Dyslexia is an inherited condition which makes it difficult to read, write and spell even though the sufferer may have normal or above average intelligence (Reilly 70). The National Institutes of Health (NIH) recognizes that one in five children suffers from some form of dyslexia, making it the most common of all known learning disabilities. It is characterized by difficulties in word decoding, reflecting insufficient phonological processing ability, often manifested by difficulties in writing and spelling. The International Dyslexia Association (IDA) considers dyslexia as ôa neurologically based, often familially inherited, disorder, interfering with the acquisition and processing of language, varying in severity, and manifested by difficulties in receptive and expressive languageö (Reilly 70) This includes phonological processing, reading, writing, spelling, and handwriting, and also sometimes includes mathematics.
In a recent study out of Cornell University, 20 children with dyslexia and 12 matched controls with no reading problems, all aged between 8 and 12 years, performed daily tasks on a computer for one month, matching speech sounds to written consonants and vowels, and they practiced related skills (Brain 173). Before and after the course, a functional magnetic resonance imaging scanner was used to measure blood flow changes through each childÆs brain uniquely linked to identifying rhyming letters. This tasks looks at the ability to decode sounds associated with different letters, which is a crucial skill for learning to read. After the training sessions, children with dyslexia showed a substantial improvement in reading and speech comprehension, and blood flow surges in several brain areas implicated in reading. These children also showed elevated brain activity in the areas of memory and attention. No changes were seen in the brains of control students.
Research studies have shown a neurological diff...