'Jump start' boost for dyslexics
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.DYSLEXIC children can be "jump-started" with a three-week instructional course aimed at helping them use the same parts of their brains as normal readers, scientists said today.
DYSLEXIC children can be "jump-started" with a three-week instructional course aimed at helping them use the same parts of their brains as normal readers, scientists said today.
Scans showed that the carefully-focused teaching method caused relatively inactive brain regions to "wake-up".
As a result, the children began to display the same abilities as individuals who have no trouble reading.
Professor Virginia Berninger, who led the research at the University of Washington in Seattle, USA, said the brain coded words by their sound, or phonology, the parts of words that signal meaning and grammar, and their visual or written form.
She said: "The brain uses three neural circuits to code words in three forms, not just meaning.
"The teaching that gave dyslexic brains the jump-start was unique in that it made every aspect of reading words explicit. It drew attention to the sound form, the meaning form, and the written form of words, and showed how to interrelate them.
"While many debate whether phonics or meaning-based instruction is more effective, we found an effective way to treat dyslexia is to show how letters, sounds and meaning are interrelated."
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments