By peering into the brains of people with dyslexia compared to normal readers, a study published online on March 12th in Current Biology, a Cell Press publication, has shed new light on the roots of the learning disability, which affects four to ten percent of the population. The findings support the notion that the reading and spelling deficit—characterized by an inability to break words down into the separate sounds that comprise them—stems in part from a failure to properly integrate letters with their speech sounds.
"The adults with dyslexia in the study had enough reading experience to match letters and their speech sounds correctly," said Vera Blau of the University of Maastricht, The Netherlands "Still, the results show that the way their brain integrates letters and speech sounds is very different from normal readers. It's quite astonishing."
The researchers examined activity in the brains of dyslexic and normal adult readers by using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) as they were presented with letters, speech sounds, or a matching or non-matching combination of the two. While undergoing that task, dyslexic adults showed lower activation of a brain region known as the superior temporal cortex than the more typical readers did.
The findings point to a neural deficit in letter-speech sound integration as a fundamental mechanism that might distinguish poor from good readers, Blau said. Such a difficulty in integrating the most basic units of written and spoken language could offer a promising link between well-documented difficulties in processing the sounds of language (phonology) and the actual reading problem itself, she added.
Her team, led by Leo Blomert at the University of Maastricht, is currently conducting further studies in children as they are learning to read to help identify whether the difficulty to integrate letters with speech sounds begins in early school years and whether it comes before or after deficits in processing the sounds of language.
In addition to enhancing scientists' fundamental understanding of the disability, the new results might also have some ultimate implications for therapy. "Our findings may offer a way to validate intervention strategies and narrow down the best training approaches," Blau said. Indeed, in a new series of studies, the group is investigating whether training strategies focused on phonological skills as well as letter-sound associations improve reading skills by changing activity levels in the brain of dyslexic readers.
The researchers include Vera Blau, University of Maastricht, Maastricht, The Netherlands, Maastricht Brain Imaging Center (M-BIC), Maastricht, The Netherlands; Nienke van Atteveldt, University of Maastricht, Maastricht, The Netherlands, Maastricht Brain Imaging Center (M-BIC), Maastricht, The Netherlands; Michel Ekkebus, Regionaal Instituut voor Dyslexie, Arnhem, The Netherlands; Rainer Goebel, University of Maastricht, Maastricht, The Netherlands, Maastricht Brain Imaging Center (M-BIC), Maastricht, The Netherlands; Leo Blomert, University of Maastricht, Maastricht, The Netherlands, Maastricht Brain Imaging Center (M-BIC), Maastricht, The Netherlands.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pubnews.php
Unraveling the roots of dyslexia
How to Cope With Adult Dyslexia
About 40 million children and adults in the US are afflicted with dyslexia. Unless screening is done, the disorder is not easily known in some cases. Surprisingly, adults at work are not aware they have dyslexia, and if they do, they keep it a well-guarded secret.
Until an employee undergoes dyslexia screening, it's difficult to determine if the disorder is making him fall behind on his job. To help dyslexic workers function, online screening is made available by numerous service providers.
To assist individuals with their work and help them reach their full potential in the workplace, management should provide the programs that could assist possible dyslexics. The help given to dyslexics not only promotes positive work attitudes, but fosters loyalty, increases work efficiency, and lessens stress.
How To Explain Dyslexia
Dyslexia isn't an intellectual disorder, but a neurological challenge that affects an individual's processing of words in reading and spelling. It can occur to people in different levels of intelligence. Even the highly gifted can be afflicted by dyslexia, among them Albert Enstein.
The symptoms of dyslexia are diverse and range from difficulty in reading and spelling, poor memory, challenges in concentrating, struggle with time management, and restlessness. Unless dyslexia screening is done, those afflicted may not even know that they have it.
Dyslexia have been overcome by a lot of people who now have successful careers. Jay Leno, Whoopi Goldberg, Tom Cruise, Leonardo DaVinci, Pablo Picasso, and Thomas Edison are a few examples. Adults and children who have dyslexia should not be held back by this condition.
Dyslexia Has Diverse Levels
Adult dyslexia can be overcome with carefully designed solutions, and online services make it convenient and discreet for adult dyslexics requiring help. Prior to commencing a program, dyslexics undergo screening to evaluate the kind of program that can help people function with dyslexia.
Dyslexia can either be developmental or acquired. Developmental dyslexia is described by a genetic abnormality in the brain area. Caused by injuries and brain trauma in birth is acquired dyslexia.
