Diagnostic system and method for phonological awareness, phonological processing, and reading skill testing

Abstract

A diagnostic system and method for evaluating one or more phonological awareness, phonological processing and reading skills of an individual to detect phonological awareness, phonological processing and reading skill deficiencies in the individual so that the risk of developing a reading deficiency is reduced and existing reading deficiencies are remediated. The system may use graphical games to test the individual's ability in a plurality of different phonological awareness, phonological processing and reading skills. The system may use speech recognition technology to interact with the games.

1 . A system for testing one or more skills associated with the reading skills of an individual, comprising: 
 a server computer comprising one or more tests for determining deficiencies in one or more reading and pre-reading skills, a scorer for determining a score for each test; and    one or more client computers that may establish a communications session with the server computer to download the one or more tests from the server computer, each client computer comprising means for displaying at least one of a graphical image and audio associated with each test located on the server, means for receiving a user response to one of the graphical images and audio presented by each test and means for communicating the responses for each test back to the server computer so that a skill level for each test and each reading or pre-reading skill being tested by the test is determined.    
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the server computer further comprises a recommender for recommending, based on the scores of the one or more tests, one or more training modules for improving a reading or pre-reading skill of the individual as indicated by the score of the tests.  
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the server further comprises a questionnaire having one or more questions for eliciting information about risk factors associated with language-based learning disabilities.  
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 3 , wherein the information comprise historical data about reading-related risk factors including one or more of medical conditions including chronic otitis media, family history data including history of dyslexia, environmental data including socioeconomic status and exposure to literacy at home and observational data about an individual's behaviors reflecting competencies in speech sound awareness.  
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the user input device of the one or more client computers comprise a speech recognition device for receiving a verbal response from the user to the one or more tests.  
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more tests comprise a rhyme recognition test for testing the ability to recognize rhymes, a rhyme generation test for testing the ability to generate rhymes a beginning and ending sound recognizer for testing the ability to recognize the beginning and ending sounds of a word, a word decoder test for testing the ability to read by sounding out a written word, a sound blender test for testing the ability to blend sound units together to form words, a sound segmenting test for testing the ability to segment a sound unit into smaller sound units, a sound manipulator test for testing the ability to manipulate sound units to form a new unit, a sequential verbal recall test for testing the ability to recall a sequence of spoken items, a rapid naming test for testing the ability to rapidly name one or more items, a letter naming and symbol/sound association test for testing the ability to name letters and identify the association between a symbol and an associated sound, and a fluent reader test for testing the ability to read fluently.  
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the tests further comprise a rhyme recognition test further comprising means for providing at least two stimuli to the user and means for receiving user input in response to the at least two stimuli to determine the user's ability to recognize rhyming words.  
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the tests further comprise a test for recognizing the beginning sound of a stimulus, the test comprising means for generating at least one stimulus having at least an initial phoneme and means for receiving a response to the stimulus that indicates an ability of the test taker to recognize the initial phoneme of the stimulus.  
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the tests further comprise a test for recognizing the ending sound of a stimulus, the test comprising means for generating at least one stimulus having at least an ending phoneme and means for receiving a response to the stimulus that indicates an ability of the test taker to recognize the ending phoneme of the stimulus.  
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the tests further comprise a rhyme generation test comprising means for generating a stimulus and means for receiving a response from the user identifying a sound unit that rhymes with the stimulus.  
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the tests further comprise a sound blender test comprising means for generating at least two sound stimuli and means for receiving a user response to the at least two sound stimuli, the response indicating an ability to blend the at least two sound stimuli into a larger sound unit.  
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the tests further comprise a sound segmentation test comprising means for generating at least one stimulus and means for receiving a response to the stimulus comprising means for segmenting the stimulus into smaller units in order to test the ability to segment the stimulus into smaller units.  
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the tests comprise a sound manipulation test comprising means for generating a sound stimulus having one or more sound units and means, in response to the sound stimulus, for manipulating the sound units of the sound stimulus to test the ability to manipulate sound units.  
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the tests further comprises a verbal recall test comprising means for generating at least one sound stimulus and means, in response to the at least one sound stimulus, for receiving a user response indicating the recalling of the at least one sound stimulus.  
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 6  further comprising means for speaking the verbal response into the speech recognition device for receiving a verbal response from the user.  
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the tests further comprises a naming test comprising means for generating at least one visual stimulus and means, in response to the display of the visual stimulus, for speaking the name of or the sound associated with the visual stimulus using the speech recognition device.  
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the tests further comprises a word decoder test comprising means for displaying a visual stimulus to the user and means, in response to the visual stimulus, for receiving a response from the user to determine the ability to read the visual stimulus.  
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the tests further comprises a fluency test comprising means for generating a plurality of visual stimuli and means for receiving a user's response to the visual stimuli within a predetermined time interval to determine the user's ability to read and understand the visual stimuli.  
     
