individuals show improved recall over trials, subjective organization of material (SO) and a correlation between free recall and SO. We tested oral (Experiment 1) and written (Experiment…

This study is part of a broader project aimed at developing cognitive and neurocognitive profiles of adolescent and young adult readers whose educational and occupational prospects are constrained by their limited literacy skills. We explore the relationships among reading-related abilities in participants ages 16 to 24 years spanning a wide range…

Examined the phonological memory capacity, rate of articulation, phonological encoding, and perceptual-processing abilities of 13 specifically language-impaired (SLI) children and 13 language-matched normal (NL) children. The results of a nonsense word repetition task showed that SLI children repeated significantly fewer multisyllabic nonsense…

Research reports on the nature of speech, instrumentation for the investigation of speech, and practical applications of speech research are presented in this status report. The 18 reports deal with a variety of topics, including the following: (1) cyclic production of vowels in sequences of monosyllabic stress feet; (2) differences between…

This study explored two aspects of language expression (defining words and repeating sentences) in samples of 26 Downs Syndrome (DS) and 26 mentally handicapped (MH) adolescents and young adults matched on intelligence and chronological age. Testing included language tests, a comprehensive audiological assessment, and computer-based memory…

The purpose of the third edition of this book is to explore what must be involved in reading by addressing such topics as language, information theory, learning theory, the development of spoken language ability, and the physiology of the eye and brain. It is designed to serve as a handbook for language arts teachers, a text on the psychology of…

This book provides an overview of cognitive approaches to learning disabilities, the theoretical and methodological underpinnings that support them, and the body of knowledge that such work has generated. Part 1 contains the following five papers: "The Educational Perspective" (Wayne P. Hresko and others); "Educational Trends in Learning…

SpringBoard is a comprehensive instructional program in English language arts and mathematics that reflects powerful, research-based understandings about how people learn. This report presents a model of learning based on cognitive science with particular attention to the role of memory and language. The instructional framework of strategic…