title: Information-processing patterns in specific reading disability.
abstract: This research investigated specific processing strengths and weaknesses among three groups of readers who ranged in age from 6 through 10 years. The first-grade unsuccessful and the older unsuccessful readers had similar information-processing patterns, whereas collectively they differed significantly from the first-grade successful readers on short-term auditory/working memory and decoding/encoding. When separately compared to the controls, the age-matched high-risk group showed additional weakness in rapid automatized naming, and the reading-level-matched older disabled group showed additional weakness in phonological coding as well as visual sequential memory. Examination of second-level classifications using cluster analysis suggested the presence of three potential subtypes among the 50 poor readers. All were characterized by difficulty in what was interpreted as symbolic processing/memory (Subtype 1), which occurred in combination with visual processing deficiencies (Subtype 2) and with deficits in both visual processing and rapid automatized naming (Subtype 3).
authors.affiliation: Reading Clinic, Toronto Board of Education, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Watson
authors.forename: D M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Willows
mesh_terms: D001288:Attention; D002648:Child; D004410:Dyslexia / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007206:Individuality; D008297:Male; D011939:Mental Recall; D010700:Phonetics; D012153:Retention, Psychology; D012691:Serial Learning; D014706:Verbal Learning