     
         19 . A method for testing one or more skills associated with the reading skills of an individual, the method comprising: 
 presenting one or more stimuli to the individual, each stimulus associated with a test for testing a particular reading or pre-reading skill of the individual, the skills indicating the risk that the individual develops or has a language-based learning disability;    receiving a response from the individual to each stimulus; and    scoring the user's responses to each test.    
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 19  further comprising recommending, based on the scores of the one or more tests, one or more training modules for improving a reading or pre-reading skill of the individual as indicated by the score of the tests.  
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 19  further comprises questioning the individual to elicit information about risk factors associated with language-based learning disabilities.  
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 21 , wherein the information comprise historical data about reading-related risk factors including one or more of medical conditions including chronic otitis media, family history data including history of dyslexia, environmental data including socioeconomic status and exposure to literacy at home and observational data about an individual's behaviors reflecting competencies in speech sound awareness.  
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 19 , wherein receiving the individual's response comprises receiving a verbal response using a speech recognition device for receiving a verbal response from the user to the one or more tests.  
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 19 , wherein the one or more tests comprise a rhyme recognition test for testing the ability to recognize rhymes, a rhyme generation test for testing the ability to generate rhymes, a beginning and ending sound recognizer for testing the ability to recognize the beginning and ending sounds of a word, a word decoder test for testing the ability to read by sounding out a written word, a sound blender test for testing the ability to blend sound units together to form words, a sound segmenting test for testing the ability to segment a sound unit into smaller sound units, a sound manipulator test for testing the ability to manipulate sound units to form a new sound unit, a sequential verbal recall test for testing the ability to recall a sequence of spoken items, a rapid naming test for testing the ability to rapidly name one or more items, a letter naming and symbol/sound association test for testing the ability to name letters and identify the association between a symbol and an associated sound, and a fluent reader test for testing the ability to read fluently.  
     
     
         25 . The method of  claim 19 , wherein the tests further comprise a rhyme recognition test further comprising providing at least two stimuli to the user and receiving user input in response to the at least two stimuli to determine the user's ability to recognize rhyming words.  
     
     
         26 . The method of  claim 19 , wherein the tests further comprise a test for recognizing the beginning sound of a stimulus, the test comprising generating at least one stimulus having at least an initial phoneme and receiving a response to the stimulus that indicates an ability of the test taker to recognize the initial phoneme of the stimulus.  
     
     
         27 . The method of  claim 19 , wherein the tests further comprise a test for recognizing the ending sound of a sound stimulus, the test comprising generating at least one stimulus having at least an ending phoneme and receiving a response to the stimulus that indicates an ability of the test taker to recognize the ending phoneme of the stimulus.  
     
     
         28 . The method of  claim 19 , wherein the tests further comprise a rhyme generation test comprising generating a stimulus and receiving a response from the user identifying a sound unit that rhymes with the stimulus.  
     
     
         29 . The method of  claim 19  wherein the tests further comprise a sound blender test comprising generating at least two sound stimuli and receiving a user response to the at least two sound stimuli, the response indicating an ability to blend the at least two sound stimuli into a larger sound unit.  
     
