The paper traces the histories of several language disorders and the recommended educational treatment for them. It covers the historical events in medicine and education that have contributed to the confusion in relation to aphasia, dyslexia, and perceptual-motor disorders. (JDD)

Compares use of two decoding strategies in fifth-sixth grade normal and dyslexic children, and younger normals reading-aged-matched to the dyslexic students. Finds dyslexics lag behind age-matched normals in use of both strategies, and behind reading-age-matched normals in use of analogies, but not rules. (RS)

Evaluation of 16 college students with dyslexia found no significant differences between listening comprehension and reading comprehension. Comparison of the 16 dyslexic students with 16 nondyslexic students revealed significant differences on reading achievement and reading time but not on untimed reading comprehension. (JDD)

Discusses a study that interviewed 12 dyslexics, including a Nobel laureate, a member of the United States Academy of Sciences, and other professionals in fields requiring reading. Finds that all of them developed basic fluency three to four years later than peers, but still acquired Stage 5 skills through avid reading about a topic of passionate…

This study used computer word games to train 35 dyslexic readers (mean age 13 years) in automaticity (speed and accuracy) of word recognition. After training, reaction time on the word vocalization and sentence comprehension tasks improved significantly for both trained and untrained stimuli. Results support the automaticity hypothesis. (DB)

This study examined the abilities of 18 adults with familial dyslexia to use steady state, dynamic, and temporal cues in synthetic speech continua. Although subjects were able to label and discriminate the continua, they did not necessarily use acoustic cues in the same manner as did normal readers, and their overall performance was less accurate.…

Evaluates the hypothesis that dyslexic children have a specific deficit in phonological reading processes. Describes a quantitative meta-analysis with the same hypothesis that provides evidence for differences between dyslexics and normal readers on nonword reading tasks. Considers the weaknesses of studies finding no deficits. (HB)

Evaluates the hypothesis that dyslexic children have a specific deficit in phonological reading processes to elucidate the characteristics of developmental dyslexics' reading skills. Finds no evidence for distinct subtypes of dyslexia, although recent conceptualizations of reading development provide a better framework in which to investigate…

This article responds to Sylvia Richardson (EC 602 667), noting a failure to address the definitional issues associated with dyslexia. A definition of dyslexia is offered that considers the nature of the processing limitation underlying the disorder as well as the developmental changes that occur in the manifestation of the disorder. (Author/DB)

Fits spelling data from identical and fraternal twins to a basic multiple regression model. Finds that about 60% of the deficit of probands was due to heritable influences. Finds a nonsignificant sex difference. Suggests collaborative analyses of data from additional twin studies of reading disability to facilitate more rigorous tests. (RS)

Presents a case study of three reading-disabled children. Concludes that pronunciation and comprehension skills are two dissociable components of the reading process and follow separate courses of development. Suggests that the question of whether poor readers are also deficient in language comprehension depends on the types of disabled readers…

A study provided specially designed hemisphere-specific stimulation (HSS) and hemisphere-alluding stimulation to 21 children categorized as P-type dyslexics (showing accurate but slow and fragmented reading) and 19 children categorized as L-type dyslexics (fast but inaccurate readers). Participants made gains on all reading measures, regardless of…

The effect of a six-week multimodal summer camp program on the self-concept and reading/writing skills of 42 campers (ages 9 to 14) with dyslexia was assessed. Campers improved significantly in phonetic reading, spelling skills, self-concept, and overall academic competence, but not in sight-word vocabulary or reading speed. (Author/CR)

Investigates some of the biological constraints that shape the process of literacy acquisition. Explores the possibility of isolating processing components of reading which correspond to computational units of equivalent size in the neural architecture. Suggests that the process of literacy acquisition is largely constrained by a specific…

Describes how an adult male learner who had been identified as learning disabled many years ago participated in a spelling-based word-study program. Describes the program and its theoretical rationale, discusses his progress, and notes implications for adult-literacy learners' spelling instruction. (SR)