The kinds of dyslexia is also grouped according to the visuospatial challenges, speech sound difficulties, and correlating difficulties. With the availability of Web-based dyslexia screening, dyslexic adults can find out immediately if they have any of the types of dyslexia.
Does Dyslexia Have Treatment?
The brain beginning to function normally is the start of the treatment for dyslexia. As proof that it's a treatable disorder, a dyslexic learning to read will start utilizing his brain differently. It is a lengthy process, but one that helps many dyslexics handle one challenge at a time.
http://www.articlesbase.com/authors/leslie-carsson/53667.htm
Definition of Dyslexia
Dyslexia is an impairment of the ability to read, as a result of a variety of pathologic conditions, some of which are associated with the central nervous system.
Dyslexic persons often reverse letters and words, cannot adequately distinguish the letter sequences in written words, and have difficulty in understanding left from right.
Some reading experts doubt that dyslexia is a pathologic disorder and believe the condition represents a combination of reading problems, each of which should be isolated by specific tests. The problems cited by these authorities are poor vision, impaired hearing, emotional immaturity, lack of physical development, psychic stress, and inadequate reading instruction.
Over the years, the term dyslexia has been given a variety of definitions, and for this reason, some teachers have resisted using the term at all. Instead, they have used such terms as "reading disability" or "learning disability" to describe conditions more correctly designated as dyslexia.
Although there is no universally recognized definition of dyslexia, the one presented by the World Federation of Neurology has won broad respect: "A disorder manifested by difficulty in learning to read despite conventional instruction, adequate intelligence, and sociocultural opportunity."
Is my children dyslexic?
All dyslexic children have some difficulty in reading and writing but many dyslexics have other difficulties such as poor organisation or short-term memory problems.
If the way in which your child works and behaves suggests that your child has some of the difficulties often linked with dyslexia it is advisable to seek a psychological assessment.
The psychological assessment measures the child's profile of abilities to give a more objective way of judging whether a child is dyslexic. More importantly an assessment helps recommend the best way of helping your child.
Difficulties in Literacy as an indicator of dyslexia
A key indicator of dyslexia is a child's failure to learn to read, spell and write at the level expected by their intelligence and by the opportunity they have had to learn. Parents and teachers often wonder why the child seems so capable and intelligent in many areas but has difficulty with reading and writing.
The extent and type of difficulties each dyslexic faces varies. Dyslexia can range from being a mild problem to a severe difficulty.
All dyslexics have some difficulty with literacy but dyslexia can show itself quite differently in different people.
Short-term and/or Working Memory
Many dyslexics are 'quick forgetters'. They may learn and understand how to do something but they will need frequent reminders before they remember. It is not uncommon to have to keep repeating something over and over to a dyslexic to try and ensure they remember it. However there are ways to increase the liklihood that dyslexics will remember what they are taught see Advice on helping dyslexics to remember information .
Sequencing
A lot of dyslexics have difficulty sorting or ordering information. This means that the dyslexic may have difficulty in Mathematics, remembering a list of instructions or giving a good verbal explanation.
Letter Reversals (writing 'b' for 'd' etc) - quite normal up to Primary 2
Some dyslexic children do reverse letters as they write. However there are many dyslexic children who have never written letters in reverse. In fact it is perfectly normal for non-dyslexic children in Kindergarten or Primary 1 to reverse letters as they write. Most children grow out of letter reversals by Primary 2. Letter reversals are only something to be concerned about if a child continues to show letter reversals after Primary 2.
Most children have problems in school at one time or another. Ask yourself and the teacher if your child has shown these characteristics to a greater degree than normal over a period of time and in different environments, e.g., school, home, child care.
Ages 6-11
* Has difficulty pronouncing words, may reverse or substitute parts of words
* Has difficulty carrying out a sequence of directions
* Does he have trouble with sounds in words, e.g. poor sense of rhyme?
* Doesn't hear fine differences in words; e.g., writes "pin" for "pen"
* Has problems stating thoughts in an organised way
* Confuses the order of letters in words
* Doesn't recognise words previously learned
* Does he read a word then fail to recognise it further down the page?
* Spells a word several different ways; doesn't recognise the correct version
* Has poor reading comprehension
* Does he answer questions orally but have difficulty writing the answer?
Ages 12-adult
* Has difficulty remembering what he just read
* Has difficulty concentrating when reading or writing
* Is unable to tell important information from unimportant details
* Spells poorly; misspelling is not phonetic
* Has problems taking notes accurately
* Has difficulty organising and completing written projects
All ages
* Is he bright in some ways with a 'block' in others?
