Rochelle--thanks for the calibre of this!  I rely on you to give us the 
best, fast, this is  worth looking  into.

Thanks!

Andrea
On Jan 10, 2007, at 3:03 PM, KC Andrew wrote:


> 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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