The Phonological Model of Dyslexia Essay examples -- Biology Essays Re

The Phonological Model of Dyslexia Doctor Morgan of Sussex, England, published the first case of what is now known as dyslexia in 1896. Dr. Morgan wrote about Percy F, a 14-year-old boy who was intelligent, bright, quick with learning games, and the intellectual equal of his peers. He fell behind, however, in his inability to learn how to read. Today, as in 1896, most people associate intelligence with the ability to read, but Percy F and the experience of millions of people with dyslexia breaks down the relationship between reading and intelligence (1). But, researchers were left with the question, "What causes dyslexia if intelligence is not the marker? The exact cause of dyslexia is unknown. However, researchers believe dyslexia is a reading disability with underlying genetic, developmental and neurological causes (8). People with dyslexia have trouble reading despite normal or high intelligence and exposure to sufficient language instruction. Specific reading problems apparent in dyslexia include reversal of words and letters, difficulty in pronouncing new words, difficulty in making a distinction between similarities and differences in words (on for no), and difficulty in discerning differences in letter sounds (ten, tin) (2). In order to understand the specific reading problems associated with dyslexia, it is important to know how the brain conceptualizes language. The brain recognizes language in a hierarchical order. The upper levels of the hierarchy deal with semantics (the meaning of words), syntax (grammatical structure), and discourse (connected sentences). The lowest levels of the hierarchy deal with breaking words into separate small units of sound called phonemes. Thus, before words can be comprehended ... ...and Biological Unity by Paulesu et al. , on the Science Magazine Online web site http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/291/5511/2165 7) Dyslexia: Same Brains, Different Languages by Laura Helmuth , on the Science Magazine Online web site http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/291/5511/2064?maxtoshow=&HITS=10&hits=10&RESULTFORMAT=&titleabstract=Dyslexia&searched=QID_NOT_SET&stored_search=&FIRSTINDEX=&fdate=10/1/ 8) Fact Sheet: Dyslexia , on the Learning Disabilities Association web site http://www.ldanatl.org/factsheets/Dyslexia.shtml 9) Beginning Reading And Phonological Awareness For Students With Learning Disabilities by Michael M. Behrmann , on the Kid Source web site http://www.kidsource.com/kidsource/content2/disability.phonological.html 10) Brief Introduction to FMRI , on the FMRIB web site http://www.fmrib.ox.ac.uk/fmri_intro/