Spelling performance was compared for 50 children who had hemiplegia sustained either prenatally (N=32) or postnatally (N=18) and for four children with hemispherectomies. The group study of subjects with hemiplegia divided the children into four groups based on hemispheric side and age at injury. This approach sought to investigate quantitative differences between groups and normal controls. Another approach examined the existence of qualitative differences between subjects who had undergone hemispherectomies during various stages of childhood. Results indicated that postnatally acquired left hemisphere lesions led to significant deficits in spelling ability. The nature and extent of this deficit was demonstrated by comparing spelling performance of early and late left hemispherectomy cases with equivalent right-sided cases. The magnitude of the impairment was much more pronounced the later in life the left hemisphere injury was sustained. (Author/CL)