* Is there anyone else in the family with similar difficulties?
* Does he have difficulty carrying out three instructions in sequence?
* Was he late in learning to talk, or in speaking clearly?
http://www.das.org.sg
More About Dyslexia
What are the Effects of Dyslexia?
Dyslexia can have different effects on different people, depending on the severity of the learning disability and the success of efforts to develop alternate learning methods. Traditionally dyslexia causes problems with reading, writing and spelling and those problems manifest themselves differently in each person. In fact, some children with dyslexia show few signs of difficulty with early reading and writing, but have more trouble with later complex language skills, such as grammar, reading comprehension, and more in-depth writing.
Dyslexia can also make it difficult for people to express themselves clearly. It can be challenging for them to use vocabulary and to structure their thoughts during conversation. Others struggle to understand when people speak to them, not because they don’t hear, but because of their difficulty processing verbal information. This is particularly true with abstract thoughts and non-literal language, such as idiomatic expressions, jokes and proverbs.
Perhaps most importantly, all of these effects can have a disastrous impact on a person’s self-image. Without help, children often get frustrated with learning. The stress of dealing with schoolwork often makes children with dyslexia lose the motivation to continue on and overcome the hurdles they face.
Is Dyslexia Common?
According to the National Institute of Health, up to 15% of the US population has significant difficulty learning to read. Dyslexia occurs among people of all economic and ethnic backgrounds. People are born with dyslexia. Often other members of the family also have dyslexia.
What are the Warning Signs?
The following are common signs of dyslexia in people of all ages, but that does not mean that a person displaying these signs necessarily has a learning disability. If a person continues to display difficulty over time in the areas outlined below, testing for dyslexia should be considered.
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Understanding that words are made up of sounds (known as phonological awareness)
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Assigning correct sounds to letters-alone and when combined to form words
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Pronouncing words properly-blending sounds into speech
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Spelling words
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Learning the alphabet, numbers, days of the week-basic sequential information
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Reading with age-appropriate speed and accuracy
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Reading comprehension
* Learning numbers facts
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Answering open-ended questions, such as math or word problems
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Organizing thoughts, time or a sequence of tasks
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Learning a foreign language
How is Dyslexia Identified?
Identifying dyslexia must be done through a formal evaluation by trained professionals. The evaluation investigates a person’s ability to understand and use spoken and written language and looks at specific areas of strength and weakness in the skills that are needed for reading. Family history, intellectual ability, educational background, social environment and other factors that can affect learning are also taken into account.
Treating Dyslexia
Recognizing dyslexia early in life is a key factor in how much the learning disability will affect a person’s development. Unfortunately, adults with unidentified dyslexia often work in jobs below their intellectual capacity. But with help from a tutor, teacher or other trained professionals, almost all people with dyslexia can become good readers and writers. Incorporating the following strategies into the learning process can help overcome the difficulties of dyslexia:
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Early exposure to oral reading, writing, drawing and practice to encourage development of print knowledge, basic letter formation and recognition skills and linguistic awareness (the relationship between sound and meaning)
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Practice reading different kinds of texts (i.e., books, magazines, advertisements, comics)
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Multi-sensory, structured language instruction and practice using sight, sound and touch when introducing new ideas
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Modifying classroom procedures to allow for extra time to complete assignments, help with note-taking, oral testing and other means of assessment
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Using books-on-tape and assistive technology such as screen readers and voice recognition computer software
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Help with the emotional issues that arise from struggling to overcome academic difficulties.
Reading and writing are fundamental skills for daily living, however it is important to emphasize other aspects of learning and expression. Like all people, those with dyslexia enjoy activities that tap into their strengths and interests. As multi-dimensional thinkers, visual fields such as design, art, architecture, engineering and surgery, which do not emphasize language skills, may appeal to them.
http://www.ncld.org
What is dyslexia?
Dyslexia is a term that has been loosely applied to reading disabilities. Specific definitions for dyslexia vary with disciplines. Those in medicine define dyslexia as a condition resulting from neurological, maturational, and genetic causes, while those in psychology relate dyslexia on the basis of the specific reading problems evidenced and give no reference to causation. All disciplines would probably agree that dyslexia is evidenced by persons of otherwise normal intellectual capacity who have not learned to read despite exposure to adequate instruction.
How Is Dyslexia Diagnosed?
