SOME OF THE IMPLICATIONS OF CHALL'S "LEARNING TO READ, THE GREAT DEBATE" FOR TEACHING PERCEPTUALLY HANDICAPPED CHILDREN TO READ ARE DISCUSSED. CHALL CONTRASTED THE WHOLE-WORD APPROACH WITH THE CODE-EMPHASIS APPROACH IN WHICH A CHILD BREAKS THE CODE THROUGH LETTER-SOUND ASSOCIATIONS. IT HAS BEEN OBSERVED THAT CHILDREN FIND MORE DIFFICULTY IN DECODING THE PRINTED WORD THAN IN COMPREHENDING THE STORY, THAT PHONICS DOES NOT NECESSARILY RESULT IN MECHANICAL READING, AND THAT PHONETIC KNOWLEDGE ALLOWS THE CHILD TO READ INDEPENDENTLY AND IMPROVES HIS SPELLING AND WRITING ABILITIES. TEACHING PERCEPTUALLY HANDICAPPED CHILDREN TO READ REQUIRES SYSTEMATIC PHONICS INSTRUCTION ENRICHED BY KINESTHETIC TRAINING, LESSONS PROGRAMED IN SMALL SEGMENTS, AND CONSTANT REVIEW AND REINFORCEMENT. THE CODE-EMPHASIS APPROACH OFFERS MUCH IN THIS DIRECTION. CHALL'S BOOK POINTS UP THE NEED FOR IMPROVED READING RESEARCH AND FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF DIAGNOSTIC AND EVALUATION INSTRUMENTS. PREVENTION RATHER THAN REMEDIATION IS EMPHASIZED. THIS PAPER WAS PRESENTED AT THE ASSOCIATION FOR CHILDREN WITH LEARNING DISABILITIES CONFERENCE (BOSTON, FEBRUARY 1968). (NS)