ABSTRACT
Slower learners were late to begin, and had their own individual difficulties; but three shared the handicap of receiving virtually no support at home for learning to read, though this came about for different reasons. The handicap of defective vision became very evident in the tasks used to explore Matt's knowledge of spelling pattern in English and the way it related to his reading, but at first he carried out tasks in much the same way as the other late beginners. Early in her first year Sara spoke of reading as people looking at books quietly, by themselves. Compared with the children who began to learn to read during their first year at school, all five late beginners were unable to draw on much support at home, though for various reasons. Both Matt and Michael were hampered by problems with vision, but this was not the only cause of difficulty.
