Research into
 dyslexia

  Dyslexia Parents Resource

In a recent study, the researchers recorded brain-wave responses of adults to a series of two beeps. The dyslexia sufferers showed distinct responses to both tones but only when there was a half-second pause between them.

As the gap shortened, delayed response to the first sound obscured the second. The good readers could consistently tell the two apart. Other researchers have found hints of the problem in infants.

Psychologists Dennis and Victoria Molfese at Southern Illinois University played a series of taped syllables, like "dee" and "bee," for newborns in the hospital and then recorded their brain-wave responses.

Eight years later, when the same children were in third grade, the researchers tested the kids for dyslexia.

Preliminary results show that 80 percent of the dyslexia sufferers exhibited a single trait as newborns: on average, they responded to sounds three tenths of a second later than other babies. "Kids should be treated early before years of reading failure in school," says Dennis Molfese. (Thanks to Univ. of Wales, Bangor)

• Springboard for Children - A ground-breaking project which has had extraordinary success in helping hundreds of dyslexic children and others struggling to read and write at primary school is poised for a major expansion across Britain. Springboard for Children, an education charity which now has the enthusiastic backing of the British Dyslexia Association, has achieved a 90 per cent success rate in returning children with severe literacy problems to mainstream classrooms. The revolutionary scheme is being used in a dozen schools in Manchester and London, and the plan is now to set the scheme up in ten other inner-city areas – bringing a lifeline to around 10,000 children suffering from dyslexia and other difficulties with reading and writing. The Springboard project relies on intense one-on-one tuition for up to two years, during which a host of innovative techniques are employed to improve the child's skills.
  
  
  
• Individuals with Dyslexia More Likely to be Millionaires - A study by the Tulip Financial Group found that self-made millionaires are more likely to be dyslexic. A significant majority of the 5,000 self-made millionaires in the UK reportedly struggled in school. The results come from a study commissioned by the British Broadcasting Company 2 (BBC2). In an attempt to learn more about the minds of millionaires, a team of psychologists and business experts, spent a day testing a group of entrepreneurial millionaires. They were put through a series of tests. 40% of the 300 millionaires who participated in the more comprehensive study had been diagnosed with dyslexia.
  
  
• Dyslexia - What Causes it? - John Bradford summarizes the latest research.
  
  
• Row Erupts Over Dyslexia Denial - A Durham, UK, University education professor has cast doubt on the scientific validity of the term 'dyslexia', saying experts cannot agree on what it is or how to treat it. Writing in the Times Educational Supplement, Julian Elliott said it was largely an "emotional construct" and questions the scientific validity of the term 'dyslexia'. The British Dyslexia Association says the claims are inflammatory. (Sep 2nd 2005)
  
  
• ADHD drug Adderall linked to 20 deaths - Adderall, the best-selling drug for hyperactivity disorder has been pulled from the market in Canada after being linked to the deaths of 14 children and six adults. Health Canada, the national regulator, said the decision was a result of a "thorough review" of safety data which revealed 20 cases of sudden death and 12 reports of stroke in patients taking Adderall.
  
  
• New Clues to Learning Disability Found - A study finds that delayed brain development and puberty may slow children down.Normal but slowed brain development and the onset of puberty may be important factors in learning disorders such as dyslexia, a new study reports.The study, which appears in the June 21-25 online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, suggests that children with learning disabilities may have immature brains that simply didn't have the time needed to develop properly.The researchers from Northwestern University found that children with dyslexia showed brain development that was about two to four years younger than their chronological age. (June 2004)
  
  
• Inclusion - Researchers report that inclusion improves academic achievement for students with learning difficulties. The researchers suggest that the teacher is an important key to the successful social integration, or inclusion, of children with learning disabilities.
  
  
• Where can I find a test for dyslexia? - overview of dyslexia testing choices by John Bradford.
  
  
• Inside Medicine: Dyslexia - new dyslexia research.
  
  
• Unscrambling Dyslexia New research shows that different patterns of brain activity may account for the neurological disorder known as dyslexia. Phil Ponce asks the experts to discuss the findings.
  
  
• LAB at Brown University: URI Honors Colloguium - the role of genetics in dyslexia.
  
  
• Finding My Own Solutions Thelma Goodwrites about techniques which have helped her as an adult dyslexic writer.
  
  
• Lexiphone Therapy - Dr Isi Beller, a French psychiatrist, has developed a new therapy for children with dyslexia. Children attend a center where they listen to exaggerated words and sounds - like babytalk - played through headphones while they play with Lego or draw. Attendance for an hour twice a week is required for fifty weeks, and the therapy is aimed at re-educating their brains' auditory pathways. Research has shown improvement in most children who took the therapy, though I would have thought that one on one tuition for the same period of time would also have produced substantial improvement . . .
  

House of Lords ruling (UK)
This is taken from The Northern Echo of Saturday 29th July 2000:

A support group for dyslexics in the North-East of England has hailed a legal ruling which should help children in schools.

The Law Lords ruled this week that councils can be sued for failing to provide proper education for special needs children.

The ruling could open the door to hundreds of claims across the country, and Fiona Owen, of the Ripon based Dyslexia Support Group, said she hoped it would force schools and local authorities to make sure sufferers are identified at an early age.

She said; Up until now a majority of schools have been too scared to do anything about it.

'' At the moment, the parents tend to have to put a lot of pressure on to get them tested by the school.'' Fiona has personal experience of how dyslexia can affect youngsters.

She said "I went through school thinking I was stupid or daft and it wasn't until I was 28 that I found out I was dyslexic.
"I found out I had an IQ of 148, so I had myself tested and discovered I was dyslexic.''

The discovery prompted her to start the support group, and she has heard from parents all over the North. East and North Yorkshire.

She said "With schools now worried about getting sued, hopefully they're going to get children tested straight away."