A Visually Based Deficit in Specific Reading Disability

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Abstract
A case is made on the basis of theory and empirical evidence for a visual deficit in reading disability which rests on the existence of, and inhibitory interactions between, sustained and transient channels in human vision. One, aspect of this scheme is the mechanism of saccadic suppression provided by, the inhibition which the transient channels exert on sustained channels during sequential scanning of a visual scene, as, for example, in reading. Saccadic suppression is important for the efficient pick-up of pattern information from one fixation to the next and for maintaining position constancy and visual stability. Empirical evidence pointing to a deficit in the transient channels of a majority of reading disabled children suggests that such children would have 1 a weaker than normal saccadic suppression. This may be the basis for not only a visual deficit in reading but also the attendant problems with motion smear, and spatial instabilities also reported by many reading disabled children. Further possibilities for expressions of the transient channel deficit in reading disabled children are discussed.