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The relationship between phonological abilities and reading progress in blind children was investigated in two interdependent studies. The first examined the performance of a sample of 22 Braille readers aged 7:10-12:1 years. The second compared the phonological skills of two 'matched' Braille readers, one a struggling learner and the other making good progress. An adapted form of the Phonological Assessment Battery was used in the research. Results for the first study showed that, while reading scores on a standardized test were lower than for sighted children, the scores achieved by this sample for each test of phonological awareness/memory were higher than those expected from the norms of the sighted standardization sample.Results of the second study demonstrated marked differences between the two learners, not only in their phonological skills but also in their approaches to learning. The role that phonological competencies play in Braille learning is discussed in relation to the complexity of the symbol system and the tactile processing involved. The results have implications for the identification of phonological dyslexia in Braille readers and for the teaching of Braille.

To investigate whether global or local visual information is processed first, several researchers have used a large letter (global information) made up of smaller letters Oocal information) and measured speed of response and interference effects between global and local components. Kinchla and Wolfe (1979) argued that processing was neither invariably top-down (global-to-locaD nor bottom-up Oocal-to-globaD. Instead, they argued that the fastest identification of letter shapes is given at an optimal visual angle of about 2 0 and proposed a middle-out processing model wherein elements of optimal size are processed first. In the present study, three-level figures were used in a direct test of that hypothesis, with subjects monitoring all three levels to detect target letters occurring at any level. The results are not compatible with any of the three orders of processing that have been proposed, and an interpretation in terms ofthe discriminability of the information available at each level is advocated. It is concluded that the two-level paradigm with letters is inadequate for investigations of the order of processing.Three possibilities for the order of visual processing were outlined by Kinchla and Wolfe (1979). In "bottomup" processing, local parts are registered first and are then combined to form global images. In "top-down" processing, recognition of a unitary, global whole is followed by that of progressively lower and more local levels of form. In "middle-out" processing, an intermediate level of form is recognized first, followed by higher and lower levels.One way to investigate the order in which visual information is processed is to use a large letter (global information) made up of smaller letters (local information). Navon (1977) claimed an "invariable global precedence" based on faster response times to the global letters and asymmetrical interference between global and local components. However, subsequent studies demonstrated that local precedence can also occur. Kinchla and Wolfe (1979) found that the "local" letters of two-level letter patterns were detected faster than the global ones when the global shape exceeded about 7 0 in height, with the opposite order when they were smaller. Rather than any invariable "topdown" (global-to-local) or "bottom-up" (local-to-global) order, they hypothesized an optimal angle of about 2 0 for the fastest identification of letter shapes and proposed "middle-out" processing, in which elements of optimum size are processed first, followed by those that are larger or smaller. 255In the present experiment, we used a three-level configuration in which letters were made up of smaller letters which in turn were made up of yet smaller letters. The subjects had to monitor all three levels for the occurrence of one of two target letters. The use of threelevel stimuli allows the direct testing of the Kinchla and Wolfe (1979) "middle-out" hypothesis. If the intermediate size of letter subtends an angle of about 2 0 , response times to this level should be fastest. METHOD App...

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