Neurodevelopmental bases of spelling acquisition in children treated for acute lymphoblastic leukaemia

Abstract

Abstract Neurobehavioural substrates of spelling acquisition were investigated by assessing the spelling of school-age children who received C.N.S. treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (A.L.L.). The central question was whether the normal acquisition of spelling skill, specifically phonologic and orthographic strategies, depends on distinct neurobehavioural substrates, each having its own maturational schedule. The relationship between error patterns and treatment age can serve as a means of inferring neuro-behavioural events occurring during specific developmental periods. We compared the spelling errors of a patient group with those of a control group matched for sex and spelling age. Spelling errors from the Wide Range Achievement Test (W.R.A.T.-R.) were classified as phonologically or orthographically accurate. Children in the patient group who were treated at younger ages committed fewer phonologically accurate errors than did those treated when older or controls. The findings are consistent w...