Role of strategy in reading by mentally retarded persons.

Mentally retarded individuals who could read were tested on their ability to pronounce words and produce meaningful associates. Analyses of their responses indicated an overuse of a strategy of memorizing works as a way to recognize words in print and an inability to consider work meanings in terms of abstract referents. A comparison of these results with responses given by nonretarded children suggests that retarded persons use cognitive strategies that lead to inefficient reading and even interfere with the development of effective reading skills.