Going to school can be a nightmare for children who have dyslexia. The stress and frustration they have to endure as a result of their poor achievement cause them to be reluctant to go to school, develop low self-esteem, and have behavioral problems.
In Part 1, we discussed the symptoms of dyslexia and the confusion surrounding the term. Some view dyslexia as a condition that cannot be cured but endured, and on the other extreme, some say diagnoses of dyslexia are a complete waste of time. We also discussed the advancement in technology, such as fMRI scans, which made it possible for scientists to see that the brain is plastic and that neuroplasticity is the light at the end of the dark dyslexia tunnel.
The fantastic, plastic brain
Neuroplasticity is the brain’s ability to change. New brain cells are constantly being born, and old brain cells die; new connections can form, and the internal structure of the existing synapses can change. In 90% of people, the left hemisphere controls the capacity to understand and generate language. Even if the left hemisphere of a person’s brain is severely injured, the right side of the brain can take over some language functions. When a person becomes an expert in a specific domain, he will have growth in the areas of the brain that are involved in that particular skill.
An exciting study concluded that London taxi drivers have larger hippocampi than London bus drivers. The hippocampus is a brain structure involved in learning routes and spatial representations. The development in the size of the hippocampus correlated positively with the length of time being a taxi driver, suggesting that driving taxis in London develops the hippocampus.
In another study, 12 people in their early 20s were required to learn a classic three-ball juggling trick over three months until they could sustain a performance for at least one minute. Another 12, the control group, did not juggle. The jugglers showed a significant increase in gray matter in brain area V5, a region implicated in the processing of visual movement.
But what happens when a newly acquired skill like juggling is allowed to stagnate? The participants were asked to stop practicing their juggling skills for three months and were then scanned again. The results? The gray matter in their V5 areas had reduced. This finding supports the idea that the brain needs to be exercised or stimulated; otherwise, one will lose skills.
Another interesting finding is that plasticity can be observed in the brains of bilinguals. Learning a second language seems possible through functional changes in the brain. Those who learn a second language at a younger age are also more likely to have more advanced gray matter than those who learn their second language later.
New research on dyslexia
Technological advances brought new possibilities to dyslexia research. With fMRI scans, et cetera, it has now been confirmed that — as was always suspected — there are indeed differences between the brains of dyslexic persons and good readers. The belief that these brain differences are limited to dyslexic persons (i.e., poor readers with average to above average IQ), however, was overturned.
Using brain imaging scans, neuroscientist John D. E. Gabrieli at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology found no difference in how poor readers with or without dyslexia think while reading. Research results indicated that poor readers of all IQ levels showed significantly less brain activity in the six observed areas than typical readers. But there was no difference in the brains of the poor readers, regardless of their IQs.
Subsequent studies suggested that the cause-effect relationship is reversed; in other words, these brain differences are not the cause of reading difficulties but the result.
In one study published online in the Journal of Neuroscience, researchers analyzed the brains of children with dyslexia. They compared them with two other groups of children: an age-matched group without dyslexia and a group of younger children with the same reading level as those with dyslexia. Although the children with dyslexia had less gray matter than age-matched children without dyslexia, they had the same amount of gray matter as the younger children at the same reading level.
Lead author Anthony Krafnick said this suggests that the anatomical differences reported in left-hemisphere language-processing regions of the brain appear to be a consequence of reading experience instead of a cause of dyslexia.
Dyslexia can be beaten — a case study
Pravin was diagnosed with dyslexia when he was in Grade 7. Pravin and his parents were unsettled and unsure of the way forward. Not only did he have to attend a school program to help students struggling with reading, but he also had to work hard every evening doing eye movement and word recognition exercises.
The issue that troubled Pravin the most was that fellow students labeled him as a “remedial” child. Pravin’s confidence was always quite fragile, given his small stature and quiet, introspective nature, but this diagnosis caused him to withdraw even more.
His teachers and parents picked up on Pravin’s struggle with reading quite early in his schooling career. His parents had his eyes and hearing tested but found both were fine. He participated in several reading programs, but his reading did not improve significantly.
Pravin’s teachers never recommended that he be tested for ADD or any reading disability, so it never occurred to anybody that he could have dyslexia. Having to find out when he was 13 (Grade 7) filled his parents with feelings that ranged from anger and annoyance to sadness and despair. They felt they could not give Pravin the support he needed, and they could only imagine the frustration he had experienced from one class to the next. The program he attended in school didn’t show any improvement in his reading.
Pravin entered high school, and the first six months were challenging. Pravin was withdrawn and tried hard to look happy because he didn’t want to worry his parents. At the end of the second term, he failed his second language and obtained 42% for English.
But Pravin’s life changed within 22 months after enrolling at Edublox, attending one class per week. His English improved from 42% to 58%, and he was writing compositions that brought tears to his mother’s eyes. His imagination and vocabulary were astounding, even though his spelling needed more work.
Pravin was reassessed for dyslexia. The report indicated that only a few symptoms of dyslexia could be picked up. Pravin has managed to overcome this difficulty.
Pravin passed Grade 12 comfortably with an A in Math Literacy. More importantly, Pravin achieved 63% in English! He is currently studying toward a degree in English literature! Yes, the same student who could not pass English in Grade 8 is now studying Shakespeare at university!
In Part 3, we will continue to delve into dyslexia, especially its causes, as it’s usually only possible to solve a problem if we understand the causes.
Edublox offers cognitive training and live online tutoring to students with dyslexia, dysgraphia, dyscalculia, and other learning disabilities. Our students are in the United States, Canada, Australia, and elsewhere. Book a free consultation to discuss your child’s learning needs.
Authored by Sue du Plessis (B.A. Hons Psychology; B.D.), an educational and reading specialist with 30+ years of experience in the learning disabilities field.
