Preschool children often confuse letters with their mirror images when they try to read and write. Mirror confusion seems to occur more often in line with the direction of script (e.g., left-to-right for the Latin alphabetic script), suggesting that the processing of letter orientation and text directionality may be interrelated in preliterate…

In this article, I illustrate how research from cognitive science and the science of reading can inform research on the science of reading instruction. This purpose is accomplished by focusing on four recently published randomized control trials of instruction designed to teach alphabet letters to 3- and 4-year-old children (N = 342) attending…

Designed to enable parents to help preschool, speech handicapped children enrolled in a program of speech correction by using materials based on the Initial Teaching Alphabet (ITA), these activities correlate with those used in therapy. A short period of time (15 to 20 minutes), a relaxed atmosphere, a regular schedule, and a quiet,…

Designed by speech pathologists for use with preschool children, 54 lessons utilize the Initial Teaching Alphabet (ITA). Beginning with the presentation of a single sound and its ITA symbol, lessons progress systematically through all the symbols; synthesis of the elements into syllables, words, sentences, stories, and general conversation is…

Twenty-four preschool children (aged 3-3 to 5-6) were studied to test the efficacy of newly developed phonemic-visual-oral materials in the correction of articulatory problems. All subjects were given an articulation test and a battery of five tests to measure auditory memory span and intelligence. Twelve children received 50 sessions of…