Two types of dyslexia

[Charlie Girl]

Two Types of Brain Problems Are Found to Cause Dyslexia
Print Single-Page Save

By BONNIE ROTHMAN MORRIS
Published: July 8, 2003
Dyslexia appears to be caused by two distinct types of brain problems, a new study has found.

The researchers, from Yale, used scanning devices to examine the brains of 43 young adults with known reading disabilities while they performed reading tasks. Another group of 27 good readers were also studied.

All the subjects had been tracked for reading ability since elementary school.



query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?sec=health&res=9F06E3DF143DF93BA35754C0A9659C8B63&n=Top%2fNews%2fHealth%2f

[Charlie Girl]

Genius here put the wrong link in somehow so I edited it. If you are interested in checking it out, and its quiet interesting, you can now click on the llink and get to the right place.

[jj]

That was a very interesting article. I learn something new every time I turn around on this site. Sounds like a very promising future for kids with dyslexia if strategies are put into place early which only emphasizes the importance of DX'ing dyslexia as soon as possible. Thanks Charlie Girl.

[misty]

I agree jj! I learn new things all the time too. This was a GREAT article!

[lillian]

I've got 150 questions after reading that article:

Were all these children labeled dyslexic?

What's a "disadvantaged school"?

What were the socio-economic backgrounds of the children?

Did the socio-economic backgrounds correlate with a parent's ability to afford outside tutoring?

Did the socio-economic backgrounds correlate with the quality of intervention for dyslexia the children received at school?

Were the children who attended the "disadvantaged schools," children of second-language learners?

On and on and on...

[Charlie Girl]

lillian said:

I've got 150 questions after reading that article:

Were all these children labeled dyslexic? "One group appeared to have what the researchers called a ''predominantly genetic type'' of dyslexia. The second group had what the researchers called a ''more environmentally influenced'' type of dyslexia. " That infers that they were diagnosed as dyslexic

What's a "disadvantaged school"? A disadvantaged school is one in which they don't have the resources for quality teachers and support staff.

What were the socio-economic backgrounds of the children? "The two groups of poor readers were from similar socioeconomic backgrounds and had comparable reading skills when they began school, " It doesn't matter what they were. They all were from similar backgrounds so that wasn't what made the difference.

Did the socio-economic backgrounds correlate with a parent's ability to afford outside tutoring? again, since they were all from the same socio-economic background, that isn't a factor. It isn't likely that the parents who's children went to the better schools all hired tutors.

Did the socio-economic backgrounds correlate with the quality of intervention for dyslexia the children received at school? No. They shared similar socio-economic backgrounds. The primary difference was the quality of the school, not the money that was available.

Were the children who attended the "disadvantaged schools," children of second-language learners? They had comparable reading skills when they began school, according to the study. I think its safe to assume that they looked for children with similar backgrounds. Shaywitz wouldn't overlook something that fundamental.
On and on and on...

''The persistently poor readers have a rudimentary system in place, but it's not connected well,'' Dr. Shaywitz said. ''They weren't able to develop and connect it right because they haven't had that early stimulation.'' The study points to the quality of education the children recieved in school as the main difference in the children's development.

Dr. Shaywitz is very reputable and even though the article doesn't state specifics, it is safe to assume that the study she did was very well done and not shoddy.

.

[lillian]

I respect Shaywitz, and I always recommend her book Overcoming Dyslexia. Still, I would like to read this article in more depth. I'd like to see the actual breakdown of these children and the schools they attended. I'm not putting down the research...It just leaves a lot of questions in my mind.

[lillian]

O.K. Here's an interview where she discusses this study more in depth. I don't have time to read all of it, but from what I have read, the home environment is crucial, as well. I'll read the article later today or tomorrow.

www.childrenofthecode.org/interviews/shaywitz.htm

[Charlie Girl]

I tried to track the original study down and it seems there is a book that you can purchase but the actual study isn't showing up on any search I can think of doing. I would have liked to read the actual research report myself.