Auditory and Visual Perceptual Skills Related to the Reading Performance of Disadvantaged Boys

To determine the nature and magnitude of the relationships between selected auditory and visual perceptual abilities and reading performance of 105 disadvantaged boys analyses assessed (a) the magnitude of the relationships, (b) the extent to which the relationships were linear, and (c) the extent to which the correlations were independent of verbal intelligence. Relationships between perceptual skills and reading performance were low to moderate in magnitude and did not depart significantly from linearity. The correlations between the two attributes decreased substantially when the influence of verbal intelligence was held constant. It was concluded that auditory and visual perceptual skills appear more related to the acquisition of early reading skills than to their subsequent elaboration.