Learning Disabilities: A Clearer Path to Reading Fluency

NY Times ^ | April 27, 2004 | JOHN O'NEIL

[neverdem]

Remedial programs for students with dyslexia often succeed only in making bad readers into slightly better bad readers. Now a new study shows that more aggressive treatment can make dyslexic brains work the way normal brains do, activating a region that plays a vital role in reading fluency.

Good and bad readers handle tasks differently, brain scanning research has shown, from the processing of sound to the recall of vocabulary. Last year, a study showed that dyslexic students who were tutored with typical methods made limited gains but continued to use cumbersome mental pathways.

The new study, to be published in May in the journal Biological Psychiatry, was the first to compare the effect of standard and aggressive treatments before and after pupils received them.

One group of 37 poor readers, ages 6 to 9, received an average of two hours a week of instruction using a systematic, phonics-based curriculum. A comparison group of 12 poor readers continued to receive their school's normal remedial help: about an hour a week.

Testing showed that in one year the intensive teaching group made up about half the gap between their initial scores and those of a control group of normal readers, while the other students fell further behind.

The brain scans showed that the children who received the intensive remedial tutoring had begun to activate an area of the brain known as the word-form region the way the average readers did.

Dr. Sally E. Shaywitz of Yale, an author of the study, called that change crucial. "The word-form region allows a child to look at a word and to automatically know how to pronounce it, spell it and know what it means," she said. "If a child is not a fluent reader, he or she will avoid reading; it's too effortful."

[FRMAG]

I too have a high frequency hearing loss to the degree that I have hearing aids provided by the VA. Their audiologist tested me and found that I get about 60% of my input from lip reading.

That siad I very infrequently wear my issued hearing aids because they amplify all sounds equally and the result in a crowded room or high noise area is babel.

Another point raised actually tends to divide the Deaf Comunity. One faction maintains that their kids should be taught lip reading because it prepares them to live in the hearing world better and another contends that sign is the way to go because it better prepares them to live in the deaf world.

Many deaf folks I am and have been acquainted with use a combination of lip reading and sign which allows them to function in both worlds.

[FRMAG]

I was approached by one of these scam artists in a shopping center parking lot not too long ago. First thing I noticed was he was not wearing any form of hearing aid which did not ring true because most deaf folks even those who are profoundly deaf do wear aids as an adjunct.

At any rate after I read his card I turned my head and pointed to my aid and signed that I was deaf too. Exit scammer stage left at high speed!

[maica]

Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at an Elingsh uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are; the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht frist and lsat ltteers are in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a toatl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae we do not raed ervey lteter by istlef but the wrod as a wlohe.

This is surprisingly easy to read!
It seems to support your 'word as a concept' statement.

[nathanbedford]

Two of my kids have learned to read phonetically, but in German. They have had no particular problem applying the phonics concepts to English, learning the exceptions as they go.

Another learned sight reading when phonics led him to a dead end in English. He was then able to get the phonics for German and now reads a great deal for pleasure in either language.

I never cautght on to phonics until late in life, tought myself to sight read and got over 700 on verbal but cannot spell to this day.

There is no one route to reading heaven in english except parental attention and reading itself. Thank God for Mark Twain who made me love books.

[neverdem]

That siad I very infrequently wear my issued hearing aids because they amplify all sounds equally and the result in a crowded room or high noise area is babel.

I've had the same experience. That was years ago. Supposedly newer models of hearing aids are more sophisticated, but I haven't tried them.

[El Gato]

Kids whose parents read books to them will naturally pick up reading when they're ready.

My now 29 year old lawyer daughter gave us little choice. She would come beat on us with a book, yelling "book! book!", whenever she wanted to be read to. She's still like that, come to think of it. :)

[FITZ]

Wow --- one of these days you're going to have to teach her to read for herself!! Just kidding. But I do think that kids need nothing more than to be read to by their parents and they'll pretty much learn to read on their own. I've seen kids actually memorize the whole book and then pretend to read it --- carefully studying each word as they go -- next thing they are reading by themselves. You don't really need to take each sentence and word apart and teach that way and I think that can introduce problems.