     
         30 . The method of  claim 19 , wherein the tests further comprise a sound segmentation test comprising generating at least one stimulus and receiving a response to the stimulus comprising means for segmenting the stimulus into smaller units in order to test the ability to segment the stimulus into smaller units.  
     
     
         31 . The method of  claim 19 , wherein the tests comprise a sound manipulation test comprising generating a sound stimulus having one or more sound units and, in response to the sound stimulus, manipulating the sound units of the sound stimulus to test the ability to manipulate sound units.  
     
     
         32 . The method of  claim 19 , wherein the tests further comprises a verbal recall test comprising generating at least one sound stimulus and, in response to the at least one sound stimulus, receiving a user response from the user to test the ability to recall the at least one sound stimulus.  
     
     
         33 . The method of  claim 24  further comprising speaking a verbal response into the speech recognition device for receiving a verbal response from the user.  
     
     
         34 . The method of  claim 19 , wherein the tests further comprises a naming test comprising generating at least one visual stimulus and, in response to the display of the visual stimulus, speaking the name of or the sound associated with the visual stimulus using the speech recognition device.  
     
     
         35 . The method of  claim 19 , wherein the tests further comprises a word decoder test comprising displaying a visual stimulus to the user and, in response to the visual stimulus, receiving a response from the user to determine the ability to read the visual stimulus.  
     
     
         36 . The method of  claim 19 , wherein the tests further comprises a fluency test comprising generating a plurality of visual stimuli and receiving a user's response to the visual stimuli within a predetermined time interval to determine the user's ability to read and understand the visual stimuli.  
     
     
         37 . A server for testing one or more skills associated with the reading skills of an individual, comprising: 
 one or more tests for determining deficiencies in one or more reading and pre-reading skills;    means for receiving responses from the individual to the one or more tests; and    a scorer for determining a score for each test.    
     
     
         38 . The server of  claim 37  further comprising a recommender for recommending, based on the scores of the one or more tests, one or more training modules to the individual for improving a reading or pre-reading skill of the individual as indicated by the score of the tests.  
     
     
         39 . The server of  claim 37 , wherein the server further comprises a questionnaire having one or more questions for eliciting information about risk factors associated with language-based learning disabilities.  
     
     
         40 . The server of  claim 39 , wherein the information comprise historical data about reading-related risk factors including one or more of medical conditions including chronic otitis media, family history data including history of dyslexia, environmental data including socioeconomic status and exposure to literacy at home and observational data about an individual's behaviors reflecting competencies in speech sound awareness.  
     
     
         41 . The server of  claim 37 , wherein the receiving means further comprises means for receiving a verbal response from a speech recognition device to the one or more tests.  
     
     
         42 . The server of  claim 37 , wherein the one or more tests comprise a rhyme recognition test for testing the ability to recognize rhymes, a rhyme generation test for testing the ability to generate rhymes, a beginning and ending sound recognizer for testing the ability to recognize the beginning and ending sounds of a word, a word decoder test for testing the ability to read by sounding out a written word, a sound blender test for testing the ability to blend sound units together to form words, a sound segmenting test for testing the ability to segment a sound unit into smaller sound units, a sound manipulator test for testing the ability to manipulate sound units to form a new unit, a sequential verbal recall test for testing the ability to recall a sequence of spoken items, a rapid naming test for testing the ability to rapidly name one or more items, a letter naming and symbol/sound association test for testing the ability to name letters and identify the association between a symbol and an associated sound, and a fluent reader test for testing the ability to read fluently.  
     
     
         43 . The server of  claim 37 , wherein the tests comprises a rhyme recognition test further comprising means for providing at least two stimuli to the user and means for receiving user input in response to the at least two stimuli to determine the user's ability to recognize rhyming words.  
     
     
         44 . The server of  claim 37 , wherein the tests further comprise a test for recognizing the beginning sound of a stimulus, the test comprising means for generating at least one stimulus having at least an initial phoneme and means for receiving a response to the stimulus that indicates an ability of the test taker to recognize the initial phoneme of the stimulus.  
     
