ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an introduction to the cognitive skills that we require children to develop. Children at the beginning of learning to read clearly do not have a large store of over-learned words where they can link written symbol, auditory symbol and referent instantaneously. Normally, children begin to learn to read having already learned to use spoken language. Corroborative evidence on the roles of different ways of reading comes from studies of 'dyslexic' readers. These are people who have problems learning to read that cannot be accounted for by general intellectual impairment, specific sensory impairments, lack of education, or emotional or motivational problems. Their reading attainment is much lower than would be expected from their age and IQ. As our knowledge of brain development would lead us to expect, genetic influences combine with environmental ones in complex ways in the development of reading skills and reading problems.
