Imaging brain structure in children: Differentiating language disability and reading disability

Children's approach to print differs. Some plunge in, others read slowly an d without pleasure. After a century of study, we still do not know why thes e differences occur. Is reading disability (RD) a neurological disorder? Ho w do the brains of children with RD differ? How does early linguistic exper ience change the brain? Evidence is presented here showing that consistent threads are beginning to emerge from reading and imaging research that trea ts RD as a heterogeneous condition. When disabled readers with oral languag e deficits are separated from those with no oral language deficits, modern imaging studies reveal differences in brain structures that have implicatio ns for diagnosis and educational practice.