A Developmental Model of Dyslexia: Can the Construct be Saved?

✍ Scribed by William E. Tunmer; James W. Chapman

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1996
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 792 KB
• Volume: 2
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 1076-9242
• DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1099-0909(199611)2:3<179::aid-dys65>3.0.co;2-v

✦ Synopsis

In this article we suggest that poor initial phonological skills lead to the adoption of suboptimal reading strategies by dyslexic children, and these strategies lead, by a process of reciprocal causation, to qualitative differences in reading performance (and concomitant limitations in working memory). There are two distinct possible causes for the initial phonological weakness from which these difficulties arise: either a genetically linked weakness in the phonological processing module of the left dominant cerebral hemisphere or a deficit or delay in the development of control processing ability. We consider that a more inclusive definition of dyslexia which admits either cause would resolve the theoretical difficulties relating to the achievement/aptitude discrepancy. Furthermore, by focusing attention on the causes and consequences of individual responses to formal reading instruction, this approach has significant implications for the remediation of dyslexia.