Dyslexia...and technology training?

I have actually known many people with some form of dyslexia, even teachers. Many have either just accepted it, or found ways to adapt in order to still succeed in their everyday lives-school or careers. this article says that 5-17% of "the population" (whatever that means) is dyslexic, that is a considerable amount. Although that causes have been argued, MRI's show that people with dyslexia have"neural disruption in phonological processing." This is shown in the image above.

I read the article 11: "Changes in Brain Function in Children with Dyslexia after Training," by Elise Temple. pp. 47-49

The study examine by Temple was the first to use a fMRI (functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) is a type of specialized MRI scan. It measures the haemodynamic response related to neural activity in the brain or spinal cord of humans or other animals. www.wikipedia.com) in order to understand the disorder, which was administered in 2003.

It used Fast ForWord Language for training, that "focuses on auditory processing and oral language through an intensive and adaptive computer program." The study compared 20 dyslexic children aged 8-12, who had been confirmed dyslexic by the fMRI, and then 12 "normal" 8-12 year old children. They were both required to participate in the training program on the website mention previously.

The study found notable improvement in reading skills for the dyslexic youth. They improved in both language and reading ability. the study also took a post-training fMRI which also showed "normalizing" and "compensating" changes in brain function.


Okay, so could it really have been so easy all along? has it always been as simple as training focus on auditory processing and oral language? Then, part of me thinks, wow, what a great advertisement. I'm convinced.

On a mre optimistic side, I think this study is interesting, using technology to improve neurological disorders makes perfect sense. Something important, the website also mentions using this program for ELL students as well. This is key, because it seems to be common knowledge in the education realm that repitition is key, and what better tool can be used that a computer? Which takes out the human element to an extent. The computer does not worry about class time, or run out of patience. I see this website/educational program as a possible usefull resource. However, this article did fail to mention the study itself. How long did they do this? What were the time periods. Did they do it for 30 minutes a day? a week? I believe this aspect would be important to the effectiveness of the training.

Overall, I hope we have found a way to help dyslexic people to overcome. The first step, however, is identifying those with dyslexia. I am hopefull that this method of using technology in order to help those with dyslexia.