Top Ten Recent Brain Research Findings in Reading

#10 Pathways Dyslexic readers use different brain pathways than do good readers. Two neural pathways: One for beginning reading, sounding out slowly. The other for speedier more skilled reading.

#9 Findings in Older Students Imaging studies reveal increased activation in the frontal region. Demonstrating over activation in Broca’s region (speech center). Students use systems in front of brain to compensate for disruption in back of brain. One way the student compensates is to sub vocalize as he reads. (Page 82) Overcoming Dyslexia, Shaywitz, Sally, MD

#8 Early Identification Reading disabilities diagnosed after third grade are much more difficult to remediate. Early ID is important because the brain is more “plastic” in younger children and potentially more malleable for re-routing neural circuits.

#7 Brain Repair One year after an educational intervention…. The auxiliary pathways on the right side were reduced. (These pathways are associated with slower sounding out skills). There was further development of the primary system on the left-side (comparable to that of good readers). These left-side posterior circuits are essential for rapid automatic reading. Shaywitz & Shaywitz

Reasoning Dr. Bennet Shaywitz, theorizes that since the basic circuitry for linking letters to sounds is disrupted in dyslexic readers, they develop and come to rely on other neural systems not only for reading but for problem solving. They see things in a different way, are more creative…they think outside the box.

#6 Siblings If one child in a family is dyslexic almost half of his brothers/sisters are also likely to be dyslexic. The gene research on this area has shown no single dominant gene, probably several involved.

# 5 Gender No significant difference was found in the prevalence of reading disability in the boys and girls we identified. Shaywitz, S. (Page 32)

#4 Myth The deficit responsible for the disorder resides in the language system … it resides in only a small part of the language system, the Phonological module. (Page 41)

#3 Myth Children with dyslexia are not usually prone to seeing letters or words backwards. b d

#2 Reading is not in the genes. Speaking is natural, reading is not. Reading is not built into the genes, it is acquired. Reading has only been in existence for 5,000 years, speaking has existed for far longer.

#1 Sounds vs. Whole word Everyone reads sound-by-sound.

Early Warning Signs Delay in speaking Mispronouncing Misnaming Insensitivity to rhyme Talks around a word Word retrieval Understands meaning of words Difficulty with segmenting, blending, and rapid naming Difficulty knowing letter names, sounds

Later Signs Dyslexic readers: Require many more exposures to a printed word over a much longer period of time. Has difficulty with the little words; in, on, the. Reading nonsense words is the best measure of phonologic decoding skill deficit. Often do better on tests of reading comprehension than on decoding isolated single words.

Key Elements of Effective Early Intervention Systematic and direct instruction in Phonemic awareness Explicit Phonics Practice in applying skills to reading/writing Fluency training Enriched language experiences

Teaching SLD Students to Read …use state-of-the-art evidence based instructional strategies and commercial reading programs. For more information see numerous reading programs reviewed in chapters 15 – 19 of Overcoming Dyslexia (as reviewed by the National Reading Panel).

Oral Reading Once a student is fairly fluent and has received adult feedback, use Guided Repeated Oral Reading. To build up the numerous repetitions needed, use: Peer practice Tape-recorder Repeated reading Paired reading Shared reading Assisted reading Echo reading

In the Future… we may be able to more precisely target our interventions. we may be able to pinpoint interventions that are scientifically sound. we may be able to diagnose earlier and apply interventions that reduce reading problems in the intermediate years.