Theoretical Support for and Use of Original Drawings and Associative Cues in Vocabulary Acquisition by Children with Severe Reading Disorders

Abstract

While visual and auditory deficits command our attention, for some children with severe reading disorders the real stumbling block is the elusive association of meaning with the printed word. In an effort to shed some light on the associative aspects of reading, the author explores the idiosyncratic evolutionary development of word measning as theorized by Bruner and Vygotsky and relates to this the oral language deficits manifested by many children with severe reading disorders. A clinically effective method, based on these theories is then presented. Added to Fernald's VAKT, original drawings and sentences, generated from the child, comprise the core of a method that is easy for both teacher and child to learn.

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