[NIFL-AALPD:527] Re: NewYorkTimes/Shaywitz

From: AWilder106@aol.com
Date: Tue Jul 08 2003 - 09:01:32 EDT


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Subject: [NIFL-AALPD:527] Re: NewYorkTimes/Shaywitz
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Dear Friends,

In the New York  Times today is an article about Sally Shaywitz and  her brain imaging work on dyslexia.  You can get to the article by going to the Times website and clicking until you get to the Science section and then the Health and Fitness subheading. This resource is available, free, for 24 hours every  news cycle.

The imaging pictures may not come through. (And as they are printed in the Times I think they are backward.)

I reported to you on her findings a couple of times this spring, as did Tom Sticht.

There are two findings

1) Dyslexia is a neurological problem, meaning that there are problems with flow of information through the neural circuits where reading and writing are encoded. Other neural circuits can be retrained to support reading and writing functions.

2) Poor reading skills can also result from lack of "early stimulation" that does not develop the reading and writing circuits but relies instead on rote memory functions.  Those with this problem are "twice as likely to attend what the researchers called disadvantaged schools."

In the context of the article and  Shaywtiz's book, "early stimulation" means a lack of well-designed early reading experiences/teaching. (Problems here may well go back to a lack of  home experience with books and reading.)  Shaywtiz's book has suggestions for well-designed reading experiences/teaching which, when followed WILL ALTER the brain images, giving neurological back up, if such is needed, to increased reading skills.



Andrea



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