This study was conducted to determine if dependency as manifested by the preschool child is predictive of reading disability. Case studies were conducted using seventeen disabled readers, nine boys and eight girls, of average or above average ability from the third grade in two schools on Long Island. Preschool dependency was determined by a retrospective parent questionnaire, while current school dependency was examined through a teacher observational checklist and a questionnaire administered to the children by the researcher. Informal discussion with the mothers brought out factors of dependency evident in the case of six of the seven high and three of the five high-average dependency-prone subjects. Since preschool dependency was evident in more than half the cases and was carried over to the school situation, it was hypothesized that dependency can be predictive of reading disability. The ordinal position of the child was shown to be an important factor in determining the degree of dependency, and the dependency evidenced could be attributed to infantilization on the part of parents and/or siblings. (Author/MKM)