Researchers develop new resource to aid dyslexic children

By Susan Johnson, posted Aug 28, 2001

People who are dyslexic tend to visualize and interpret the world
differently, and all types of training tools have been introduced to
re-route these cognitive processes in hopes they will better understand
auditory and visual information. A group of Finish psychologists has
developed a computer game to re-train the brain of a dyslexic child, and
they believe the game also has the ability to unearth the origins of the
disorder.

A pilot study conducted on a group of seven-year-old Finnish children
reported improved reading accuracy and speed after exposure to the game’s
memory-reliant matching of shapes and sounds. Further tests showed the
training has improved activity in the auditory cortex, the area of the
brain vital in deciphering speech and language. The Helsinki-based research
team hopes to market the software worldwide.

In an interview with BBC News Online, Teija Kujala, team leader of the
Cognitive Brain Research Unit at the University of Helsinki, says the
program is very simple and can be administered in any language.

"We observed improvement in reading generally. The brain started to process
auditory information better," Kujala said.

The causes of dyslexia are unknown, but the disorder is believed to be
genetic. Dyslexics are often gifted in other areas, but communication and
understanding are conducted differently in the brain. In Canada, 23 per
cent of the population has been diagnosed with the disorder. Louise Ward,
principal of the Heritage Academy of Learning Excellence for students with
dyslexia and director of the Canadian Dyslexic Association, says computer
games for cognitive stimulation will not teach a dyslexic person to read or
write, but will surely speed up the process.

"When I teach a logical method of thought that is unfamiliar to a dyslexic
student, if his perception is good, he will learn a lot faster. It is
almost like learning a second language. You must learn to discriminate
between sounds."

For 10 years, Ward has been involved with the Ottawa-based Heritage Academy
where dyslexic children are taught regular subjects using class discussions
and interactive teaching methods to improve learning. She says many of her
students processing abilities are superior because a dyslexic person tends
to interpret a whole picture immediately rather than absorbing the image
one piece at a time.

This speedy process may skim minor visual or auditory details, or irritate
the person when others need more time to absorb the same input. Teaching a
dyslexic person to process information in a regular sequence may ease this
frustration, and Ward says many of these computer programs will speed the
process when used as an at-home tutorial.

The Helsinki-team, who has published their study in the journal Proceedings
of the National Academy of Sciences, hopes its research will point to the
origins of dyslexia, but Ward says these games are simply useful as a
teaching tool.

"I don’t think these programs will really discover the root of dyslexia,
but they are very good at improving skills. I believe that a dyslexic
functions totally different than we do. We are training their whole being
to be sequential, and their perceptual habits are not at all sequential. It
is more important to understand their perceptual patterns, eliminate their
difficulties, and then their unique gifts would remain."