ABSTRACT
Several studies have shown that children with a spelling-only retardation differ from children with a reading-and-spelling retardation in the frequency with which they make these two types of spelling errors. A second constraint on spelling is provided by the grammatical function of a word in a sentence. The spelling-only retardates, on the other hand, appear to be able to utilise sound-to-print conversion rules but do not always select the appropriate spelling for a particular sound. Uta Frith believes that this difficulty in print-to-sound conversion might affect the child's ability to pick up information about spelling. Spelling differs from reading in that letters must be produced one at a time. A spelling cannot be produced by the simultaneous method used in reading. In short, the reading-and-spelling retardates seem to have a general deficit in language abilities which the spelling-only retardates do not have.
