Learning disabled and nondisabled readers (N=12 each) were compared on dichotic listening recall tasks that included semantic, phonemic, and structural orienting instructions. As expected, recall increases were a function of group, orienting instructions, and level of word processing. Most importantly, the results clearly demonstrated that group…

Thirty-five learning-disabled readers (mean age 10) and 43 controls were compared on a sentence span task and on recall of everyday features, consequential events, and misleading information. Results indicated that subjects were deficient on working memory and naturalistic measures, but their naturalistic memory deficits did not appear to relate…

In three experiments on auditory free recall of words, involving 10 learning disabled (LD) and 10 nondisabled (ND) elementary students, the ND recalled more low and high cognitive effort words than LD students. Supports the hypothesis that ND and LD readers differ in processing capacity; however, cognitive effort improves results. (Authors)

A total of 15 learning-disabled and 15 skilled readers viewed three groups of nonsense pictures (unnamed, name-nonassociated, and name-associated), then recalled them later. Results suggested learning disabled children's reading difficulties are due to an inability to activate a semantic representation that interconnects visual and verbal codes.…

Tests the developmental memory lag hypothesis with 22 learning disabled boys on two- and three-dimensional nonverbal tasks. Finds age-equivalent recall patterns similar to those of normal children and consistent age-related differences in nonverbal recall, thereby negating the developmental lag hypothesis. (RL)

A study synthesized findings of 41 studies that compared children with and without learning disabilities in reading on immediate-memory performance. Results indicate children with learning disabilities were distinctly disadvantaged compared to average readers when memory manipulations required the naming of visual information and task conditions…

Examines, in 9- and 12-year-olds, two theories of disabled readers' memory deficiencies. Subjects were compared on diotic and dichotic listening tasks for recall of semantically organized, phonemically organized, and categorically unrelated wordlists. Dependent measures included free recall, serial recall, recall organization, and hierarchical…

Comparison of the free recall of learning-disabled (N=24) and non-disabled (N=24) eight- and ten-year-old readers during directive and nondirective encoding conditions found that both groups recalled more semantically- than nonsemantically-organized items. Learning-disabled readers preferred to encode categorically-organized items nonsemantically…

Three experiments exploring the relationship of cognitive effort to the differences in word recall between skilled and learning disabled readers are described. Results suggest the amount of cognitive effort that can be effectively expended to produce a distinctive memory trace is related to individual differences in attentional capacity.…

Examines, in two experiments, the memory coding processes of readers during reading of connected text. Finds that, along with phonological coding, semantic processing contributes an important amount of variance to deficiencies in the reading of connected text. (RS)

Examines the memory coding processes of skilled and less skilled readers during the reading of connected text. Finds that, along with phonological coding, semantic processing contributes an important amount of variance to deficiencies in the reading of connected text. (RS)

Investigated how working memory differences between learning-disabled and nondisabled children reflect a specific or generalized deficit and whether limitations in enhancement of learning-disabled student's working memory performance are attributable to process or storage functions. Results suggest that learning-disabled suffer generalized working…

Investigates the extent to which learning disabled readers' atypical encoding relates to their deficiencies in semantic memory by comparing learning disabled and nondisabled readers in two age groups on dichotic listening tasks that included orienting and nonorienting instructions. (HOD)

Two groups of children (ages 10 and 14) were compared on silent reading and listening comprehension of nouns, verbs, and concepts within and across sentences under conditions of suppressed and nonsuppressed phonological recoding to investigate the role of phonological recoding for the students' comprehension of the passage. (HOD)

Fifth-grade learning disabled and skilled readers (N=32) were compared on verbal dichotic listening tasks for free recall and cued recall of word lists organized by semantic, phonemic, and structural features. Results indicated that disabled readers were comparable on free recall but were inferior to skilled readers on cued recall. (Author/JW)