The diagnosis of dyslexia usually begins with an awareness by parents or teachers that a problem in reading exists. A physician is often the first diagnostician to explore the nature of the difficulty. The medical practitioner should investigate the cause of the reading problem by conducting a complete physical examination and obtaining a comprehensive health history. If indicated, the child should be referred for a neurological examination. If dyslexia is suspected, the physician should refer the child for further evaluation and treatment by a specialist in psychoeducational diagnosis.
The major purpose of the diagnostic process is to isolate the specific difficulties associated with dyslexia and to suggest appropriate educational intervention. Usually the diagnostician will employ a battery of assessment instruments that explore the relationship of specific reading problems to the intellectual, achievement, perceptual, motoric, linguistic, and adaptive capabilities of the individual. Based on the results, an intervention plan can be implemented by a special educator or remedial reading teacher trained in specialized reading techniques. No one remedial reading method works for all reading disabled students. Therefore it is important that the teacher have mastery of many different techniques.
What Are Some Of The Characteristics Of Dyslexia?
An individual is identified as dyslexic when a significant discrepancy exists between intellectual ability and reading performance without an apparent physical, emotional, or cultural cause. Common findings in the history include, but are not limited to: (1) family history of reading problems; (2) a predominant occurrence in males (males to females 8:1); (3) an average or above average IQ and, not uncommonly, a proficiency in math: (4) no enjoyment of reading as a leisure activity; (5) problems of letter and word reversal; (6) developmental history of problems in coordination and left/right dominance; (7) poor visual memory for language symbols; (8) auditory language difficulties in word finding, fluency, meaning, or sequence; (9) difficulty transferring information from what is heard to what is seen and vice versa.
Specific reading problems associated with dyslexia include difficulty in pronouncing new words, difficulty distinguishing similarities and differences in words (no for on), and difficulty discriminating differences in letter sound (pin, pen). Other problems may include reversal of words and letters, disorganization of word order, poor reading comprehension, and difficulty applying what has been read to social or learning situations.
What Factors Contribute To Dyslexia?
Ocular Problems
Several reliable studies (Helveston 1969; Blika 1982; Keys 1982; Hiatt 1984) have found that dyslexic individuals have no greater incidence of eye problems than do individuals with normal reading ability. Such parameters as visual acuity, stereo acuity, ocular alignment and motility, fusion status (break point amplitude), and refractive error have not been shown to be significantly different in poor versus normal readers. Individuals with reading problems should, however, have a careful eye examination as part of an overall medical examination. There is no scientific evidence that visual training (including eye muscle exercises, ocular tracking or pursuit exercises, or glasses with bifocals or prisms) leads to significant improvement in the performance of dyslexic individuals.
Language Problems
According to Mattis (1978), the primary contributing factor to dyslexia is an auditory language deficit. Approximately 86% of the individuals identified as dyslexic evidence an auditory language disorder that prevents the individual from linking the spoken form of a word with its written equivalent. In light of this, any individual with reading problems should have a careful evaluation of his or her language capabilities and where indicated, appropriate speech and language intervention should be provided.
Visuo-Spatial-Motor Problems
In contrast to language problems, visuo-spatial-motor factors of dyslexia appear less frequently (Robinson and Schwartz 1973). Approximately 5% of the individuals identified as dyslexic have a visuo-spatial-motor problem that interferes with sequential organization, scanning, and the perception of temporal and spatial cues. Although visuo-spatial-motor confusion is common in young children who are just learning to read, these problems do not tend to account for severe and persistent reading difficulties unless the child has missed so much basic reading instruction that he cannot get caught up. Assessment of visual, spatial, and motor capacities should be included in the diagnosis of any coordination or orientation disorder; however, there is no scientific evidence that interventions such as neurological and sensory organizational training, laterality training, dominance training, balance beam, or reflex inhibition will significantly accelerate reading performance.
Other Factors
The importance of general intelligence in learning to read has been examined and shown to be a critical factor in both reading and language abilities. Investigations of the role of dominance in handedness, eyedness, and mixed laterality have produced no consistent conclusions. Studies investigating low birth weight, EEG abnormalities, temperamental attributes, attention deficit disorders, birth order, food additives, and chemical allergies have yielded mixed results. What is clear is that a wide range of factors can be associated with reading difficulties but that these factors work differently in different children. There is no simple formula for diagnosing and treating a dyslexic child. Each one requires his or her own individual program.
http://www.kidsource.com/
