Evaluates short- and long-term effects of a treatment for dyslexia. Notes that the treatment focuses on learning to recognize and to make use of the phonological and morphological structure of Dutch words. Finds that the results of the treatment were clear improvements in reading words, reading text and spelling. (SG)

This paper summarizes research currently being conducted on the biologic underpinnings of learning disorders, particularly dyslexia. The research findings discussed are derived from studying neuroanatomic, neurophysiologic, neurogenetic, neuroimaging, and behavioral characteristics in animal models that exhibit developmental brain anomalies and…

The study compared the temporal organization of motor speech in dyslexic adolescents and adults without overt speech difficulties (N=91), matched normal readers, and learning-disabled adolescents (N=50) without reading difficulties. Dyslexic subjects showed more evidence of motor speech deficits than did subjects in either control group. (DB)

Autopsy analysis of eight dyslexic brains found that the ordinary asymmetry in a language-relevant area of the temporal lobe was missing. The greater development of the right side may reflect an increase in the total number of neurons involved in language processing, resulting in changes in interhemispheric interactions. (JDD)

The spelling difficulties of the adolescent dyslexic student are described, and techniques are presented to provide the student with the tools needed to cope with spelling requirements, including the study of vowel sounds, doubling the consonant following a short vowel, root words, and laws of probabilities. (JDD)

The study provided 7 dysphonetic and dyseidetic dyslexic children (aged 8 to 10) with instruction in reading comprehension using a story grammar strategy and instructional approaches matching each dyslexia subtype. Statistically and clinically significant improvements were found in the proportion of qualitatively important story elements recalled…

Fifteen college students with dyslexia completed a dictation task, spelling recognition task, and nonword spelling task. Their spelling problems were primarily associated with failure to acquire knowledge of the mappings between spelling and sounds of English. Their use and knowledge of morphological information and visual information for spelling…

Reviews the controversy over a biological basis for developmental dyslexia and illustrates it with two case studies of junior high school students. Reviews neurological evidence for developmental dyslexia, and proposes seven signs characteristic of reading disability that may qualify as dyslexia. (SR)

Fourteen Dutch children with dyslexia were compared with controls on automatic processing under a dual task (motor balance task and auditory choice task) model. Results indicated the dyslexic group was more impaired in the dual task condition than in the single task condition, compared with controls. Findings support the automatization deficit…

Assessment of 125 fourth graders in Japan found that 4 boys and 4 girls qualified as dyslexic, challenging the belief that dyslexia is largely absent among Japanese children. Japanese schoolchildren who decoded kana text slowly also performed poorly in digits reversed and other areas. Characteristics of these students are described. (Author/JDD)

A successful adult with dyslexia recounts his experiences as a child including poor school reports, emotional problems, clumsiness, as well as the help provided by a special school for boys with dyslexia. (DB)

Examines nonsense-passage oral reading in adults. Finds that both affected and compensated-affected dyslexic subjects read the passages more slowly and with more errors than nondyslexic readers. Discusses results in relation to cognitive and neural processes. Finds nonsense-passage reading useful in family studies of inherited dyslexia. (RS)

Discusses three dyslexic/attention-deficit-disorder adult learners experience in the classroom and suggests strategies that they can employ to overcome their many ways of interacting with text that militate against successful decoding. (JOW)

Analyzes how cognitive psychology defines and treats dyslexia. Shows how behaviorism and connectionism can function as supplements in areas in which cognitive psychology has displayed weaknesses and limitations. Characteristics of cognitive psychology, cognitive treatment, and behavioristic and connectionistic treatment are discussed. (CR)

This article introduces a special issue on the double-deficit hypothesis for dyslexic readers' failure to acquire adequate word recognition skills. This theory suggests that dyslexic readers have a deficit in naming speed in addition to the more widely recognized deficit in phonological decoding skill. (Contains references.) (DB)