Dyslexia And The New Science Of Reading

In the future, we may be able to spot problems even earlier. Two researchers at the University of Louisville, Victoria and Dennis Molfese, have studied the brainwaves of infants and compared them to the reading skills of the same kids at 8. In a report released earlier this year, the Molfeses said they found that infants who later had reading problems responded slightly more slowly to a series of taped syllables--perhaps because they were not processing sounds efficiently.

No one really knows how the Molfeses' findings fit into the larger picture. Some researchers think these delays correlate with another key predictor of reading trouble, the lack of a skill called "rapid naming," quickly retrieving the names of very familiar letters and numbers. "What you're measuring," says Joseph Torgesen, an educational psychologist at Florida State University, "is how fast a child can make a connection between a visual symbol and its spoken equivalent." That skill is essential to reading. Maryanne Wolf, director of the Center for Reading and Language Research at Tufts University, believes sound differentiation and naming speed could be separate causes of dyslexia, what she calls a "double deficit."

One program that has been proved effective is the Lindamood Phoneme Sequencing program (LiPS), which makes students identify how sounds feel while saying them. Consonants are given names according to the motions involved in making them. For example, "P" is a "lip popper" because the lips start together and then come apart. This gives students another way to recognize letter sounds. One reason this may work is it helps dyslexics get past that initial obstacle, their inability to break words down. They may not be able to distinguish the constituent sounds in a word, but they can feel their mouths making distinct and separate motions. Researchers are now trying to find out whether this kind of training can produce changes in the brains of dyslexics.

In selecting a program for their kids, Shaywitz advises parents and teachers to look for programs that emphasize breaking words down into sounds--what researchers call "phoneme awareness." "Dyslexic kids need very intense and specific help" in this area, she says. The second key ingredient is learning the letters that go with those sounds--or phonics, which Lyon calls "nonnegotiable... You have to learn it." The final essential is constant practice, using interesting stories to develop fluency, vocabulary and comprehension. While these are elements of any good reading program, the difference is in the increased intensity and explicitness for dyslexics.

Researchers are using this information, gleaned from the new brain research, to revolutionize the way reading is taught to all students. The main obstacle is that many classroom teachers are woefully undertrained in the newest techniques. "Teaching reading is rocket science," says Louisa Moats, NICHD researcher. "Our profession has underestimated how much and what kind of training teachers need." For the last two years, Moats has been working with some Washington, D.C., public schools with a large number of students who may be at risk because they come from low-income homes, and haven't had much exposure to books. Their curriculum includes lots of rhyming, songs and games, as well as hands-on activities. By the end of the first year, administrators were amazed to find that almost all of their kindergartners were starting to read.

Until more kids get that chance, much of the burden will continue to fall on parents. But there's a lot they can do even before their kids are in school. Language games like pig Latin (igpay atinlay) enhance the ability to manipulate sounds in words. Another good tool: just about anything by Dr. Seuss, because of the rhyming and wordplay in the texts. Of course, this is no guarantee of success, but research consistently shows that kids who are exposed to rhymes are more likely to hear the individual sounds of language. When their kids start kindergarten, parents should be alert for signs that the children are falling behind. Getting help isn't always easy; parents have to be aggressive advocates.