Carl Spring

Naming speed and serial recall in poor and adequate readers

Abstract Digit-naming speed was significantly correlated with serial memory capacity when the memory test was given under nonrhyming conditions, but not when it was given under rhyming conditions which are presumed to cancel the effectiveness of phonetic coding. In addition, the digit-naming test accounted for all of the power of the nonrhyming memory test to discriminate between reading-disability and normal children. Based on these results, it was hypothesized that digit-naming speed is a measure of the ability to engage in high-speed phonetic coding, that this ability is impaired in poor readers, and that this impairment affects short-term memory span. Possible explanations of the relevance of phonetic coding speed to reading ability and to short-term serial memory are discussed.

Validity and Norms of a Hyperactivity Rating Scale

Teachers rated 1337 school children to determine norms for a hyperactivity rating scale; teacher ratings of 45 hyperactive children, referred by physicians, were also obtained. Although hyperative and norm means were clearly separated, a nontrivial portion of hyperactive children had teacher ratings within the normal range. Norm data were factor-analyzed, and a hyperactivity factor was identified. Behaviors with the highest loadings on the hyperactivity factor yielded the largest differences between hyperactive and norm groups. Within the norm group, black children had the highest hyperactive ratings and oriental children had the lowest. Hyperactivity ratings were slightly higher for boys than for girls.

Comprehension and study strategies reported by university freshmen who are good and poor readers

Self-report ratings of the use of fifteen text-learning strategies were obtained from college freshmen who are good and poor readers. The data were factor analyzed, and factor scores of the two groups were compared. A factor which had heavy loadings from certain comprehension strategies was a powerful discriminator. Other factors which had heavy loadings from study strategies, however, failed to discriminate the good readers from the poor readers. The results suggest that poor readers in the present study may rely heavily on study strategies without first having completely understood the text materials to be studied. Based on this difference between the strategy profiles of good and poor readers, it is suggested that an emphasis in remedial reading instruction on study strategies may not apply the correction where it is most needed. Instead, an emphasis on certain comprehension strategies which have in common an active search for meaning-enhancing relationships, and which clearly discriminated the good from the poor readers, is recommended.

EFFECT ON READING COMPREHENSION OF TRAINING TO AUTOMATICITY IN WORD-READING

Automaticity training, aimed at decreasing latencies to read a specific set of words, was given to an experimental group of third-graders. A control group of third-graders was not given this training. Following training, the cloze method was used to test the reading comprehension of texts composed from the training words. No evidence was found to support the hypothesized positive transfer of automaticity training to reading comprehension. Possible interpretations of this result are discussed.

Food Additives and Hyperkinesia A Critical Evaluation of the Evidence

This article evaluates evidence relevant to Feingolds hypothesis that synthetic food colors and flavors cause hyperactivity. Feingolds opinion that a recent “epidemic” of hyperkinesis is due to an increase in the use of synthetic colors and flavors is examined. The authors conclude that there are no reliable data to support the belief that there has been an epidemic of hyperkinesis. Results from clinical tests and uncontrolled studies of an elimination diet are reviewed, and the contaminating effect of placebo responses is discussed. Finally, results from two recent controlled studies of the diet are examined. The authors agree with the investigators that these controlled studies show equivocal results which should be interpreted with caution. A moratorium on further public advocacy is recommended until the efficacy of the diet for a defined population is firmly established by controlled research.This article evaluates evidence relevant to Feingolds hypothesis that synthetic food colors and flavors cause hyperactivity. Feingolds opinion that a recent “epidemic” of hyperkinesis is due to an increase in the use of synthetic colors and flavors is examined. The authors conclude that there are no reliable data to support the belief that there has been an epidemic of hyperkinesis. Results from clinical tests and uncontrolled studies of an elimination diet are reviewed, and the contaminating effect of placebo responses is discussed. Finally, results from two recent controlled studies of the diet are examined. The authors agree with the investigators that these controlled studies show equivocal results which should be interpreted with caution. A moratorium on further public advocacy is recommended until the efficacy of the diet for a defined population is firmly established by controlled research.

Perceptual Span of Poor Readersa

A model is described attributing narrow perceptual spans of poor readers to abnormally slow phonological coding speed. In a test of the model with elementary-age school boys, (1) poor readers were slower than average readers on a digit naming task; (2) perceptual span for random digits was impaired for poor readers; (3) a linear relation was found between perceptual span and naming speed; and (4) within the limits of reliability, perceptual span and naming speed accounted for the same portion of reading ability variance. Discrepant results are also presented, and possible modifications of the model are discussed.

Reaction Time and Effect of Ritalin on Children with Learning Problems

In Exp. I, 22 poor readers and 22 normal readers of elementary-school age were matched on age, IQ, and sex and tested with a visual reaction-time task requiring same-different judgments. On initial trials poor readers were slower than normal readers. In addition, the performance of poor readers deteriorated faster than that of normal readers as testing progressed. In Exp. II, 20 hyperactive boys taking methylphenidate medication, 19 hyperactive boys whose medication was temporarily discontinued, and 19 normal boys were tested. Reaction time on early trials was not significantly different for boys in the on-medication and off-medication groups; however, both hyperactive groups were slower than the normal group. As testing progressed, reaction times of normal boys and boys taking medication remained fairly stable, while the performance of hyperactive boys not taking medication declined. The significance of these results to reading and spelling is discussed.

The digit naming speed test: Its power and incremental validity in identifying children with specific reading disabilities

This paper presents two studies, both of which address the question of whether a test that measures the automaticity with which digits can be named could be useful as part of a diagnostic battery to assess reading disabilities. In the first study, the Digit Naming Speed Test significantly differentiated elementary-school boys who were disabled readers from age-matched boys reading at appropriate grade levels, correctly classifying 83.3% of the children. In the second study, the Digit Naming Speed Test accounted for a significant portion of the word recognition variance of nondisabled readers over and above that portion accounted for by general intelligence as measured by the WISC-R. Taken together, these studies indicate that the Digit Naming Speed Test has the potential to contribute significantly to the diagnostic process.

Effects of Imipramine and Methylphenidate on Perceptual-Motor Performance of Hyperactive Children

Perceptual-motor effects of imipramine and methylphenidate were evaluated in a double-blind study of 47 hyperactive children. No effects were found for imipramine, although methylphenidate improved performance on several tests. Improvement due to methylphenidate was not related to baseline scores. A discriminant function was computed to compare baseline perceptual-motor scores of the hyperactive and 41 normal children. Only half of the hyperactive children were clearly discriminated from normal children by the discriminant function. The digit-span test, which was not sensitive to methylphenidate, effectively discriminated hyperactive from normal children.

Case Studies of Effects of Artificial Food Colors On Hyperactivity

The double-blind, double-crossover study tested Feingolds hypothesis that synthetic food colors cause hyperactivity in some children. Each of 6 hyperactive boys constituted a single-subject experiment. All subjects were on the Feingold diet eliminating artificial colors and flavors. All mothers claimed the diet had been effective. Subjects were challenged twice, for 3-day periods, with synthetic colors introduced in cookies eaten on challenge days. Identically appearing and tasting cookies containing no synthetics were eaten on control days. Data analyses suggested that 1 of the 6 subjects responded with hyperactive behavior to the challenge cookies. This result, however, was not duplicated in a replication study. Results from other diet challenges were reviewed. The authors conclude that evidence for Feingolds hypothesis is weak.