Relation between naming and literacy in children with word-finding difficulties

Difficulties with picture naming tasks are associated with literacy problems. When given naming tasks, children with dyslexia are slower to produce words and have a higher proportion of errors (M. Wolf & P. G. Bowers, 1999). However, little is known about the relation between literacy and naming in other populations. This study investigated this relation in 20 children (age 6 years 6 months to 7 years 11 months) with word-finding difficulties. The children in the sample performed very poorly on assessments of naming, but unlike children with dyslexia, they were found to have decoding and spelling abilities within the normal range. In addition, their abilities on phonological awareness tasks were at a similar level to their decoding abilities. In contrast, their performance on reading comprehension and language comprehension measures was significantly worse than their performance on decoding, spelling, and rhyme awareness measures.