Cognitive,social, and other correlates of specific reading retardation

Children with specific reading retardation were matched with controls on the basis of age, sex, intelligence, and (less successfully) parental education. All subjects were tested on a variety of automated performance tests including the Matching Familiar Figures (MFF) Task, Auditory-Visual Integration, Short-Term Memory, the Continuous Performance Task (CPT), and Motor Performance. All children were assessed socially using the Conners Teacher Questionnaire, and reading-retarded children were rated on the Behavior Problem Checklist. Finally, all children were screened with the Finger Twitch Test and were assessed for left-right awareness. Statistical analysis suggested that the following performance tests discriminated between the groups in this respective order of importance: MFF (Accuracy), Auditory-Visual Integration, and the CPT. The Short-Term Memory Task, MFF Decision Time, and Motor Performance did not distinguish between the groups. Multiple regression equations suggested that scores on the performance tests could account for about 40% of the variance in reading attainment. Several factors from the rating scales (notably those pertaining to attention and anxiety) and left-right awareness also discriminated between the groups.This study was supported by a grant from the Medical Research Council of New Zealand to Prof. J. S. Werry (Grant MRC 151). The author would especially like to thank John Werry, M. D., Malcolm Gill, Ph.D., and the staffs of the official Remedial Reading Clinics and Psychological Services as well as those of Epsom Normal, Mount Eden Normal, Newmarket, and Parnell primary schools for the willing support they all rendered this project.