Dyslexia finally explained?
Dyslexia is a learning disorder that affects a person's ability to read, write and spell. It is often linked to mixing up letters, but it also affects the ability to make sense of sounds. A new study led by Bart Boets, a clinical psychologist, has shed light on the importance of phonological representation in dyslexia. In the study, participants listened to series of similar sounds and were asked to tell them apart. The results showed that while both the control group and the dyslexic group could process the sounds, the people with dyslexia were slower to respond. This suggests that dyslexia is not a problem with processing sounds as such, but with the speed at which sounds are processed.
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Dyslexia in writing and in speech
Dyslexia: a problem with understanding sounds
When we talk about dyslexia, we usually think of people who mix up certain letters when they read or write. But that is really only the tip of the iceberg! Dyslexia may also affect how we understand the sounds we hear spoken. This is what specialists call phonological representation. A new study to understand dyslexia.
Thanks to a recent study led by Bart Boets, we now know more about the importance of phonological representation. This clinical psychologist played series of different but fairly similar sounds, such as “da-da-da-da-da” and “ba-ba-ba-ba-ba”, to people with dyslexia and to a control group. Both groups had to tell the two series apart. The result: both the control group and the dyslexic group succeeded. So, strictly speaking, people with dyslexia have no problem processing sounds. A problem with the speed of sound processing
The scientists did, however, find one difference between the two groups: the time they needed to take in the difference between the sounds. On average, the people with dyslexia were slower to answer than the control group.
Using MRI, they observed the brain processes at work during the exercise. Their conclusion: this difference in speed may be linked to poorer coordination between several areas of the brain involved in processing language. Understanding dyslexia better in order to treat it better. Why does this study matter?
It gives us a better understanding of dyslexia. However, it is still too early for it to change the way people with dyslexia are supported. The results first need to be confirmed in a larger group of adults, and then in children. If they are confirmed, exercises based on the speed of sound processing could become part of the support. Towards a cure for dyslexia?
For Bart Boets, if these results are confirmed, we could also imagine a treatment based on electrical stimulation of the brain. This could help restore good connectivity between the brain regions involved in dyslexia.
This is the aim of the Tomatis method combined with Giger MD: to improve phonological processing and the connection between the brain regions involved in processing language.
Article by Elise Dubuisson, health journalist, published on 17 February 2014 http://www.e-sante.fr/dyslexie-enfin-elucidee/actualite/20717 Sources: Marie Van Reybroeck, speech therapist and professor of psychological and educational sciences at UC. Boets, B. et al., Science 6 December 2013: Vol. 342 no. 6163 pp. 1251-1254. DOI: 10.1126/science.1244333
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