Cognitive Strategies of Children with Reading Disability and Normal Readers in Visual Sequential Memory

Abstract

Primary school boys with reading disability were divided into two groups (dysphonetics and dyseidetics) on the basis of learning style defined by an analysis of spelling errors. Dysphonetics and dyseidetics clearly differed in their cognitive strategies in visual sequential memory tasks, yet were able to remember items presented sequentially provided that the nature of the stimulus was congruent with learning style. In memory for order tasks incorporating both spatial and serial formats, dysphonetics chose spatial order in preference to serial order whereas preferences of dyseidetics were in the opposite direction. When they were required to recognise both spatial order and serial order, dysphonetics made more correct spatial order responses than dyseidetics. The converse was the case for correct serial order responses. As a composite group, children with reading disability were shown to be no less competent in these tasks than normal readers who also revealed strong strategy preferences and little flexibility in switching strategies.

Mental Rotation of Letters and Shapes in Developmental Dyslexia

“…There may be a number of causes for the failure in optimally coordinating the subfunctions involved in reading. Some authors argue that there are subgroups of dyslexics (Bayliss and Livesey 1985;Boder 1973;Lachmann 2002;E Miles 1995;Milne et al 2003) that can in fact be characterised by different underlying deficits in different subgroups of dyslexics (Becker et al 2005;. In this respect, it is important to emphasise that the deficit found in this study should not be interpreted as attributing dyslexia to a single cause.…”

Different letter-processing strategies in diagnostic subgroups of developmental dyslexia

“…This descriptive definition fails to consider that there may be important subtypes with distinct cognitive impairments (see, e.g., Heim et al, 2008). Diagnostic tests reveal subgroups with characteristic reading and writing failures (Au & Lovegrove, 2007;Baylis & Livesey, 1985;Boder, 1970Boder, , 1973Facoetti et al, 2006;Flynn & Deering, 1989;McPherson & Ackerman, 1999;Milne, Nicholson, Figure 1. Letters and nonletter shapes in congruent and incongruent surroundings.…”

Diagnostic subgroups of developmental dyslexia have different deficits in neural processing of tones and phonemes

“…Dyslexics show different patterns of reading and writing failure (Bayliss and Livesey, 1985;Boder, 1973;Milne et al, 2003). Most common is the distinction between three subgroups; one failing in reading tasks requiring more analytic skills as, in its extreme form, is required in non-word reading; another group without such but failing in more holistic procedures assumed to be primarily applied in reading frequently used words; and finally a group that shows both patterns of problems.…”