Sensory Integration Skills as Predictors of Reading Acquisition

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This research investigated the relative importance of auditory and visual intra-sensory, as compared with audiovisual cross-sensory integration skills for reading acquisition in first grade boys. Stimuli for the sensory integration tasks were presented both sequentially and simultaneously so that the effect of timing of presentation upon difficulty level of the tasks could also be studied. Stepwise multiple regression analyses showed that for each of the five reading subscores and for the Total score an audiovisual cross-sensory task emerged as the best single predictor. For two key reading measures (Word Attack subtest and Total Reading Score) cross-sensory integration scores were significantly better simple predictors than intra-sensory integration scores. Both cross-sensory and intra-sensory integration skills were significantly correlated with other reading scores. Simultaneously and sequentially presented tasks did not differ significantly in their degree of correlation with reading measures; however, subjects' scores on the simultaneously presented tasks were significantly higher than on sequentially presented tasks for both intra- and cross-sensory modalities.