Presents a criticism of C. Hicks's references as being out of date or of inadequate methodology. Includes a defense from Hicks and a third-party adjudication suggesting that while the criticisms are well taken, the proposed solutions are not practical and the reader must beware. (HTH)

Reviews three sorts of converging evidence regarding dyslexic children's phonological processing difficulties: data from studies of spoken language impairments in dyslexic readers, evidence from the analysis of dyslexic reading and spelling skills, and evidence of phonological deficits that vary in severity and extent across the life-span in…

Reviews all randomized controlled trials of the effectiveness of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) on spelling. Suggests that the teaching of spelling by using computer software may be as effective as conventional teaching of spelling, although the possibility of computer-taught spelling being inferior or superior cannot be…

We measured the increase in reading speed afforded by two currently available systems of coloured overlays: the "Intuitive Overlays," which provide a choice of 30 colours, and the "Eye Level Reading Rulers," which provide a choice of 5. Forty-eight pupils from a local authority primary school who reported experiencing symptoms of visual stress…

Investigates the contributions of visual orthographic (analogy) and phonological processes in mediating nonword reading in children with dyslexia. Finds that children with dyslexia were the least likely to regularize nonword pronunciation and secondly, that all groups displayed an overall preference for words that were phonologically manipulated.…

Examines reading disabilities in fifth grade Japanese children and concludes they are as prevalent in Japan as in many Western countries, are more prevalent in males than females, occur at the same rate in urban and rural children, and are strongly associated with an inferiority of sentence memory and reasoning, but not with word discrimination…

Concludes that poor readers are equally able to generate phonological information from nonwords as their reading age controls, and that there is no evidence to suggest that the poor readers suffer from a phonological dysfunction. (RS)

Analyzes a shift in the view of the reading process and suggests a modified view of the learning-to-read process as a constructive process. (MKM)

Provides a simple outline of theories addressing orthographic analogies in learning to read. Addresses some misunderstandings of the analogy approach. (RS)

Offers evidence for four propositions that demonstrate a strong association between binocular instability and dyslexic reading difficulties. Discusses two propositions designed to prove that it is unstable binocular control that causes reading difficulties, rather than vice versa. (RS)

Explores whether training in mental imagery can improve text comprehension in good and poor nine-year-old comprehenders. Finds that a three-session program of training in imagery benefited the poor, but not the good, comprehenders. Discusses results in relation to possible causes of children's comprehension difficulties. (MG)

Examines sensitivity to the phonological and orthographic composition of multisyllabic words and nonwords amongst a group of English-speaking 11-year-olds. Finds that nonword but not word reading is affected by syllable length, and nonwords are assigned stress patterns which appear to be related to the lexical syllables that were used to construct…

Considers how blind children do not receive exposure to environmental print and do not generally learn to recognize written letters of the alphabet prior to schooling in Braille. Concludes that letter learning is a major contributor to the development of phonological awareness in blind children. Suggests key similarities in the underlying…

Finds that the effectiveness of the "Pause, Prompt, and Praise" procedure varied according to the method of analysis used: subjective interpretation of gain scores indicated that the procedure was the most effective treatment for both tutees and tutors; the ANOVA indicated that the tutoring experience was effective; whereas the more rigorous…

Describes a study in which one of three neutral contexts inhibited word recognition, indicating that interpretation of context effects depends largely on the kind of neutral context employed. (HTH)