Hi Rochelle - I thought it was a fascinating premise (I saw is in Schwab Learning) and it confirmed some of my informal observations of how dyslexic people approach reading.  However, I suspect that there may be room for both schools of thought (and probably more!) and what is causal for one dyslexic reader may not be true of all of them.
 
KC Andrew
Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges
Adult Basic Education - Professional Development Services
360/485-2338
kandrew at sbctc.ctc.edu <mailto:kandrew at sbctc.ctc.edu> 
 

________________________________

From: learningdisabilities-bounces at nifl.gov on behalf of RKenyon721 at aol.com
Sent: Wed 1/10/2007 11:35 AM
To: learningdisabilities at nifl.gov
Subject: [LearningDisabilities 844] New Dyslexia Theory Blames 'Noise'


Hello all,
 
In the January 10, 2007 newsletter from Medical News Today, a article entitled New Dyslexia Theory Blames 'Noise' presents some interesting information from research funded by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.  Below are some interesting sections from that article:


The dyslexic brain struggles to read because even small distractions can throw it off, according to a new model of dyslexia emerging from a group of recent studies.

The studies contradict an influential, 30-year-old theory that blamed dyslexia on a neural deficit in processing the fast sounds of language. 

Instead, the studies suggest that children with dyslexia have bad filters for irrelevant data. As a result, they struggle to form solid mental categories for identifying letters and word sounds.

Such children may benefit from intensive training under "noisy" conditions to strengthen their mental templates, said University of Southern California neuroscientist Zhong-Lin Lu.... 


"In terms of treatment, the results suggest that programs that foster the development of sharper perceptual categories for letters and letter sounds might be a good way to supplement existing dyslexia interventions," she added....
 
Johannes Ziegler of the Universite de Provence in Marseille, France, was the lead author on a study of dyslexia and auditory noise published this year in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 

Ziegler said his results suggest that dyslexia stems from shaky categories for phonemes (the basic sounds of language). 

"In silence, information is often redundant and dyslexics get away with the perception deficit," Ziegler said in an e-mail. "In noise, however, they can no longer compensate. 

"What is important is that noisy environments are the rule and not the exception," he added, citing a study from South Bank University in the U.K. that found average noise levels in primary classrooms to be as high as near a busy intersection. 

"What Sperling and Lu's data suggest is that the mechanism responsible for faulty phonological development is quite general and has to do with attention in a broad sense. 

"This is a great paper of very high significance - As people like Steve Grossberg [of Boston University] have argued for many years, attention - is crucial for stable learning of categories." 

Ziegler called for preventive training for children with weak speech perception in noise in kindergarten or early primary grades, saying they are at greater risk for developing dyslexia.... 





The above includes only a few short snapshots from the article.  Has anyone read the entire article?  I would be interested in hearing your thoughts about this important research and how it could impact the field.
 
You can access the article at:
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=59027&nfid=nl 
 
Thanks,
 
Rochelle
 
 
Rochelle Kenyon
Moderator, LINCS Learning Disabilities Discussion List
Center for Literacy Studies at the University of Tennessee
RKenyon721 at aol.com 
 
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