ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews the literature on speed of processing and dyslexia. It examines two experiments on long-term learning of skill, in which we established that dyslexic children are able to automatise a skill, but their initial performance is impaired, their apparent rate of learning may be reduced and their final 'quality' of performance is impaired. The chapter also reviews the literature on motor skill, and concludes that there is consistent evidence of difficulty, especially for younger children. The Arithmetic, Coding, Information and Digit span (ACID) profile illustrates the interplay between phonological difficulties and reduced speed of processing. Problems in Information may initially be attributed to low vocabulary which in turn derives from phonological problems, subsequently exacerbated by difficulties in picking up information from the written word. In the simple reaction (SRT) task, no other tone was ever presented, but in the selective choice reaction (SCRT) task, there was an equal probability of a high tone being presented.
