The influence of vocabulary age and spatial dimension on rapid picture naming in children with reading disorders.

The present study measured naming reaction times of normal and reading disordered (RD) children to a series of centrally presented picture stimuli of varying vocabulary age and spatial dimension. Results of the ANOVA on reaction times indicated significant interactions of Group x Dimension and Group x Vocabulary. Post hoc tests on the former interaction suggested that the feature of dimension differentially affected naming reaction times for the two groups. The control group produced faster naming reaction times to the three-dimensional pictures, while the reading disordered group was faster in naming two-dimensional stimuli. In the later interaction, the normal readers produced faster reaction times to the lower-level vocabulary. Although the same pattern of response was obtained for the reading disordered children, they were found to evidence a generalized slowing in their responses with a greater temporal difference occurring between the two levels of vocabulary. These findings suggest that children with reading disorders exhibit deficits in rapid lexical access of later acquired and more complex vocabulary.(1). As a result of this activity, the participant will be able to identify critical stimulus features of pictorial stimuli that effect rapid retrieval abilities. (2). As a result of this activity, the participant will be able to explain the individual subsystems and interactions of processes (Cascade Model) that characterize picture naming. (3). As a result of this activity, the participant will be able to differentiate between patterns of lexical access as a function of critical stimulus features, for children with reading disorders and normal reading abilities.