Spark PILOT 2017 [Kumon Oak Bay Victoria] Spark PILOT 2017 [Kumon Oak Bay Victoria] | Page 23

S PA R K M a g a z i n e | P I L O T 2 0 1 7
KUM O N ST U DI E S
23
INSTRUCTION
The Science of Reading
A Revolutionary Breakthrough in How the Brain Reads
The topic was Reading at a conference of School Psychologists in
October 2005 in Baltimore, Maryland. The cutting edge presen-
tations included “The Science of Reading,” “Reading is the New
Civil Right,” and “Research Based Reading Strategies that are
Successful,” all appropriate themes for School Psychologists who
have the responsibility of testing and evaluating students for spe-
cial education services in the schools. Since at least 80% of stu-
dents diagnosed with Learning Disabilities are Reading Disabled
(Shaywitz, Overcoming Dyslexia, 2003), School Psychologists,
as well as other educators, need to be aware of the latest scientific
breakthroughs in the field of reading.
The Reading Disability Dyslexia is under diagnosed in schools
because many students who have it do not meet the required
school guidelines of a certain discrepancy between their academ-
ic achievement and their ability as designated by specific stan-
dardized tests administered by School Psychologists. Currently,
this limited definition of qualification is under scrutiny because
Dyslexia affects at least 20% of the general population (Shay-
witz, 2003). Also, in 1998, reading statistics from the National
Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) were so low that the
National Research Council’s Committee on Preventing Reading
Difficulties in Young Children concluded that, “The educational
careers of 25 to 40 percent of American children are imperiled
because they don’t read well enough, quickly enough, or easily
enough.” (Snow et al., Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young
Children, 1998). Even recent NAEP data report that nearly 40%
of 4th graders in the U.S. are reading below grade level.
Myth Fact
Dyslexia is a rare disorder. Not true. Dyslexia is very com-
mon; at least 1 out of 5 individu-
als have it; there are 10 million
struggling readers in the U.S.;
there are approximately 4 or 5 in
every class of 20 students.
Dyslexia is a visual problem. Not so. Dyslexia involves the
language system of the brain.
Dyslexia is a developmental lag.
It will be outgrown. No. Dyslexia is not a devel-
opmental lag. It will not be
outgrown.
Dyslexics are unable to read. False. Dyslexics can learn to
read.
The way to teach dyslexics to
read is by guessing words and
looking at pictures for clues. Not true. The most effective way
for dyslexics to learn to read is
by linking letters to sounds
Dyslexia is much more common
in boys than in girls. No. Dyslexia occurs almost as
frequently in girls as it does in
boys.
• To understand the process of reading, Shaywitz explained that
we must understand its connection to language. We are not hard-
wired for written language as we are for speech. Man evolved
to speak, which is natural, but not to read, which is acquired;
therefore, unlike speaking, reading must be taught. To learn
to read, one must transform the printed letters on a page into
their corresponding sounds. Once a word is in its sound form,
it can be identified and understood. Since print has meaning
only when it is linked to spoken language, the way language is
processed in the brain is critical to the ease or difficulty in learn-
ing to read. Scientists have found that those with Dyslexia pro-
cess language differently from those without it. The anatomical
structure of a dyslexic’s brain is normal; the difference is simply
in the way dyslexics’ brains are wired. The fact that their brains
are normal (as opposed to the brains of those with, e.g. Downs
Syndrome or Fragile X), helps to explain why many individuals
with Dyslexia are also above average and gifted in intelligence.
The following is a summary of some of the information presented
at the October conference by the keynote speakers, the team of
Sally Shaywitz, M.D., and Bennett Shaywitz, M.D., professors of
pediatrics, neuroscientists, and co-directors of the Yale Center for
the Study of Learning and Attention.
• In the November 1996 issue of Scientific America, Dr. Sally
Shaywitz described her work as a member of a team of phy-
sicians and neuroscientists, using functional magnetic reso-
nance imaging (fMRI) to uncover the basic nature of Dyslexia
by studying the neurobiology of reading in children and young
adults. When she and her team determined that the cause of
Dyslexia was a weakness in the language system of the brain,
they discovered why some individuals learn to read almost ef-
fortlessly; while for others it is a formidable task.
• Another important concept shared by Sally Shaywitz at the
conference and also covered in her book is that if we concep-
tualize the language system of the brain as a hierarchy, the
phonological component that processes the distinct sounds of
language (which are needed for decoding) is at the very bot-
tom, and other components of the system such as semantics,
syntax, and discourse (which are needed for reading compre-
hension) are above it. It is a weakn ess in the phonological
system that separates good and poor readers. With a deficit at
the lowest level of the language system, individual phonemes
or sounds within words are not clear to those with Dyslexia;
without the awareness of the individual sounds within words
• The Shaywitz team of physicians and neuroscientists has exam-
ined the epidemiology, the cognitive mechanics, and the neu-
robiology of reading replacing common myths about Dyslexia
by facts.
9