Perceptual asymmetries of learning disabled children

Perceptual and manual asymmetry performance was investigated in 52 males ranging in age from 8 to 15 years. Groups of 26 learning disabled and 26 nondisabled children participated in dichotic listening, handedness, and visual half-field tasks. Both groups demonstrated the 'typical' (right-side) asymmetries on each task, and there was a significant group difference for handedness, but not for visual or auditory tasks. Overall, one could not conclude that deviant lateralization patterns, as assessed by these measures, characterize the learning disabled. Furthermore, these measures of asymmetry did not significantly intercorrelate, perhaps indicating that the tasks require different cerebral demands and do not reflect a unitary construct of lateral dominance for language.