Barbara Arfé is Researcher and Professor of Developmental and Educational Psychology at the University of Padova. Her main research interest is the nature and causes of reading and writing problems in children with hearing loss. On these topics she is currently running national and international research projects. Virginia Wise Berninger is Professor of Learning Sciences and Human Development at the University of Washington, where she is Principal Investigator and Director of the NICHD-funded Multidisciplinary Learning Disabilities Research Center that studies oral and written language learners (OWLs) with and without dysgraphia, dyslexia, and OWL LD. Julie Dockrell is Professor of Psychology and Special Needs at the Institute Of Education, London, and a qualified clinical and educational psychologist. She continues to do work in schools and collaborate with voluntary agencies supporting children's language and writing development. Her major research interests are in patterns of development and the ways in which cognitive factors impact on children's learning, interaction and attainments. She was co-director of the Better Communication Research Programme, the largest UK study on language and communication needs.