Token Test - A Screening Tool For Children With Reading Disability

Abstract

Aim: The aim of the study was to compare reading and listening comprehension in typically developing children and children with reading disability using the Token Test. Method: Two groups of children, 48 typically developing children from Grade III and IV (Group I) and 6 children with the diagnosis of ‘learning disability’ (Group II) who manifested disabilities in reading were recruited from two English medium schools. Procedure: Listening comprehension and reading comprehension skills of the participants were assessed using the Token Test (De Renzi & Faglioni, 1978). The participants were tested individually in a quiet room. Results: A marked discrepancy between listening comprehension and reading comprehension was observed between Group I and II with moderate correlation between the two skills for Group I. Conclusion: The Token Test may be adopted as a screening tool to identify children with reading disability. The test differentiated among children with decoding, auditory perceptual and language based comprehension problems. The test may be translated into other languages without cultural constraints.