PROCESSING OF TACTILE STIMULI AND IMPLICATIONS FOR THE READING-DISABLED

A finger localization task was used to investigate interhemispheric tr ansfer of tactile information and the processing of sequential tactile information in 7- and 9-year-old ''average'' readers and 9-year-old r eading disabled boys. The performance of the reading disabled group on interhemispheric transfer and sequential processing was comparable to or worse than the 7-year-old average readers. Significant correlation s linked the reading disabled boys' performance on the finger localisa tion task with their reading skills, performance on perceptual/motor t asks and knowledge of order in the time domain. The results are interp reted in terms of delayed myelination of interhemispheric and intrahem ispheric pathways in the reading disabled.