Two types of phonological training of children with reading disabilities were compared. Children trained in speech discrimination, letter-sound correspondence, and phonemic awareness (SP/LPA) and children trained only in letter-sound correspondence and phonemic awareness (n=35) improved in phonemic awareness, but only the SP/LPA group scored…

Reports on three studies comparing the reading and phonological skills of children with Down Syndrome (DS) and younger normally developing children of similar reading level. Notes that for children with DS, letter-sound knowledge did not predict reading. Suggests that children with DS do not possess full phoneme awareness. (PM)

Among 48 fourth graders, average readers were superior to poor readers in recall performance, use of memory strategies, and awareness of own memory processes (metamemory). However, both groups demonstrated little strategic sophistication. Across groups, significant correlations were found among strategy use, metacognitive knowledge, and recall…

The reading practices of four inmates were analyzed, showing very distinct approaches to reading. Standardized tests proved inadequate for assessing their learning needs. Other assessment formats such as miscue analysis and individualized instruction and materials were recommended. (SK)

A familial basis for phonological disorders was suggested in this study which found that siblings of 20 preschool children with severe phonological disorders performed more poorly than siblings of 20 normally developing children on measures of phonology and reading. No significant differences were found on measures of language and motor ability.…

The purpose of this study was to develop an instrument to assess reading attitudes of normal adult readers (N=84) and to examine relationships among attitude and other reading-related factors. Positive reading attitude was associated with high reading comprehension test scores, higher education attainment, and high self-rating of reading ability.…

Performance by 38 elementary reading-disabled and above-average readers was compared on a series of 6 measures of phonological awareness, including tests of ability to segment, blend, and manipulate phonemes. Results suggest that tasks requiring blending and manipulation of phonemes, in addition to segmentation, may predict decoding ability best.…

The study, involving 39 intermediate-grade disabled readers, found that visualization instruction plus pictorial display, in which subjects were instructed to make pictures in their minds and were shown a pictorial display that illustrated the temporal-spatial sequence of the reading text, was particularly effective in facilitating subjects'…

Administers a battery of auditory perceptual processing tasks to 103 reading disabled children and 103 average readers. Finds that auditory discrimination did not discriminate between the groups. States that 2 levels of phonological awareness exist and that screening and diagnostic instruments should address both to have predictive validity. (MG)

Research has found similarities between specific reading disability and reading difficulty in children of low intelligence, especially in short-term memory deficits. Studies indicate that ability to acquire and use a knowledge of spelling patterns is a major problem, and efforts to teach more efficient decoding skills have met with limited…

Describes a tic tac toe game in which students learn vocabulary words in their expressed areas of interest. (MG)

Performance of 36 second graders in judging grammaticality was not associated with reading ability or metaphonological skill, while performance in correcting violations of grammaticality was strongly associated. Short-term memory had minimal effects on judgment performance, but greatly affected correction performance. Both judgment and correction…

Examines and evaluates microcomputer software designed to assist in diagnosing students' reading abilities and making instructional decisions. Claims that existing software shows valuable potential when used sensibly and critically by trained reading clinicians. (MM)

Examines the effects of prior knowledge and oral reading accuracy on miscues and comprehension of third-grade average readers who read expository passages orally. Finds that children with high prior knowledge made fewer miscues which resulted in meaning loss, and that their miscues were graphically less similar to the text word. (MM)

Explains how a comparison portfolio can illustrate a student's progress by contrasting performances from the beginning and end of the school year. Notes that the portfolio should include standardized test scores, informal assessments, student writing samples, voluntary reading program reports, self assessments, and samples of class reading…