Further implications of wearing literate glasses: Considerations for developmental research, psycholinguistics and clinical practice

We believe Kolinsky and Morais’ argument has far-reaching implications for developmental research, psycholinguistic studies with adults and clinical practice. In this commentary, we highlight the specific implications for each of these areas. Specifically, we emphasize the need to consider bi-directional influences between oral language development and literacy development. We highlight the way in which research participants tend to represent only the most literate strata of society, limiting the generalisability of findings. Finally, we examine clinical assessments and suggest that as a field we need to reconsider and better contextualise these assessments. Taken together these points highlight that researchers and clinicians alike need to be wary of the extent to which current research and assessment practices are based upon the biases that arise from wearing literate glasses.