The effects of rule introduction on the spelling performance of learning disabled children

Spelling difficulty is the characteristic most often used to differentiate learning disabled (LD) children from normal children. According to developmental research, the spelling performance of LD children is fundamentally different from normal children regardless of the stage of spelling development. Learning disabled students have been identified as have two major difficulties. Firstly, they have a problem incorporating new information and secondly, they have difficulty developing and revising the rules of orthography. Most schools in Ontario are using a teaching method bases on a top-down information processing model, however it is argued that LD children cannot learn by this method. An instructional approach based on a bottom-up information processing model may better suit the processing capabilities of LD students.