Each chapter represents a personal account of a reading disorder through which details of the features of the disorder, methods used for testing, and theoretical accounts are illustrated. Controversies are explained, theories evaluated and anomalies pointed out. From this emerges a picture of the central properties of each disorder and the contribution of each to our understanding of the reading system as a whole. However, the picture is not complete: loose threads tantalise, some findings are hard to explain, and some newly controversial theories are put forward. The intention is to provide information that will help to equip the reader with the knowledge and expertise necessary to take the study of these reading disorders forward.

One of the key topics for establishing meaningful links between brain sciences and education is the development of reading. How does biology constrain learning to read? How does experience shape the development of reading skills? How does research on biology and behaviour connect to the ways that schools, teachers and parents help children learn to read, particularly in the face of disabilities that interfere with learning? This book addresses these questions and illuminates why reading disorders have been hard to identify, how recent research has established a firm base of knowledge about the cognitive neuroscience of reading problems and the learning tools for overcoming them, and finally, what the future holds for relating mind, brain and education to understanding reading difficulties. Connecting knowledge from neuroscience, genetics, cognitive science, child development, neuropsychology and education, this book will be of interest to both academic researchers and graduate students.

Grounded in cutting-edge research on brain–behavior relationships, this book explores how language and reading disorders develop--and presents exciting new approaches to examining and treating them. Experts from multiple disciplines investigate how children's learning trajectories in spoken and written language are shaped by the dynamic interplay of neurobiological, experiential, and behavioral processes. The volume includes innovative neuroimaging applications and other state-of-the-science techniques that help shed new light on childhood disorders such as dyslexia, language impairment, writing disabilities, and autism. Implications for evidence-based diagnosis, intervention, and instruction are discussed. Illustrations include five color plates.