     
         45 . The server of  claim 37 , wherein the tests further comprise a test for recognizing the ending sound of a stimulus, the test comprising means for generating at least one stimulus having at least an ending phoneme and means for receiving a response to the stimulus that indicates an ability of the test taker to recognize the ending phoneme of the stimulus.  
     
     
         46 . The server of  claim 37 , wherein the tests further comprise a rhyme generation test comprising means for generating a stimulus and means for receiving a response from the user identifying a sound unit that rhymes with the stimulus.  
     
     
         47 . The server of  claim 37 , wherein the tests further comprise a sound blender test comprising means for generating at least two sound stimuli and means for receiving a user response to the at least two sound stimuli, the response indicating an ability to blend the at least two sound stimuli into a larger sound unit.  
     
     
         48 . The server of  claim 37 , wherein the tests further comprise a sound segmentation test comprising means for generating at least one stimulus and means for receiving a response to the stimulus comprising means for segmenting the stimulus into smaller units in order to test the ability to segment the stimulus into smaller units.  
     
     
         49 . The server of  claim 37 , wherein the tests comprise a sound manipulation test comprising means for generating a sound stimulus having one or more sound units and means, in response to the sound stimulus, for manipulating the sound units of the sound stimulus to test the ability to manipulate sound units.  
     
     
         50 . The server of  claim 37 , wherein the tests further comprises a verbal recall test comprising means for generating at least one sound stimulus and means, in response to the at least one sound stimulus, for receiving a user response indicating the recalling of the at least one sound stimulus.  
     
     
         51 . The server of  claim 42  further comprising means for speaking a verbal response into the speech recognition device for receiving a verbal response from the user.  
     
     
         52 . The server of  claim 37 , wherein the tests further comprises a naming test comprising means for generating at least one visual stimulus and means, in response to the display of the visual stimulus, for speaking the name of or the sound associated with the visual stimulus using the speech recognition device.  
     
     
         53 . The server of  claim 37 , wherein the tests further comprises a word decoder test comprising means for displaying a visual stimulus to the user and means, in response to the visual stimulus, for receiving a response from the user to determine the ability to read the visual stimulus.  
     
     
         54 . The server of  claim 37 , wherein the tests further comprises a fluency test comprising means for generating a plurality of visual stimuli and means for receiving a user's response to the visual stimuli within a predetermined time interval to determine the user's ability to read and understand the visual stimuli.  
     
     
         55 . An apparatus for testing one or more skills associated with the reading skills of an individual, comprising: 
 means for downloading one or more tests from a server, each test determining if the individual has a deficiency in a reading or pre-reading skill;    means for generating a response to the tests, the response being communicated to the server computer; and    means for receiving a score for each test from the server computer.    
     
     
         56 . The apparatus of  claim 55  further comprising means for receiving a recommendation, based on the scores of the one or mote tests, for using one or more training modules for improving a reading or pre-reading skill of the individual as indicated by the score of the tests to avoid or remediate language-based learning disabilities.  
     
     
         57 . The apparatus of  claim 56  further comprising means for downloading the one or more training modules from the server computer to improve the skills of the individual.  
     
     
         58 . The apparatus of  claim 55  further comprises a questionnaire having one or more questions for eliciting information about risk factors associated with language-based learning disabilities.  
     
     
         59 . The apparatus of  claim 58 , wherein the information comprise historical data about reading-related risk factors including one or more of medical conditions including chronic otitis media, family history data including history of dyslexia, environmental data including socioeconomic status and exposure to literacy at home and observational data about an individual's behaviors reflecting competencies in speech sound awareness.  
     
     
         60 . The apparatus of  claim 55 , wherein the user input device of the one or more client computers comprise a speech recognition device for receiving a verbal response from the user to the one or more tests.  
     
