Specific Reading Difficulty (SRD), also known as developmental dyslexia, affects approximately 5-10% of the population (Habib, 2000). The predominant explanation is that deficits in phonological awareness lead to reading difficulty (e.g. Snowling, 2000), although causal explanations remain weak (Castles & Coltheart, 2004). An alternative explanation is that visual deficits can lead to reading difficulty (e.g. Stein & Walsh, 1997). We compared 93 children with SRD and 102 matched controls on tests of visual function (motion coherence detection, visual search), phonology (Rhyme and Spoonerisms subscales of the Phonological Assessment Battery) and auditory discrimination (FM Sensitivity), to determine which deficits were most associated with reading disability. Significant group differences on the tests of phonology and reading were found, but no other. This result supported the phonological deficit hypothesis.