Abstract
Implications of visual coding in specific reading disability. In order to determine the importance of automaticity and efficiency of visual coding processes in reading acquisition, a sample of 40 specific reading disabled children and 40 controls (aged 6 to 9) was selected. The children were tested with an informatized task of visual letter scanning. The task was a compound of the classical Neisser visual search and the Frederiksen anagram identification tasks. The specific reading disabled children were less fast and accurate in the letter scanning task than their controls. The results are discussed in terms of the relevance of automaticity and efficiency of visual coding processes in early reading.
