Carnegie Mellon scientists estimate that it takes 100 hours of teacher remediation to impact the brain of a dyslexic reader. Their review confirms the efficacy of neuro-based interventions. This follows up the recent study in Harvard University showing changes using a Fast ForWord which is a computer based intervention. (See here for this study and others). Good news for students and teachers.
Here is an extract from the Carnegie Mellon report.
PITTSBURGH—Just as a disciplined exercise regimen helps human muscles become stronger and perform better, specialized workouts for the brain can boost cognitive skills, according to Carnegie Mellon scientists. Their new brain imaging study of poor readers found that 100 hours of remedial instruction - reading calisthenics, of sorts, aimed to shore up problem areas - not only improved the skills of struggling readers, but also changed the way their brains activated when they comprehended written sentences.
The results may pave the way to a new era of neuro-education.
Carnegie Mellon researchers say poor readers initially have less activation in the parietotemporal area of the brain, which is the region responsible for decoding the sounds of written language and assembling them into words and phrases that make up a sentence, than do good readers. However, remedial instruction increases the struggling readers' activation to near normal levels.
This also was the first brain imaging study in which children were tested on their understanding of the meanings of sentences, not just on their recognition of single words.
"This study demonstrates how the plasticity of the human brain can work for the benefit of remedial learning," says neuroscientist Marcel Just, director of Carnegie Mellon's (CCBI), See the full article here
