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Understanding Dyslexia
There are two facts that you need to know in order to understand
just what dyslexia is and what it is not.
1. Dyslexia is not a defined disease, illness or malady but a unique
collection of symptoms. Unique because no two sufferers will have
exactly the same symptoms or underlying causative factors.
2. Every person with "dyslexia" will have their own presentation
of the dis-ease based on co-morbidity factors. Therefore, someone
primarily labelled as "dyslexic" will have aspects of other developmental
problems with a unique presentation for that individual.
To read case studies detailing dyslexia click
here
These other developmental problems include Dyspraxia, Attention
Deficit Disorder (ADD), Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD)
and Obsessional Compulsive Disorder (OCD). What this means is that
a child primarily diagnosed as being "dyslexic" may well be 40%
dyslexic, 15% dyspraxic, 30% ADD, 10% ADHD and 5% OCD.
We can therefore now view dyslexia as a unique collection of learning
difficulties which are specific to the individual and in itself
due to varying degrees of immaturity or under functioning of specific
areas of the nervous system.
So where are these areas of the nervous system and how do they
produce the learning difficulties so commonly seen? A big clue came
from NASA when they discovered to their cost that highly intelligent
astronauts suddenly became "dyslexic" when subjected to the weightlessness
of space travel. When big companies have paid big dollars to have
complex experiments carried out in conditions of weightlessness,
the last thing you want is to have the experiments carried out by
a severe "dyslexic". NASA had to find an answer and find it fast.
The solution to the problem was in itself both simple and effective.
The astronauts were given specific exercises to perform on a regular
basis that would afferentate (send messages along specific nerves
into the central nervous system) the vestibular system (balance
centres) and thereby the cerebellum. The cerebellum is the little
brain that occupies the back of the skull and which up to recently
had received very little attention.
It is now known that the cerebellum works in partnership with certain
brainstem nuclei and is critical in the timing of movements. Now
you may think that this has nothing to do with "thought" but you
would be wrong. The "Theory of the Discontinuous Nature of Movement"
states simply that the motor systems of the body are turned on and
off at a regular 8-12 Hz. This timing, plus the notion that "thought"
is at its most basic level the internalisation of movement, itself
relies upon the thalamus (nuclei at the base of the brain) oscillating
at a steady 40 Hz.
The cerebellum also has to work very specifically with the cerebral
hemisphere on the opposite side of the brain. If either partner
in this arrangement is working below par it will bring down the
level of functioning of its co-worker. This situation, where one
part of the brain effects a remote yet functionally related area
is called diaschisis. This is a truly chicken and egg situation.
The pre-frontal lobes (the very front part of the brain) naturally
goes through a process of maturation which is why small children
do not have bladder control and are also emotionally incontinent
with tantrums bursting forth following the most trivial of stimuli.
The pre-frontal lobes are an integral part of what is called the
neo-cortex (new brain) and function in subduing the older more primitive
brain which is primarily concerned with surviving and breeding.
The orbital frontal area (above the eyes) functions in what might
be termed "social grace ". That is, fitting into the behavioural
confines of a modern society and controlling the more primitive
urges we all possess within a time frame to when it is more appropriate
or suppressing them completely if such behaviour would breach the
laws of society.
The dorso-lateral area (side) of the pre-frontal lobe has to develop
to provide what has been termed executive function. An example of
this would be delayed gratification. We have all experienced the
situation when a small child wants something and they want it "now".
No matter what you say or how you try to explain the situation there
is going to be tears if gratification is not immediate.
So is there a reason why some children develop dyslexic traits
and others do not? Research has shown that there is a genetic link.
If on the mothers side there is a history of any of the developmental
disorders then one or more of the off-spring have a 37% chance of
manifesting dyslexic traits. And now for the bad news, if there
exists a history on the fathers side on the family the likelihood
of the dyslexic trait rockets up to 70%.
Before blaming yourself, remember you didn't order the genes and
it is only a trait. In order for the gene to become active something
else has to trigger it off, e.g. foetal distress, trauma or dietary
factors. It is the old story of nurture and nature interacting.
The "typical" child with dyslexia will be a boy with an under active
left cerebellum, a right pre-frontal diaschisis, a left eye that
cannot converge and hold that convergence and a right eye that fails
to constrict and hold that constriction when directly illuminated.
Put into plain English this means that dyslexia is a variety of
learning difficulties which are simply the manifestations of problems
with the maturation and functioning of areas of the central nervous
system.
Now that we have a better understanding of what causes dyslexia,
is there anything that can be done to help? Fortunately, there are
a few people working in the field of functional neurology who have
set up specialist clinics designed to tackle the problems of the
"Developmental Delay Syndromes". The first and most critical aspect
of the treatment regime is to identify the specific areas of the
nervous system that are under functioning and then, and only then,
targeting the treatments to the sites that are struggling to keep
up with the rest of this most complex system.
The treatments per se will be directed to the malfunctions identified
during the thorough neurological examination. The eye that fails
to follow an object that is brought close to the nose will be treated
by a computer generated programme that itself can be adjusted to
address the specific unique needs of the child. A random dot stereogram
will gradually exercise the neural control centres and muscles involved
in convergence (bringing the eyes towards the mid-line) and bring
both eyes to focus on the page as well as keeping them in sync as
they track across the page.
The vestibular (balance) system can be challenged by simple physical
exercises which can then be refined to specifically afferentate
specific areas of weakness. The timing nuclei (centers) of the brainstem
can be re-set by the use of an ingenious computer generated treatment
regime that encourages the child to re-educate and thereby restore
the temporal sequencing of events within the motor systems and thereby
the brain by attempting to anticipate the precise timing of a metronome.
As these individual areas are treated the effects of the diaschisis
must also be addressed and this requires both an awareness of the
sites that are compromised, based on the history and examination,
but also an in depth knowledge of the functions of these areas and
precisely how they can be effectively treated. Failure to address
the phenomenon of diaschisis inevitably leads to failure, the loss
of vital time (the younger the child the easier it is to treat)
and often an unhealthy bank balance.
Can all children be accepted for this type of therapy? The answer
is unfortunately no. Children who are at the autistic end of the
spectrum of disorders are not currently accepted for treatment as
they require one-to-one treatment on a daily basis for long periods
of time. Also, at the initial assessment a parent or the parents
are also interviewed to rule out lack of parental control and to
ensure parental compliance during the course of treatment. Put simply,
if the parents fail the interview the child is not accepted and
alternative measures directed at improving parenting skills are
suggested.
This initial meeting lasts about 40 minutes.
So how can we help? Click
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