Dyslexia Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Dyslexia, including details on learning, reading, education, teaching, treatment.

Evidence of a highly specific relationship between rapid automatic naming of digits and text-reading speed.

Savage R, Frederickson N

Faculty of Education, McGill University, 3700 Mc Tavish, Montreal, Que., Canada H3A 1Y2. robert.savage@mcgill.ca

This paper explores the specificity of the relationship between rapid automatic naming and reading fluency. Reading accuracy, rate, and fluency was measured among a sample of 67 children, the majority of whom were very poor readers. Regression analyses revealed that phonological processing tasks predicted reading accuracy and comprehension whereas rapid digit (but not picture) naming predicted reading accuracy and rate. After further controlling reading accuracy, digit naming was still a significant predictor of reading rate. This suggests that rapid alphanumeric naming is a highly specific predictor of reading rate and that rapid digit naming and phonological processing are distinct contributors to different aspects of reading in poor readers.

Published 22 March 2005 in Brain Lang, 93(2): 152-9.
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