An inability to process phonics accurately can be attributed to weakness in phonological awareness and or phonological memory. An excellent tool for assessing weakness in this area is the Comprehensive Test of Phonological Processing (CTOPP). This test can pinpoint the specific causes of any weakness present. Deficits may include the ability to put sounds together to form words or, break words apart into their individual sounds or, weakness in the access to the phonological structure of oral language. A deficit in any of these area could be a critical aspect of Dyslexia. Further, any weakness in the ability to store auditory phonological information in memory for a short period of time can affect the ability to decode unknown, multi- syllable words.

Please "Scope & Sequence" for additional information on how the MD4 Reading program addresses weakness in phonological awareness and  memory.

Following is a partial list of the prerequisite reading skills that Area 4 of the MD4 Reading program trains. Please note that some skills are trained in more than one area and that the degree or amount training of a skill can vary between areas.