     
         61 . The apparatus of  claim 55 , wherein the one or more tests comprise a rhyme recognition test for testing the ability to recognize rhymes, a rhyme generation test for testing the ability to generate rhymes, a beginning and ending sound recognizer for testing the ability to recognize the beginning and ending sounds of a word, a word decoder test for testing the ability to read by sounding out a written word, a sound blender test for testing the ability to blend sound units together to form words, a sound segmenting test for testing the ability to segment a sound unit into smaller sound units, a sound manipulator test for testing the ability to manipulate sound units to form a new unit, a sequential verbal recall test for testing the ability to recall a sequence of spoken items, a rapid naming test for testing the ability to rapidly name one or more items, a letter naming and symbol/sound association test for testing the ability to name letters and identify the association between a symbol and an associated sound, and a fluent reader test for testing the ability to read fluently.  
     
     
         62 . The apparatus of  claim 55 , wherein the tests comprises a rhyme recognition test further comprising means for providing at least two stimuli to the user and means for receiving user input in response to the at least two stimuli to determine the user's ability to recognize rhyming words.  
     
     
         63 . The apparatus of  claim 55 , wherein the tests further comprise a test for recognizing the beginning sound of a stimulus, the test comprising means for generating at least one stimulus having at least an initial phoneme and means for receiving a response to the stimulus that indicates an ability of the test taker to recognize the initial phoneme of the stimulus.  
     
     
         64 . The apparatus of  claim 55 , wherein the tests further comprise a test for recognizing the ending sound of a stimulus, the test comprising means for generating at least one stimulus having at least an ending phoneme and means for receiving a response to the stimulus that indicates an ability of the test taker to recognize the ending phoneme of the stimulus.  
     
     
         65 . The apparatus of  claim 55 , wherein the tests further comprise a rhyme generation test comprising means for generating a stimulus and means for receiving a response from the user identifying a sound unit that rhymes with the stimulus.  
     
     
         66 . The apparatus of  claim 55 , wherein the tests further comprise a sound blender test comprising means for generating at least two sound stimuli and means for receiving a user response to the at least two sound stimuli, the response indicating an ability to blend the at least two sound stimuli into a larger sound unit.  
     
     
         67 . The apparatus of  claim 55 , wherein the tests further comprise a sound segmentation test comprising means for generating at least one stimulus and means for receiving a response to the stimulus comprising means for segmenting the stimulus into smaller units in order to test the ability to segment the stimulus into smaller units.  
     
     
         68 . The apparatus of  claim 55 , wherein the tests comprise a sound manipulation test comprising means for generating a sound stimulus having one or more sound units and means, in response to the sound stimulus, for manipulating the sound units of the sound stimulus to test the ability to manipulate sound units.  
     
     
         69 . The apparatus of  claim 55 , wherein the tests further comprises a verbal recall test comprising means for generating at least one sound stimulus and means, in response to the at least one sound stimulus, for receiving a user response indicating the recalling of the at least one sound stimulus.  
     
     
         70 . The apparatus of  claim 61 , wherein the tests further comprises means for speaking a verbal response into the speech recognition device for receiving a verbal response from the user.  
     
     
         71 . The apparatus of  claim 55 , wherein the tests further comprises a naming test comprising means for generating at least one visual stimulus and means, in response to the display of the visual stimulus, for speaking the name of or the sound associated with the visual stimulus using the speech recognition device.  
     
     
         72 . The apparatus of  claim 55 , wherein the tests further comprises a word decoder test comprising means for displaying a visual stimulus to the user and means, in response to the visual stimulus, for receiving a response from the user to determine the ability to read the visual stimulus.  
     
     
         73 . The apparatus of  claim 55 , wherein the tests further comprises a fluency test comprising means for generating a plurality of visual stimuli and means for receiving a user's response to the visual stimuli within a predetermined time interval to determine the user's ability to read and understand the visual stimuli.  
     
     
         74 . The system of  claim 2 , wherein the server further comprises means for downloading the recommended training module to the client computer.  
     
