Contributions of Neuropsychology to Our Understanding of Developmental Reading Problems

Abstract

This article examines how neuropsychological research has increased our understanding of the reading process and reading disabilities in children. Evidence of brain-behavior relations from studies of surface and deep dyslexia are reviewed within the context of the dual route and interactive activation models of reading development. Issues of hemispheric dominance and neurobiological models specific to reading disabilities also are discussed. Perspectives on subtypes of reading disabilities based on neuropsychological evidence are presented with implications that the variation in impaired processes in reading disabilities can be best understood when the brain-behavior relations involved in reading are conceptualized as a widespread functional system. Finally, implications for differential diagnosis and intervention based on a neuropsychological approach to reading disabilities are discussed.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Cynthia A. Riccio

Cynthia A. Riccio, PhD received her doctorate from the University of Georgia in 1993. She is currently Assistant Professor in the Educational and School Psychology Program at the University of Alabama. Her research interests include the relationship of communication and language problems to learning disabilities and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.

George W. Hynd

George W. Hynd, EdD is Director of the School of Professional Studies and a Research Professor in the School Psychology Program at the University of Georgia. He is also the Director of the Center for Clinical and Developmental Neuropsychology at the University of Georgia. Dr. Hynd's research interests as evidenced by NIH-funded research include neurological bases and neuropsychological perspectives on reading disorders (dyslexia) and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.