Development of dyslexic subgroups:

There is a consensus that dyslexia is on a continuum with normal reading skill and that dyslexics fall at the low end of the normal range in phonological skills. However, there is still substantial variability in phonological skill among dyslexic children. Recent studies have focused on the high end of the continuum of phonological skills in dyslexics, identifying a “surface” dyslexic, or “delayed” profile in which phonological skills are not out of line with other aspects of word recognition. The present study extended this work to a longitudinal context, and explored differences among subgroups of dyslexics on a battery of component reading skills. Third grade dyslexics (n=72) were classified into two subgroups, phonological dyslexics and delayed dyslexics, based on comparisons to younger normal readers at the same reading level (RL group). The children were tested at two points (in third and fourth grade). The results revealed that the classification of dyslexics produced reliable, stable, and valid groups. About 82 percent of the children remained in the same subgroup category when retested a year later. Phonological dyslexics were lower in phoneme awareness and expressive language. Delayed dyslexics tended to be slower at processing printed letters and words but not at rapid automatic naming of letters, and relied more heavily on phonological recoding in reading for meaning than did phonological dyslexics. A subset of the delayed dyslexics with the traditional “surface dyslexic” pattern (relatively high pseudoword and low exception word reading) was also identified. The surface subgroup resembled the RL group on most measures and was not very stable over one year. The results are discussed in light of current models of dyslexia and recent subgrouping schemes, including the Double-Deficit Hypothesis.     

Models of deafness: cochlear implants in the Australian daily press

This article examined a database of Australian daily newspapers on the terms cochlear implant and deaf children to investigate how journalists and columnists report competing models of deafness: as either "medical" (deafness is a condition to be cured) or "sociocultural" (deafness provides a way of life to be lived). The results from the cochlear implant search favored a medical model, but the results from the deaf children search were more balanced, with a slight preponderance of articles favoring the sociocultural model. A number of representative quotes from articles in each model are provided and discussion entered into as to the possible effects of the articles on public reactions to deafness and especially hearing parental responses to the birth of a deaf child and the life choices that this event presents them.     

Googling "deaf": deafness in the world's English-language press

An internet search tool, Google Alert, was used to survey the global English-language press July-December 2005 for references to deaf people. The survey found that such references focus on people who are deaf rather than the disability itself, thus demonstrating how well deaf people fit into the mainstream. Derogatory terminology such as "deaf and dumb" was rare. However, when used metaphorically, the term deaf usually had negative connotations. Implications for the public view of deaf people are considered in this context.