     
         75 . The method of  claim 20  further comprising downloading the recommended training module from the server to the client computer.  
     
     
         76 . The server of  claim 38  further comprising means for downloading the recommended training module to the client computer.  
     
     
         77 . The apparatus of  claim 56  further comprising means for receiving a downloaded training module from the server based on the recommended training module.  
     
     
         78 . A system for testing one or more skills associated with the reading skills of an individual, comprising: 
 a server computer comprising one or more tests for determining deficiencies in one or more reading and pre-reading skills, a scorer for determining a score for each test;    one or more client computers that may establish a communications session with the server computer to download the one or more tests from the server computer, each client computer comprising means for displaying at least one of a graphical image and audio associated with each test located on the server, means for receiving a user response to one of the graphical images and audio presented by each test and means for communicating the responses for each test back to the server computer so that a skill level for each test and each reading or pre-reading skill being tested by the test is determined; and    wherein the server computer further comprises means for downloading a tool recommended by the system to the client computer.    
     
     
         79 . A system for testing one or more skills associated with the reading skills of an individual, comprising: 
 a server computer comprising one or more tests for determining deficiencies in one or more reading and pre-reading skills, a scorer for determining a score for each test;    one or more client computers that may establish a communications session with the server computer to download the one or more tests from the server computer, each client computer comprising means for displaying at least one of a graphical image and audio associated with each test located on the server, means for receiving a user response to one of the graphical images and audio presented by each test and means for communicating the responses for each test back to the server computer so that a skill level for each test and each reading or pre-reading skill being tested by the test is determined; and wherein the server computer further comprises means for recommending a training module to the user of the system based on the responses to the tests and means for downloading a tool recommended by the system to the client computer.    
     
     
         80 . A computer implemented apparatus for testing one or more skills associated with the reading skills of an individual, comprising: 
 means for presenting one or more tests to a user, each test determining if the individual has a deficiency in one or more of a reading, a pre-reading and spelling skill;    means for receiving a response to the tests;    means for determining a score for each test; and    means for receiving a recommendation, based on the scores of the one or more tests, for using one or more training modules for improving a skill of the individual as indicated by the score of the tests.    
     
     
         81 . The apparatus of  claim 80  further comprising means for receiving a recommended training module.  
     
     
         82 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the pre-reading and reading skills further comprise spelling skills.  
     
     
         83 . The method of  claim 19 , wherein the pre-reading and reading skills further comprise spelling skills.  
     
     
         84 . The server of  claim 37 , wherein the pre-reading and reading skills further comprise spelling skills.  
     
     
         85 . The method of  claim 55 , wherein the pre-reading and reading skills further comprise spelling skills.  
     
     
         90 . The system of  claim 78 , wherein the pre-reading and reading skills further comprise spelling skills.  
     
     
         91 . The system of  claim 79 , wherein the pre-reading and reading skills further comprise spelling skills.  
     
     
         92 . The apparatus of  claim 80 , wherein the pre-reading and reading skills further comprise spelling skills.  
     
     
         93 . A system for testing one or more skills associated with the reading skills of an individual, comprising: 
 a server computer comprising one or more tests for determining deficiencies in one or more reading and pre-reading skills, a scorer for determining a score for each test; and    one or more client computers that may establish a communications session with the server computer to download the one or more tests from the server computer, each client computer comprising means for displaying at least one of a graphical image and audio associated with each test located on the server, a speech recognition device for receiving and interpreting a verbal response from the user to one of the graphical images and audio presented by each test and means for communicating the responses for each test back to the server computer so that a skill level for each test and each reading or pre-reading skill being tested by the test is determined.    
     
     
         94 . A computer implemented method for testing one or more skills of a user, comprising: 
 providing computer assisted instruction, wherein the computer assisted instruction further comprises providing one or more computer implemented tests to the user to test and diagnose one or more skills of the user using the computer system;    providing computer managed instruction wherein the computer managed instruction further comprises recommending a training module in response to the computer implemented tests.    
     
