Development of Auditory-Visual Integration and Reading Achievement

Abstract

The interrelationships among auditory-visual integrative competence, IQ, and type of reading task were studied in 350 elementary school age boys from Grades 2 through 6. Visual and auditory discrimination skills, auditory rote memory, and the application of verbal labels to the physical stimuli were examined as possible mediators of the relation of auditory-visual integration to reading. It was found that (a) auditory-visual integrative competence and reading achievement were positively associated at all grade levels; (b) when the effects of IQ were partialled out auditory-visual integration continued to be related to reading skill especially Word Knowledge; and (c) none of the variables postulated as mediators satisfactorily accounted for individual differences in auditory-visual integrative performance. The data are interpreted within a framework which attempts to resolve apparent differences among studies previously reported. Special consideration is given to the differential effects of partialling IQ on the relationship of auditory-visual competence to different aspects of the reading task and to the relative effectiveness of using verbal labels and other strategies for making auditory-visual integrative judgments.