Skilled hearing readers activate phonological, orthographic, and semantic representations in order to recognize and comprehend words. However, deaf readers may achieve reading comprehension by different means. More specifically, enhanced visual attention, reduced access to phonology, and bimodal bilingualism may influence how deaf readers…

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…

Seven experiments were run to determine the precise nature of some of the variables which affect the processing of short-term visual information. In particular, retinal location, report order, processing order, lateral masking, and redundancy were studied along with the nature of the confusion errors which are made in the full report procedure.…

The purpose of this study was to determine whether there were any differences between the responses made by selected college students to information presented in a visual context and to the same basic information presented in a verbal context. Selected college students were asked to respond to pictorial information and to the same basic…

Discusses a study which sought to determine the degree to which the reading activities in one school district's elementary schools are matched to certain psycholinguistic concepts. Concludes that, until teachers become more aware of how language works and what the reading processes are, reading instruction will continue to overemphasize the visual…

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…