It was during a pleasant and warm (both literally and figuratively) two-
week period in October, 1991 that a number of researchers, scholars and
c1inicians from diverse lands gathered at the beautiful Chateau de
Bonas, near Toulouse, France to discuss psychological,
neuropsychological and neurolinguistic aspects of reading and writing
disorders. The occasion for the serious disputations of theories,
research findings and c1inical appli- cations was the Advanced Study
Institute (ASI) under the auspices of the Scientific Affairs Division of
the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). There was much sharing of
mutual experiences, and considerable debate on some issues. There were
also friendly exchanges, 'international' ping-pong, tennis matches, and
bicyc1e races, and even some convivial- ity akin to that of a c1ass
reunion with members telling their stories of yesterday and visions of
tomorrow. All these serious scientific disputations and the friendly
exchanges would not have been possible without the major assistance from
NATO and other institutions and individuals. We wish to express our deep
appre- ciation to Dr. L. v. da Cunha ofNATO Scientific Affairs Division,
Dr. Tilo Kester and Mrs. Barbara Kester of the International Transfer of
Science and Technology (ITST) for their active support and substantial
assistance throughout the Advanced Study Institute; Mr. Charles Stockman
and his staff of the Chateau de Bonas for looking after our stay there;
Christi Martin and Xi-Wu Feng of Oklahoma State University, and the
University of Saskatchewan generally for facilitating our work.
