COGNITIVE-PROCESSES AND IQ IN READING-DISABILITY

Four groups of children were compared with respect to their performanc e on a number of cognitive process measures, selected on the basis of the PASS (Planning, Attention, Simultaneous, and Successive) cognitive processing model. The groups included two groups of children with rea ding disabilities, one of avenge nonverbal IQ and one of above-average nonverbal IQ, who were compared to a chronological age control group and a reading age control group. Results confirmed the hypotheses that (a) the average-IQ children with reading disabilities differed from t heir chronological age controls mainly in the area of successive proce ssing, and (b) the average-IQ children with reading disabilities did n ot differ consistently from their reading age controls on variables th eoretically related to reading disability (successive processing and a ttention). The status of the third hypothesis, (c) that the high-IQ ch ildren with reading disabilities would not differ consistently from th e average-IQ children with reading disabilities on variables theoretic ally related to reading disability (successive processing and attentio n), was less dear. These results point to the critical role of success ive processing in reading achievement and to the need for remediation to address successive processing.