In developmental psychology, the primary area of difficulty for students who fall behind in their reading development is:

• A. Gross motor skills
• B. Visual-motor coordination
• C. Phonological processing
• D. Mathematical reasoning

Answer: (C)

Verified step by step guidance

1. Step 1: Understand the key terms in the question. 'Reading development' refers to the process by which children learn to read, which involves recognizing words, understanding sounds, and comprehending text.
2. Step 2: Identify the options given and their relevance to reading development: Gross motor skills involve large muscle movements, Visual-motor coordination involves coordinating vision and hand movements, Phonological processing involves recognizing and manipulating sounds in language, and Mathematical reasoning involves understanding numbers and math concepts.
3. Step 3: Recognize that reading development primarily depends on language-related skills rather than physical or mathematical skills. Phonological processing is crucial because it helps children decode words by understanding the sound structure of language.
4. Step 4: Conclude that among the options, phonological processing is the primary area of difficulty for students who fall behind in reading, as it directly impacts their ability to decode and understand written language.
5. Step 5: Summarize that difficulties in phonological processing can lead to challenges in reading fluency and comprehension, which is why it is considered the main area of concern in developmental reading issues.