This speech by a researcher into the genetic bases of dyslexia, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and their etiological overlap, first honors four pioneers in the field (Samuel Orton, Bertil Hallgren, Isabelle Liberman, and Norman Geschwind); then updates knowledge about the genetics of dyslexia and comorbidity with ADHD and certain…

Originally given as a speech, this paper describes the double-deficit hypothesis of reading disabilities, which proposes that developmental dyslexia is due to deficits in the phonological system and in processes underlying naming speed. The paper also reports on an innovative reading fluency intervention program based on the double-deficit…

This article is based on a lecture presented at the 48th Annual Conference of the International Dyslexia Association. It provides a selective biography of Samuel T. Orton, discusses his educational ideas and how they came to be, and considers how current educational research validates much of Orton's early thinking. (Author/CR)

The editor of The Orton Society examines issues relevant to the neurological characteristics and treatment of dyslexics in the context of the heritage of S. Orton and the four principles of the Orton Society: (1) Differences are personal. (2) Diagnosis is clinical. (3) Treatment is educational. (4) Understanding is scientific. (DB)

In response to M. Rawson's paper, the author uses an analogy with coronary artery disease to show that current brain research is not entirely at odds with the position that dyslexia may be a developmental variation, rather than a defect. (Author/DB)

The multiple intelligence theory is based on cultural contexts, biological analysis, developmental theories, and a vertical theory of faculties. Seven intelligences are identified: linguistic, logical mathematical, musical, spatial, bodily kinesthetic, interpersonal, and intrapersonal. The theory's educational implications are described,…

This paper examines the influence of Norman Geschwind's model of connectionism, in which complex functions are built up by connecting primary areas in the brain, and notes his studies of the effects of disconnection on dyslexic individuals. Connectionist-based behavioral studies are reviewed, focusing on intracortical association connections and…

Theoretical constructs related to interpersonal and intrapersonal problem solving strategies in children with dyslexia are reviewed. H. Myklebust's hierarchies of language and experience are analyzed to demonstrate the importance of studying both the child and the teacher during the instructional process. (CL)

Although low reading first graders participating in a sentence approach significantly outperformed control Ss on three measures of reading status after year one, no significant differences were shown in the second year for a second group of experimental Ss. Subgroup comparisons, however, supported the effectiveness of the sentence approach. (CL)

The author discusses the difficulty of noncontent words for children with poor reading skills and advocates a sentence-based program of instruction which has been successfully used to teach noncontent words to learning/language disabled children from 6 to 12 years old. (CL)

Results showed that students in grades two and four could be differentiated on the basis of simultaneous-successive factor scores and that the differentiation into high-high and low-low cognitive processing subgroups also differentiated Ss in their phonological awareness, disambiguation of ambiguities, appreciation of incongruities and riddles,…

Results showed that the 22 reading impaired seven- to nine-year-olds, none of whom had oral language deficits, showed no significant differences on most perceptual/motor tasks tested, suggesting that previous evidence indicating poor temporal integration in reading impaired children was due to inclusion of children with oral language deficits. (CL)

Research is reviewed concerning the current state of knowledge about normal hemispheric specialization; distinctions among such terms as dominance, laterality, and lateralization; and models of abnormal cerebral organization in dyslexic children. The question of dyslexic subtypes is undertaken along such dimensions as handedness, eyedness, and…

The author cites issues involved in defining learning disabilities and suggests that it is a subcategory of underachievement. He summarizes his ongoing attempt to identify underachievers in kindergarten through a regression-referenced approach. (CL)

The author describes an evaluation of persons with suspected learning disabilities. Two types of tests are considered (mental maturity and basic language skills) and examples of each are given. Sample profiles exhibiting irregular development of aptitudes are provided and observations from informal as well as formal assessment are suggested. (CL)