Home About Us Media Kit Subscriptions Links Forum
APPEARED IN


View All Articles

Download PDF

DIRECTORIES:

Job Opportunities

Tutors

Workshops

Events

Sections:

Books

Camps & Sports

Careers

Children’s Corner

Collected Features

Colleges

Cover Stories

Distance Learning

Editorials

Medical Update

Metro Beat

Movies & Theater

Museums

Music, Art & Dance

Special Education

Spotlight On Schools

Teachers of the Month

Technology

Archives:

1995-2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

JULY 2003

New Dyslexia Study at NYU Child Study Center
by Adam Koplewicz

A research study of teenagers with dyslexia has begun at the New York University Child Study Center. This study is attempting to shed new light and understanding on a common but disabling condition.

Using a new neuroimaging technique, DYNOT (Dynamic Near-infrared Optical Tomography) examines the brain in a safe, non-invasive manner by having a student wear a helmet that will penetrate light into his skull, producing an image of the brain. The study hopes to demonstrate differences between dyslexic and non-impaired readers.

Volunteers are needed between the ages of 12 and 21, with or without dyslexia, to participate in one session for two to four hours. Participants will take a reading assessment test and wearing the DYNOT helmet. Volunteers will receive up to $60. Several schools have agreed to let their students receive community service credit.

Dyslexia is the most common learning disability in the United States, affecting more than 20 million individuals. Unfortunately the disorder is often misunderstood and surrounded with myths. Common misunderstandings include: dyslexics are stupid, dyslexics reverse and flip their letters, boys are affected significantly more often, dyslexics have behavior problems, dyslexia is a “new, modern day problem.”

Individuals with dyslexia have difficulty decoding or breaking down a word. They lack phonemic awareness, the ability to hear the 44 sounds that make up the English language. Reading can be nearly impossible for these individuals. It is understandable that someone with dyslexia is going to find school challenging especially in middle and high school when reading requirements are considerable.

Nevertheless dyslexics, often intelligent, are frequently embarrassed by their disability. General George Patton, one of America’s greatest generals during World War II and a dyslexic, did not start attending school until he was 12 years old because he could not read. Tutors read to him to make sure he gained the necessary information while he struggled to learn how to read. Nelson Rockefeller, governor of New York and vice president of the United States, was also dyslexic and had tutors to teach him to read, which he never was able to do with any ease. Yet Rockefeller graduated from Dartmouth College. Winston Churchill was also dyslexic.

The reason that boys are identified more often is that they are more likely to act up when they can’t read and therefore are more likely to get referred. Nevertheless, studies that examine the reading abilities of the general population show that girls suffer from dyslexia as frequently as boys. When a student has dyslexia he may avoid reading out loud and sometimes resort to being a “clown” or a “troublemaker.”

Dyslexia has been around since humans learned to read. Today, alternative methods to teaching students how to read have been developed; some have been found to be very effective. In addition neuroimaging techniques like MRI have demonstrated differences in the brains of dyslexics as compared to non-impaired readers. The new study at the NYU Child Study Center is attempting to find an easier, safer and less expensive technique to examine these differences that will hopefully lead to improved interventions and treatments for students with dyslexia.#

For more information about the NYU Child Study Center Dyslexia Study please contact Xavier Castellanos, MD, the lead researcher of the study, at 212-263-8911.

COMMENT ON THIS ARTICLE

Name:

Email:
Show email
City:
State:

 


 

 

 

Education Update, Inc.
All material is copyrighted and may not be printed without express consent of the publisher. © 2004.