Dyslexia issues such as its existence, definition, and medical versus educational construction have been framed by the scientific paradigm. Reframing using an ecological perspective allows assessment focused on whole-school approaches and sociocultural factors. It also enables the use of predictive research and a view of dyslexia as more than a…

Argues that use of intelligence as an aptitude benchmark in the definition of dyslexia conceals illogical assumptions about the concept of potential. Concludes that the validity of a severe discrepancy between aptitude and achievement as the defining feature of dyslexia has yet to be established sufficiently to justify differential educational…

The history of specific difficulties in learning to read and write in Poland and multidisciplinary investigations in the field are discussed. A therapeutic care system including small correction-compensation groups, special grades, wards for dyslexic children, and individual outpatient treatment is currently in place, with research now focusing on…

General movement/feedback theory and a "two-routes" theoretical model were tested on 24 normal, 24 dyslexic, and 24 dysgraphic children. Familiarity of the test items and complexity and length of required movement pattern played an important role in the writing/spelling performance of the nine-year-old subjects defined as dyslexic or dysgraphic.…

Accuracy of letter identification and latency of reaction time were studied as a function of retinal position in 19 dyslexic adolescents. Dyslexics did not show higher performance scores in the peripheral visual fields but did have longer reaction times in all experimental conditions. (SLD)

Compares dyslexic children with normal readers on measures of phonological decoding and automatic word processing. Finds that dyslexics have a deficit in automatic phonological decoding skills. Discusses results within the framework of the phonological deficit and the automatization deficit hypotheses. (RS)

Administers reading tests to asthmatic students and questionnaires to parents concerning the prevalence of reading difficulties and immune disorders. Finds that the proportion of students with reading problems--especially phonological problems--was much higher than would be expected in a normal reading population, and finds an elevated incidence…

Twelve males (ages 8-12) with phonological dyslexia were compared to 12 age-matched good readers and 12 reading-matched students. Results showed that dyslexia is not related to incomplete lateralization or to a failure to inhibit verbal processing in the right hemisphere during reading and writing. (Author/JDD)

This article argues that word finding problems of children with dyslexia reflect deficits that underlie both naming and reading problems. Research on the co-occurrence of reading and word finding problems is reviewed, and a four-phase research program is reported. Findings focus on the causal relationship between naming speed deficits and reading…

Discusses the use of technology to help students with learning disabilities, particularly dyslexia. Highlights include BookWise, a microcomputer-based interactive reading system, and provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act that apply to employees with physical or mental limitations who are otherwise qualified workers. (LRW)

Thirty-five children with dyslexia (mean ages 8, 12, and 16 years) and normally achieving children matched for IQ and age were tested on basic skills. Subjects' performance on such tasks as phoneme segmentation, picture naming speed, tachistoscopic word recognition, speeded bead threading, and balance showed less complete automatization than did…

Reports the findings in two dyslexic brothers each of whom showed a marked improvement in reading facility when reading print material either through a semitransparent tinted plastic sheet (overlay) or through tinted spectacle lenses. (MG)

A vocabulary training program, using parents as sole instructors, led to significant and lasting improvements in word knowledge and lexical access speed for 13 adolescents with dyslexia. Furthermore, when the trained words matched the current vocabulary of the child, the improvement generalized to untrained words. (Author)

Recounts a reading teacher's illuminating experience with a first grader who enjoyed reading Bill Martin's "Brown Bear" books, despite being labeled as dyslexic. Dyslexia is an elusive condition that is biological in origin and distinct from other reading problems. New research shows that reading difficulties, including dyslexia, occur as part of…

Notes that high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging allows in vivo quantification of the surface area of the cortex covering the planum temporale. Reviews the definition of planum asymmetry as it relates to structural accompaniments of disorders such as developmental dyslexia and to anatomic and functional lateralization. Finds support for the…