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Abstract
This paper reviews and evaluates the evidence for the existence of distinct varieties
of developmental dyslexia, analogous to those found in the acquired dyslexic population.
Models of the normal adult reading process and of the development of reading in children
are used to provide a framework for considering the issues. Data from a large-sample
study of the reading patterns of developmental dyslexics are then reported. The lexical
and sublexical reading skills of 56 developmental dyslexics were assessed through
close comparison with the skills of 56 normally developing readers. The results indicate
that there are at least two varieties of developmental dyslexia, the first of which
is characterised by a specific difficulty using the lexical procedure, and the second
by a difficulty using the sublexical procedure. These subtypes are apparently not
rare, but are relatively prevalent in the developmental dyslexic population. The results
of a second experiment, which suggest that neither of these reading patterns can be
accounted for in terms of a general language disorder, are then reported.