Listen Up: Abnormality In Auditory Processing Underlies Dyslexia

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/239620.php

Listen Up: Abnormality In Auditory Processing Underlies Dyslexia

     Cell Press. (2012, January 2). "Listen Up: Abnormality In Auditory Processing Underlies Dyslexia." Medical News Today.

People with dyslexia often struggle with the ability to accurately decode and identify what they read. Although disrupted processing of speech sounds has been implicated in the underlying pathology of dyslexia, the basis of this disruption and how it interferes with reading comprehension has not been fully explained. Now, new research published by Cell Press in the December 22 issue of the journal Neuron finds that a specific abnormality in the processing of auditory signals accounts for the main symptoms of dyslexia.

"It is widely agreed that for a majority of dyslexic children, the main cause is related to a deficit in the processing of speech sounds," explains senior study author, Dr. Anne-Lise Giraud and Franck Ramus from the Ecole Normale Supérieure in Paris, France. "It is also well established that there are three main symptoms of this deficit: difficulty paying attention to individual speech sounds, a limited ability to repeat a list of pseudowords or numbers, and a slow performance when asked to name a series of pictures, colors, or numbers as quickly as possible. However, the underlying basis of these symptoms has not been elucidated."

Dr. Giraud and colleagues examined whether an abnormality in the early steps of auditory processing in the brain, called "sampling," is linked with dyslexia by focusing on the idea that an anomaly in the initial processing of phonemes, the smallest units of sound that can be used to make a word, might have a direct impact on the processing of speech.

The researchers found that typical brain processing of auditory rhythms associated with phonemes was disrupted in the left auditory cortex of dyslexics and that this deficit correlated with measures of speech sound processing. Further, dyslexics exhibited an enhanced response to high-frequency rhythms that indirectly interfered with verbal memory. It is possible that this "oversampling" might result in a distortion of the representation of speech sounds.

"Our results suggest that the left auditory cortex of dyslexic people may be less responsive to modulations at very specific frequencies that are optimal for analysis of speech sounds and overly responsive to higher frequencies, which is potentially detrimental to their verbal short-term memory abilities," concludes Dr. Giraud. "Taken together, our data suggest that the auditory cortex of dyslexic individuals is less fine-tuned to the specific needs of speech processing."


Kasting Connections' Perspective:

This brief article states what I've known to be true for a while.  What it doesn't state is that there are some ways to improve auditory processing.

In the clinic setting, I have been successful in using a three prong approach:

1)  Occupational Therapy -Sensory Integration Approach:

     Find an occupational therapist that has been trained in Sensory Integration, maybe through The STAR Center in Denver, Colorado via a mentor ship given by the top O.T. in the field, Dr. Lucy Jane Miller or maybe through S.I.P.T training. The O.T. should have sought out extra training that what was given in school. Ask about their experience, look at their sensory gym space. It should have at least 6 to 8 ceiling hooks that equipment can hang from and rotate 360 degrees. Their gym should have many options available for fine motor, gross motor, auditory processing, visual processing, etc. Ask if they are trained in astronaut training through Dr. Sheila Frick (Vital Links) which uses a spinning protocol to help the vestibular system improve along with the connection to eye movement needed for reading!

2)  Use of Listening Therapy:

      The use of Listening Therapy retrains the brain how to take in sensory information through all the senses and teaches the brain how to efficiently process the sensory information.  We have had great success with students of all ages.  There are several listening therapies out there; I would recommend the use of 3:  Vital Links,  Samonas, and Integrated Listening Systems.

3)  Direct Academic intervention:

     I have used Phonological Awareness Kit from Lingui Systems as a step to help students with auditory discrimination issues.  In conjunction with that curriculum, I have used Earobics Software for all ages to give students an engaging way to work on auditory processing skills. If that software is too expensive for you, a reasonable alternative is Hear Builder: Phonological Awareness through Super Duper Publications.

Good Luck and let me know how your interventions are working!

Visual Processing Affects On Reading, Part 2: Symptoms of Poor Eye Tracking Skills

The last post referred to visual processing deficits, particularly poor eye tracking skills, which impact a child's ability to read and/or learn how to read. My colleagues and I have had the wonderful opportunity to work with Dr. Kristy M. Remick, a developmental optometrist, and her vision therapist, Vicki Bedes, in regards to vision therapy. They published a book, Eyes on Track: A Missing Link to Successful Learning which gives practical visual development activities that can be done by parents and teachers to help students with poor visual processing skills. While working with students in the clinic setting, many of the activities suggested in Eyes on Track were used successfully in conjunction with occupational therapy with a sensory integration focus.  Much of the following information is summarized from Dr. Remick and Mrs. Bedes’ book.

