Spelling competence is important at all levels of written communication (Allred, 1990) and an important skill for school-going children. Whereas writing has become relatively automatic for normally achieving children by the upper elementary grades, being a tool to generate ideas and for educational output, written expression is problematic for children with spelling difficulties with respect to the quality and quantity of work produced, as well as the effort required to produce it. The mechanics of writing (such as handwriting, spelling and punctuation) still dominate in writing activities, interfering with and inhibiting higher-level composition processes (such as message construction and idea-generating thoughts). It is proposed that if the mechanics of writing can be supported, then the higher-level processes of writing can proceed with less interference from lower-level deficiencies (MacArthur, 1999). Case studies have shown that students with severe spelling problems may benefit from using word-prediction (MacArthur, 1999; Newell, Booth, Arnott & Beattie, 1992; Williams, 2002). Word-prediction is described by Lloyd, Fuller and Arvidson (1997) as a computer software system that facilitates and increases word retrieval by selecting high-frequency words based on the initial letter selected. Word-prediction has provided a prosthetic tool for writing output for children with spelling difficulties, so that they can produce written output along with their peers, even without the spelling skills usually required to do so. However, the study of the effectiveness of word-prediction has produced a wide range of results in the literature (Tam, Reid, Naumann & O'Keefe, 2002). Mixed results are attributed to differences in research metho-dologies, study populations, computer access devices, word-prediction programmes, user characteristics (Tam et al., 2002), training interventions (Horstmann & Levine, 1992) and the complex interaction between these aspects of word-prediction research. It has been suggested that the conflicting evidence provided by research may be more a function of the nature of instruction and instructional feedback that accompanies the use of wordprediction, than a reflection of the efficacy of the technology itself (Williams, 2002). In addition, caution must also be applied in the use of the quantitative data derived from able-bodied people in word-prediction models that attempt to predict the performance of people with disabilities (Newell, Arnott & Waller, 1992) as different users adopt a wide range of strategies to cope with the individual nature of their disabilities. The specific characteristics or skills of the user impact very significantly on the apparent efficacy of word-prediction use (Koester & Levine, 1998). Factors such as the motor skills of the user, the visual-cognitive demands in word-prediction use and even the motivation of the user to use it (MacArthur, 1999) have received attention in the literature. The use of word-prediction requires an interaction between spelling and sight-reading skills. Although many case studies have reported how word-prediction has aided spelling difficulties, there is little evidence in the literature to attempt to investigate, quantify or correlate the impact of specific spelling skills (or reading skills) on the effectiveness, or lack thereof, of a word-prediction programme to facilitate written work, especially rate enhancement or accuracy improvement. It was the purpose of this research project to investigate the relationship between the use of word-prediction and the ability to spell single words, as well as the role that spelling competence has in a subject’s ability to use a word-prediction programme.

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