Repetitions in children's oral reading are typically thought of as disruptive, signalling the kind of careless reading symptomatic of random eye movement or inattention to context. This perspective, however, runs contrary to clinical experiences, which have revealed that many repetitions are deliberate and benefit the reader by serving at least one of three distinct purposes. The first is to aid recognition of difficult words. When word difficulties arise, the reader is likely to "back up" to an earlier portion of the sentence in an attempt to trigger recognition or decoding of an unfamiliar word. The second purpose is to confirm or test the suitability of word choices. Once the reader has deciphered a new word, he or she may repeat the surrounding phrase, including the new word choice, to test its suitability for that particular portion of the context. If the word proves unsuitable, it is likely to be abandoned and additional attempts made. Such repetitions may amplify the readers' confirmation, in which case the reader may simply repeat with new found confidence and eagerness in order to regain control of oral delivery. The third purpose for repetitions is to regain fluency. In the absence of specific word difficulties, readers may back up and reread an entire word group or phrase, adjusting vocal pitch and stress, in an attempt to achieve fluency when the rhythm and intonation of the oral delivery have forced a given word to sound "out of sync" with the natural word group. (HTH)