Letter by Letter: A Resource File and a Case Discussion (1998). By Sue Lakin, 56 Park Road, Chilwell, Nottingham, United Kingdom NG9 4DD. Reviewed by Tamy Kulkarni, Carbondale, IL.

This resource binder contains a case discussion of a client who was treated by the author for an acquired reading disorder (i.e., letter-by-letter [LBL] dyslexia). Also included are assessment activities, treatment advice for the patient (general and specific), and treatment materials for working with clients exhibiting LBL dyslexia.

The assessment and treatment materials are designed to be used with clients who have LBL dyslexia associated with an acquired reading disorder. From review of the case discussion and the section on principles underlying treatment by the author, it is clear that these materials are not intended to be used with clients with developmental dyslexia as seen in some children. Also, from my review of the materials, I recommend that the assessment activities be used as a supplement to standardized testing. Moreover, I recommend that the treatment worksheets may be useful as one of the components in a structured reading program. The author recommends her own reading program that she has developed. She “plugs” her own reading program extensively as a resource to be used along with the LBL resource file (see p. 313 in the binder). However, there are commercially available programs for adults with aphasia and associated reading impairment that could be adapted for use with such clients. A speech-language pathologist also could use a newspaper, a magazine of interest to the client, directories, maps, and other functional materials as the author suggests.

There are several nice features of this resource. Although the binder is quite large and bulky, the pages or worksheets can be easily removed for photocopying. In addition, in the preface, the author gives permission to photocopy the worksheets in Section 4 as well as the test and recording sheets in Section 2 (see preface for complete details on photocopying contents of this resource). The instructions for administering the assessment activities and use of the treatment materials are straightforward and appear easy to use with clients. The author provides suggestions on multiple ways that specific worksheets can be used by the clinician. The assessment activities provide a means of probing LBL patients reading problems.

However these assessment activities are not standardized, are informal, and are not intended to provide in-depth assessment of a client exhibiting reading problems associated with acquired reading disorder (the author does outline the aforementioned limitations at the beginning of Section 2 on assessment activities). In addition, these assessment activities do not assess functional aspects of reading as the author readily admits. Therefore, as I recommended earlier in this article, these assessment activities could be used as a supplement to standardized testing.

The advantages of using these assessment activities are that they are easy to use and do not require extensive materials or equipment. The activities do not require a lot time to administer, and conducting these assessment activities allows the clinician to obtain a “global picture” of the client’s present reading problems. According to the author, the assessments contained in the resource are not found in existing standardized assessment batteries. However, it appears to me that some of the assessment activities in the resource are similar to some of the assessments contained in other commercially available reading batteries for individuals with aphasia (e.g., some of the assessment activities on visual attention/scanning). Also, I think it may have been helpful if the author would have explained the term “high imageability” and how it affects reading performance in clients with LBL dyslexia or why imageability may be an important consideration in planning or implementing an effective treatment program.

This resource binder provides easy-to-use assessment activities that can be used to supplement standardized testing. The treatment materials are also easy to use and do not require extensive materials and equipment. However due to the functional limitations of the worksheets, I would advise that the worksheets be used in treatment as one of the components of a comprehensive reading program for individuals with LBL dyslexia. The author does advise the reader to use her worksheets and treatment activities along with her reading program that she has developed and written. A clinician may want to explore the use of other commercially available reading programs, such as those used with aphasic clients with visual perceptual and reading problems, and adapt them for a client’s use in treatment along with the use of functional reading materials such as newspapers, maps, schedules, calendars, and magazines of interest to the client.