ABSTRACT
Larry, age 8, received a score of 78 on an IQ test. He was placed in a class for mentally retarded children. He remained in classes for the mentally retarded until age 14. Today, at age 34 he is enrolled in a graduate program in a major Canadian university after completing a BA in psychology with an A average. Larry had great difficulty learning to read, spell, write, and do arithmetic calculations. When tested at age 34 his IQ score was in the high average range; however, he still had significant problems with reading and spelling. His score on the reading (word recognition) subtest on the Wide Range Achievement Test (WRAT) was at the 18th percentile and his score on the spelling subtest of the WRAT was at the 4th percentile. His score on the Woodcock Word Attack subtest, a measure of phonic skills, was at the 6th percentile. He had difficulties on short-term memory tasks and had occasional difficulty with verb tenses and word finding in spontaneous speech. He had good general knowledge and vocabulary and an average score on a reading comprehension test. Larry at age 34 displays a profile of a reading disabled individual; yet at age 8 he was called mentally retarded.