     
         95 . The method of  claim 94 , wherein the computer managed instruction further comprises downloading the recommended training module.  
     
     
         96 . The method of  claim 94 , wherein the computer managed instruction further comprises questioning the individual to elicit information about risk factors associated with language-based learning disabilities.  
     
     
         97 . The method of  claim 96 , wherein the information comprise historical data about reading-related risk factors including one or more of medical conditions including chronic otitis media, family history data including history of dyslexia, environmental data including socioeconomic status and exposure to literacy at home and observational data about an individual's behaviors reflecting competencies in speech sound awareness.  
     
     
         98 . The method of  claim 96 , wherein the computer managed instruction further comprises generating a category of risk of language-based learning disabilities for a particular user based on the information about the risk factors and generating a recommendation based on the category of risk.  
     
     
         99 . The method of  claim 94 , wherein the computer managed instruction further comprises tracking, over time, the proficiency of the user's phonological skills and establishing the baseline abilities of the user.  
     
     
         100 . The method of  claim 94 , wherein the one or more computer implemented tests further comprise scoring the responses to each test and wherein the recommending further comprises recommending the training module based on the scores of the one or more tests.  
     
     
         101 . The method of  claim 94 , wherein the one or more computer implemented tests further comprise scoring the responses to each test and wherein the computer managed instruction further comprises generating a comparison of the scores of different users of the system.  
     
     
         102 . The method of  claim 94 , wherein the one or more computer implemented tests further comprise scoring the responses to each test and wherein the computer managed instruction further comprises performing statistical analysis of the scores of the user.  
     
     
         103 . The method of  claim 94 , wherein the computer managed instruction further comprises performing a timed test.  
     
     
         104 . A computer implemented system for testing one or more skills of a user, comprising: 
 a computer assisted instruction module, wherein the computer assisted instruction module further comprises one or more computer implemented tests provided to the user to test and diagnose one or more skills of the user using the computer system;    a computer managed instruction module wherein the computer managed instruction further comprises a recommender that recommends a training module in response to the computer implemented tests.    
     
     
         105 . The system of  claim 104 , wherein the computer managed instruction further comprises means for downloading the recommended training module.  
     
     
         106 . The system of  claim 104 , wherein the computer managed instruction further comprises means for questioning the individual to elicit information about risk factors associated with language-based learning disabilities.  
     
     
         107 . The system of  claim 106 , wherein the information comprise historical data about reading-related risk factors including one or more of medical conditions including chronic otitis media, family history data including history of dyslexia, environmental data including socioeconomic status and exposure to literacy at home and observational data about an individual's behaviors reflecting competencies in speech sound awareness.  
     
     
         108 . The system of  claim 106 , wherein the computer managed instruction further comprises means for generating a category of risk of language-based learning disabilities for a particular user based on the information about the risk factors and means for generating a recommendation based on the category of risk.  
     
     
         109 . The system of  claim 104 , wherein the computer managed instruction further comprises means for tracking, over time, the proficiency of the user's phonological skills and establishing the baseline abilities of the user.  
     
     
         110 . The system of  claim 104 , wherein the one or more computer implemented tests further comprise means for scoring the responses to each test and wherein the recommending further comprises means for recommending the training module based on the scores of the one or more tests.  
     
     
         111 . The system of  claim 104 , wherein the one or more computer implemented tests further comprise scoring the responses to each test and wherein the computer managed instruction further comprises means for generating a comparison of the scores of different users of the system.  
     
     
         112 . The system of  claim 104 , wherein the one or more computer implemented tests further comprise means for scoring the responses to each test and wherein the computer managed instruction further comprises means for performing statistical analysis of the scores of the user.  
     
     
         113 . The system of  claim 104 , wherein the computer managed instruction further comprises means for performing a timed test.  
     
     
         114 . A computer implemented method for testing one or more skills of a user, comprising: 
 providing computer assisted instruction, wherein the computer assisted instruction further comprises providing one or more computer implemented tests to the user to test and diagnose one or more skills of the user using the computer system; and    the computer assisted instruction further comprising providing computer managed instruction wherein the computer managed instruction further comprises recommending a training module in response to the computer implemented tests.    
     
