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"Reading disability" is defined as the inability of an individual to acquire skill in reading and spelling that is commensurate with his general level of intelligence. This book is a general summary of specific language difficulties. The references, over 400 in number, range in date from 1885 to 1965.
The problem is extraordinarily complex. Causative and related factors extend well into the fields of neurology, psychology, genetics, environment, and pedagogy. The roots of the disorder do not originate in any dysfunction of the eyes as visual organs, but it is to the ophthalmologists that parents and teachers are likely to turn first when reading disability becomes evident.
The ophthalmologist should have little difficulty in recognizing the disorder. The child—usually a boy—reads at a level below the norm for his age. He confuses small words which resemble each other in configuration (in, on, an, etc) and orients poorly such printed letters