Purpose: Reading requires the ability to decode and comprehend. Impairments in working memory (WM) are often implicated in students who are poor decoders. It is unclear whether this is a domain-specific issue or a task-specific issue. Therefore, this study examined how auditory-verbal (AV) WM, visual-spatial (VS) WM, and cognitive load affected…

In a longitudinal study, auditory and visual temporal order thresholds (TOTs) were investigated in primary school children (N = 236; mean age at first data point = 6;7) at the beginning of Grade 1 and the end of Grade 2 to test whether rapid temporal processing abilities predict reading and spelling at the end of Grades 1 and 2. Auditory and…

This study investigated the differential contribution of auditory-verbal and visuospatial working memory (WM) on decoding skills in second- and fifth-grade children identified with poor decoding. Thirty-two second-grade students and 22 fifth-grade students completed measures that assessed simple and complex auditory-verbal and visuospatial memory,…

Deficits in verbal short-term memory have been identified as one factor underlying reading and spelling disorders. However, the nature of this deficit is still unclear. It has been proposed that poor readers make less use of phonological coding, especially if the task can be solved through visual strategies. In the framework of Baddeley's…

Applying optimal stimulation theory, the present study explored the development of sustained attention as a dynamic process. It examined the interaction of modality and temperament over time in children and adults. Second-grade children and college-aged adults performed auditory and visual vigilance tasks. Using the Carey temperament…

A STUDY WAS CONDUCTED TO DETERMINE WHETHER AUDIOVISUAL PERCEPTUAL ABILITY CAN ACCOUNT FOR READING ACHIEVEMENT. SUBJECTS WERE 120 PUPILS SELECTED RANDOMLY FROM 38 SCHOOLS IN ILLINOIS. PUPILS WERE IN GRADES 2, 4, AND 6. MEASURES OF VISUAL PERCEPTION, AUDITORY PERCEPTION, VISUAL-AUDITORY SHIFTING PERCEPTION, INTELLIGENCE, SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS, AND…

This study showed that measurable deficits in visual perception were not interfering with normal reading achievement among these second graders, yet there was no sign of compensatory development of auditory skills. (HOD)

A STUDY WAS CONDUCTED TO DETERMINE THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN VISUAL AND AUDITORY SINGULAR MODAL RESPONSES AND MODAL SHIFTING BEHAVIOR TO READING ACHIEVEMENT WITH CONTROL FOR SUCH VARIABLES AS INTELLIGENCE, AGE, SEX, AND SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS. SUBJECTS WERE 120 SECOND, FOURTH, AND SIXTH GRADERS FROM PEORIA, ILLINOIS, PUBLIC ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS.…

Studies elementary students' ability to match up graphemes to phonemes within individual words. Shows that older students exhibited greater graphophonemic awareness and greater digraph knowledge than younger students. Results are interpreted to bear on Ehri's phrase theory of word reading acquisition and on connectionist models of word reading.…

One hundred and sixty-six second graders were administered the Illinois Test of Psycholinguistic Abilities (ITPA) and a visual and auditory memory test. Intraindividual discrepancies between a child's performance on comparable visual and auditory measures served to identify him as a visual or an auditory learner. Significantly more 5-year-old…

In a study that investigated differences in the processing styles of beginning readers, a Pictograph Sentence Memory Test (PSMT) was administered to first and second grade students to determine their processing style as well as to assess instructional effects. Based on their responses to the PSMT, the children were classified as either visual or…

A 3-year study attempted (1) to predict reading achievement through third grade, (2) to establish data for a nonverbal discrimination test, (3) to devise supplementary perceptual instructional programs, and (4) to develop screening devices to assess perceptual abilities and identify potential learning disabilities. In first, second, and third…

Investigates the relationship between auditory and visual processing modality and strategy instruction in first- and second-grade children. Determines sentence strategy to be effective for both auditory and visual processing. (HOD)

We describe two experiments on signaling and detecting uncertainty in audiovisual speech by adults and children. In the first study, utterances from adult speakers and child speakers (aged 7-8) were elicited and annotated with a set of six audiovisual features. It was found that when adult speakers were uncertain they were more likely to produce…