     
         115 . The method of  claim 114 , wherein the computer managed instruction further comprises downloading the recommended training module.  
     
     
         116 . The method of  claim 114 , wherein the computer managed instruction further comprises questioning the individual to elicit information about risk factors associated with language-based learning disabilities.  
     
     
         117 . The method of  claim 116 , wherein the information comprise historical data about reading-related risk factors including one or more of medical conditions including chronic otitis media, family history data including history of dyslexia, environmental data including socioeconomic status and exposure to literacy at home and observational data about an individual's behaviors reflecting competencies in speech sound awareness.  
     
     
         118 . The method of  claim 116 , wherein the computer managed instruction further comprises generating a category of risk of language-based learning disabilities for a particular user based on the information about the risk factors and generating a recommendation based on the category of risk.  
     
     
         119 . The method of  claim 114 , wherein the computer managed instruction further comprises tracking, over time, the proficiency of the user's phonological skills and establishing the baseline abilities of the user.  
     
     
         120 . The method of  claim 114 , wherein the one or more computer implemented tests further comprise scoring the responses to each test and wherein the recommending further comprises recommending the training module based on the scores of the one or more tests.  
     
     
         121 . The method of  claim 114 , wherein the one or more computer implemented tests further comprise scoring the responses to each test and wherein the computer managed instruction further comprises generating a comparison of the scores of different users of the system.  
     
     
         122 . The method of  claim 114 , wherein the one or more computer implemented tests further comprise scoring the responses to each test and wherein the computer managed instruction further comprises performing statistical analysis of the scores of the user.  
     
     
         123 . The method of  claim 114 , wherein the computer managed instruction further comprises performing a timed test.  
     
     
         124 . A computer implemented system for testing one or more skills of a user, comprising: 
 a computer assisted instruction module, wherein the computer assisted instruction module further comprises one or more computer implemented tests provided to the user to test and diagnose one or more skills of the user using the computer system; and    the computer assisted instruction module further comprising a computer managed instruction module wherein the computer managed instruction further comprises a recommender that recommends a training module in response to the computer implemented tests.    
     
     
         125 . The system of  claim 124 , wherein the computer managed instruction further comprises means for downloading the recommended training module.  
     
     
         126 . The system of  claim 124 , wherein the computer managed instruction further comprises means for questioning the individual to elicit information about risk factors associated with language-based learning disabilities.  
     
     
         127 . The system of  claim 126 , wherein the information comprise historical data about reading-related risk factors including one or more of medical conditions including chronic otitis media, family history data including history of dyslexia, environmental data including socioeconomic status and exposure to literacy at home and observational data about an individual's behaviors reflecting competencies in speech sound awareness.  
     
     
         128 . The system of  claim 126 , wherein the computer managed instruction further comprises means for generating a category of risk of language-based learning disabilities for a particular user based on the information about the risk factors and means for generating a recommendation based on the category of risk.  
     
     
         129 . The system of  claim 124 , wherein the computer managed instruction further comprises means for tracking, over time, the proficiency of the user's phonological skills and establishing the baseline abilities of the user.  
     
     
         130 . The system of  claim 124 , wherein the one or more computer implemented tests further comprise means for scoring the responses to each test and wherein the recommending further comprises means for recommending the training module based on the scores of the one or more tests.  
     
     
         131 . The system of  claim 124 , wherein the one or more computer implemented tests further comprise scoring the responses to each test and wherein the computer managed instruction further comprises means for generating a comparison of the scores of different users of the system.  
     
     
         132 . The system of  claim 124 , wherein the one or more computer implemented tests further comprise means for scoring the responses to each test and wherein the computer managed instruction further comprises means for performing statistical analysis of the scores of the user.  
     
     
         133 . The system of  claim 124 , wherein the computer managed instruction further comprises means for performing a timed test.