A CONNECTIONIST MODELING APPROACH TO WORD RECOGNITION AND DYSLEXIA

Word recognition plays an essential role in learning to read, skilled reading, and dyslexia. The goal of the research I describe is to devel op a theory of word recognition that is realized as a connectionist si mulation model. Experience with a first-generation model suggests that the approach can reveal general principles underlying word recognitio n and its impairments. Although computational modeling introduces new problems of method and interpretation, it contributes in an essential way to understanding reading and other aspects of cognition.