The relation between reading ability and perceptual and phonological processing in clumsy children

Abstract

Much research has shown that clumsy children have marked impairments in the perception of visual-spatial information. This perceptual deficit has been implicated as causally related to difficulties many show when learning to read and spell. However, current research in reading disability suggests that poor reading achievement is related to difficulties with phonological processes, and in particular phoneme awareness, not to visual perceptual deficits. The current study aimed to explore the relation between reading achievement and the visual-perceptual, phonological and general cognitive ability of 28, 7 to 10 year old clumsy children referred to a Child and Adolescent Centre for Children with Disabilities. The children were administered a battery of tests measuring motor co-ordination, intelligence, visual discrimination, visual-motor integration, phoneme awareness, reading and spelling. Results showed that one measure of phoneme awareness was the variable that most strongly related to reading and spelling performance, and that visual-discrimination showed no relation with reading ability, although it was related to spelling performance and degree of clumsiness. These results suggest that clumsy children who have difficulty with the acquisition of literacy skills may suffer from both visual perceptual problems and phonological processing deficits, but these problems are differentially related to skill in reading. Theoretical and treatment implications are discussed.