Children with Dyslexia Read Better with Free App

Parents who have children with dyslexia know the frustration they and their kids feel as they face the challenge of reading.

Now a French-Italian research team have discovered a simple way to help children with dyslexia read 20% faster and make much fewer errors, and you can try it with a free app.

You can help your child with dyslexia

Dyslexia is a learning disability that can interfere with an individual's ability to read, spell, write, and even speak in some cases.

Dyslexia is the most common learning disability among children, and it continues throughout adulthood.

The severity of dyslexia can range from mild to severe, yet it can be treated, and the sooner the better. Typical warning signs of dyslexia include

• Letter and number reversals. Although this is common in younger children, after age 7 or 8 it usually disappears. If it does not, children should be tested for dyslexia
• Difficulty copying from a book, computer screen, or board
• Difficulty distinguishing left from right
• Written work is generally disorganized
• May have difficulty moving to the rhythm of music

The research team, headed by Johannes Ziegler of the Laboratoire de Psychologie Cognitive, discovered that increasing the amount of spacing between characters and words can improve how fast and how accurately dyslexic children read, and without any prior training.

What parents may appreciate even more is that these researchers also developed an iPad/iPhone application, which is available free of charge, that allows parents and dyslexic children to change the spacing between letters and test if this new approach to reading works for them.

What the dyslexia study revealed
The researchers came upon their finding by testing 94 children with dyslexia, ages 8 to 14 years, and their ability to read. The 54 Italian and 40 French children read 24 sentences with normal spaces and then wider than normal spacing.

When the children read the text with wider spacing, their reading speed was an average of 20% faster and they made half as many errors. This finding opens up great possibilities for children with dyslexia, for whom it typically takes one year to read what a "normal reader" can read in two days.

A free app for dyslexia may help
Parents can get the free app for dyslexia here. The free app is currently available in French and English, downloadable from Apple Store, and allows parents and children to alter the spacing between letters.

Children with dyslexia have an impairment in their brain's ability to convert images into language they can understand. However, this difficulty is not related to vision or hearing problems, nor is it caused by mental retardation or a lack of intelligence.

In fact, many highly successful and creative people had or have dyslexia. Some of them include Thomas Edison, Albert Einstein, Tom Cruise, Cher, Richard Branson, and Winston Churchill.

The authors of this new study report that "our findings offer a practical way to ameliorate dyslexics' reading achievement without any training." They note that "extra large letter spacing, which could even be optimized adaptively on an individual basis, can certainly contribute to achieving this goal."

Children with dyslexia can become easily discouraged by their difficulty in learning to read, and this can lead to development of low self-esteem, depression, behavior problems, and a dislike for school. A free app for children with dyslexia could be a new beginning for this population of young people.

SOURCE:
Zorzi M et al. Extra-large letter spacing improves reading in dyslexia. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 2012. doi:10.1073/pnas.1205566109

Dyslexia: Letter Reversals - Bulldog demo video - YouTube

Let me introduce you to the Bulldog Letter Reversals, a downloadable games, worksheets and kinaesthetic activities pack for children aged 5-12 years.

The company claims that Bulldog, the adorable dog featured throughout this multi-sensory learning pack, helps children to learn and remember the difference between ‘b’ and ‘d’.

They also claim that introducing your child to Bulldog, will give him / her a strategy to remember the difference between ‘b’ and ‘d’ and in most cases it will resolve the problem entirely and you will have a happy smiling child again.

The company expects the Bulldog theme keep children engaged and motivated, helping them have lots of fun whilst they learn.

Check out the video below and decide for yourself!



Testimonial
“My students loved the games and materials! They would ask me ‘Can we play Bulldog again?’ Not only were the games fun for them, but they are confusing b/d far less now, and with more of the games (and flashcards) confusion will soon be a non-issue. The worksheets have also been popular with the children (and parents, for homework). Greatly recommended!”Debbie Took Primary School Teacher, Henley-on-Thames.

Check out the website  www.bulldogletterreversals.com

Understanding Dyslexia

The Background

In 1896, W. Pringle Morgan, a UK medical practitioner, provided one of the first descriptions of dyslexia. Prior to that, the disorder was thought to be a form of mental retardation and unfortunately that ghost has not been completely exorcised.

Published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) was Morgan’s case of a 14-year old boy who had extreme difficulty in reading, but he excelled in sport and achieved the same level of his peers.

This intrigued many scientists who had been studying the disorder for years. They finally realised that those who have the disorder could actually possess above average to exceptional intelligence.

Some, they found out, even excel in sports and the creative arts, because of this, the distorted opinion that dyslexia is a form of mental retardation, was finally ruled out in academic circles.

The Root of the word
From the Greek words “dys” meaning difficulty and “lexia” meaning verbal language, dyslexia can be defined as a specific learning disorder resulting from neurological and genetic causes.

It affects one or more of the basic processes involved in understanding spoken or written language.

This results in the difficulty of the brain in stringing words, numbers, and symbols at least average intelligence. Dyslexia may show up as a problem in listening, thinking, speaking, reading, writing, or spelling or in a person’s ability in math.

Letter and word reversal and disorganisation of word order are common symptoms. Problems with coordination, memory, depth, perception, and discerning left from right may arise.

This explains why most dyslexics find it difficult to transfer information exactly from what is heard to what is seen and vice versa.

Research
Much research has been carried ou on Dyslexia and some researchers have determined that a specific gene is responsible for dyslexia. This supports their claim that the condition results from a brain difference and site that the right hemisphere of the brain of dyslexics is larger than that of normal individuals.

This may be the reason why dyslexics excel in areas controlled by the right hemisphere of the brain – such as artistic and athletic; 3D visualisation ability, musical talent; and creative problem solving skills but are poor in perceptual, motor, linguistic, and adaptive—areas controlled by the brain’s left hemisphere.

The Organic cause
For years, the organic cause of dyslexia has puzzled doctors who have been studying the disorder.

A significant breakthrough, however, was provided in 1998 by Dr. Sally Shaywitz, a researcher at the Yale University of Medicine and author of the book Overcoming Dyslexia.

Dr. Shaywitz’ s findings revealed that areas in the back of the brain that are usually activated when readers sounded out words are significantly less activated in dyslexics.

Areas in the front of dyslexics’ brains show more activity than in those of the brains of normal individuals.

Dyslexia and Science
The Science pertaining to Dyslexia has seen great progress, aiding better understanding. Despite the extensive research that has been done, there is still no 'cure' or specific scientifically-based programs that work, reliably.

Finding the right school with the proper reading programs and well-trained teachers and supportive parents, is certainly essential. Dr. Shaywitz, in an interview, stated that “there’s a huge need to educate our parents and our teachers.”

Long Term
Though dyslexia is seen as a permanent condition, it does not mean that we should leave dyslexics unsupported or unaided, for the rest of their lives. Recognising the nature of their Dyslexia, discovering and accepting their limitations, form part of the first steps in dealing with the disorder.

Dr. Shaywitz’s advice is, “go get help. It’s remarkable. The news is so good. We’ve learned so much (and are learning more all the time) and people who go and get help can totally turn their lives around.”