 Students give us clues on a daily basis which display their difficulty processing visual information on a page.  They may say:

            “I lose my place when I read.”

            “I have to blink when I read.”

            “The words and letters are blurry.”

            “I have to use my finer or I lose my place.”

            “I reread lines sometimes.”

            “My eyes get tired when I read.”

            “I can’t remember what I’m reading.”

 Teachers should be looking for the following performance based symptoms of poor eye tracking skills that students display in the classroom:

             Avoids near-point work

            Poor posture while reading

            Head tilting when reading or writing

            Holds book too close to eyes

            Homework requiring reading takes a long time

            Poor attention during work time

            Loses place when reading

            Uses a marker or finger to keep place

            Moves head when reading

            Omits, re-reads words/letters

            Re-reads lines

            Repeats letters within words

            Reads big words, but misreads/misses smaller words (and, but, if, the)

            Difficulty copying form chalkboard/loses place

            Avoids reading out loud

Enjoys being read to/avoids self-reading

Poor reading comprehension

            Comprehension declines as reading continues

            Misaligns numbers in math

            Does not look directly into speaker’s eyes

            Easily distracted


Students can have both eye tracking difficulties and poor vision perception.  The following performance symptoms reflect a vision perception deficit which impacts performance in other areas.  Teachers should look for the following signs of poor vision perception:

            Letter reversals in reading or writing (b,d,q,p)

            Number reversals

            Repeatedly confuses right/left direction

            Word reversals (saw/was, on/no)

            Grips pencil too tightly/poor grip (thumbs crossed over fingers)

            Poor handwriting

            Poor spacing when writing

            Uses other hand as “spacer” to control spacing when writing

            Writes uphill or downhill

            Orients drawings/writing poorly on page

            Poor shape recognition/difficulty copying shapes

            Confuses similar words

            Failure to recognize same word in next sentence

            Poor visualization/spells words based on sounds only

            Poor comprehension/unable to describe what has been read

            May comprehend better when someone reads to them

            Difficulty with sports/poor motor skills

            Frustration with school work


Students who display similar symptoms in the classroom are probably suffering from vision deficits and should be evaluated by a Developmental Optometrist and receive intervention.  The activities found in  Eyes on Track: A Missing Link to Successful Learning can be beneficial to those families who don’t have the financial means to access Vision Therapy and/or Occupational Therapy with a Sensory Integration focus. 

Parents Active for Vision Education (P.A.V.E.) have an excellent website to inform and guide parents (and teachers) on the relationship between vision and achievement.   

http://pavevision.org/

Visual Processing Effects on Reading Part 1

One of the most complex activities that the brain performs is reading, and one of the most important parts of reading is the proper movement of the eyes across the page of print to be able to read that print.  Eye movements are the fastest and most frequent movements made by the human body.  Ocular motor control refers to the control and coordination of eye muscles/movements needed to read print on a page.  Ocular motor dysfunction is one of the main causes of poor reading.

Eye movements are controlled by three pairs of muscles that control three different types of eye movements: moving side to side (left to right when reading), moving up and down (moving down to the next line of text, or moving from your notes to the board), and rotating to keep the visual image upright.

When students are given vision screenings for school, they are usually ONLY tested for visual acuity at a distance of 20 feet and for color blindness.  Most reading is done within an arm's length, so the standard eye chart test does not screen for NEAR vision skills, the skills that are in constant demand of students when performing school tasks. Furthermore, the Snellen Eye Chart that is still used today in screenings was developed way back in 1862 to be used during the Civil War!  Needless to say, most standard school vision screenings have limitations in identifying visual problems that may interfere with a student's school performance.

Due to invention of visually passive items like video games, computer screens, and cell phones, near vision problems are becoming an epidemic in school age children.  The National Eye Institute found a 66% increase in in nearsightedness (myopia) from the early 1970's.  Children are spending less and less time outside where vision is stimulated by focusing on objects further away.

Numerous studies have shown that good eye tracking and attentional skills are directly related to reading readiness.  It has been observed that children younger than 7 years old often have inadequate eye movements for reading readiness.  Most 5 year olds have difficulty performing accurate eye movements used in moving from one word to the next of printed text.  So, why are asking our children to read in kindergarten?  The United States has the highest incidence of learning disabled children while Europe demonstrates a much lower incidence of learning disabilities in children.  Research has shown most European nations don't start students reading until 7 years of age.  There is something to be said about outdoor play and allowing young children to develop in an age appropriate manner.

Coming Next:  Part 2:  Symptoms of Poor Eye Tracking Skills