VERBAL INTELLIGENCE - A KEY TO BASIC SKILLS

Intra-individual variability of cognitive measures, such as verbal and spatial ability tests, has frequently been reported to typify learnin g disabled children. To test the generality a such findings, longitudi nal data from a large representative and non-clinical sample of Swedis h children (n = 812) were analysed. At age 10, the children were teste d with a Swedish intelligence scale. At age 13, basic academic skills were measured by standardised achievement tests. Typical cognitive pro file types, based on the verbal and spatial intelligence subtests, wer e identified through cluster analyses (CLUSTAN) of the girl and boy sa mples separately. The satisfactory solution arrived at was a five-clus ter representation for the girls (n = 497) and an eight-cluster repres entation for de boys (n = 497). For both sexes, verbally as well as sp atially oriented profiles emerged. However, the verbal orientation was more pronounced for girls, whereas the boys displayed greater variabi lity and stronger spatial orientation. General intelligence at age 10 was a strong predictor for basic skills at age 13 (r > 0.70). Verbally strong children tended to achieve better than predicted by their over all level of intelligence, whereas spatially oriented children showed a less favourable development in basic academic skills. The results ar e discussed in relation to neuropsychologically-based models of readin g disability and theories of language and development.