<p>Has anyone had any experience with improving reading speed in dyslexic students through reading therapy? In her book, "Overcoming Dyslexia," the author, Sally Shaywitz MD, talks about this approach. It sounds very time intensive, but it can actually change the way the brain processes the written word, and reading speeds can increase, according to the author. I am wondering if this approach has worked for any high school or college level students out there.</p>
<p>My sense is that the current academic take is that Sally Shaywitz only got part of what was going on. But, my son is now working with people in the Center for Reading and Language Research at Tufts. He and they are modifying a software package they'd build for younger kids to focus on what he and likely other adolescent readers need to improve reading fluency. They are jointly defining the intervention and he is the first user. The objective is to rewire his brain. It seems to be working, but it is early days.</p>
<p>Shawbridge, where can I read up on dyslexia research? Are the studies available via PubMed?</p>
<p>I'm not an expert but I find studies in various places. One good place to start is a book by Maryanne Wolf called Proust and The Squid. It is sort of three books, one on the role of reading in the evolution of the brain, a second on the neurology of reading and dyslexia, and the third on why reading computer screens and not longer things like books will change our brains, she thinks, for the worse. The middle third is terrific and you can skip the other stuff. It summarizes lots of literature. Others are likely to have suggestions. </p>
<p>There was a site called schwablearning.org that had many links to articles. There was a bulletin board that was extremely helpful, but it has largely been closed down. The site and especially the archives have been taken over by greatschools.org. I don't know if people are keeping it current, but take a look there.</p>
<p>My daughter could not read until 4th grade. She learned through Learning RX they have a web site. It saved her.</p>
<p>Orton-Gillingham tutoring programs have been shown scientifically to dramatically improve reading, writing, and spelling in people with dyslexia. There are a number of programs that are O-G based: Wilson, Barton, Slingerland, Herman, MTA, Alphabetic Phonics, etc.</p>
<p>I just saw this link Musicians' Brains 'Fine-Tuned' to Identify Emotion , which didn't transfer over, in the section on Musicians.</p>
<p>It mentions that dyslexic kids may profit from music lessons if started before or by age 7.</p>
<p>So, for the younger kids in your family who cannot rhyme words, which is a classic symptom of dyslexia, you might consider piano lessons.</p>
<p>Check out the link, as mentioned above.</p>
<p>Best wishes.</p>
<p>Whooops, silly me. I forgot to mention Sally Shaywitz, M.D.'s book titled Overcoming Dyslexia which gives all kinds of info on computer programs, etc.</p>
<p>She's a neuroscientist who is at the forefront of dyslexia research and I guess she got tired of having no resources to direct frustrated parents to, so she wrote the book herself!</p>
<p>Look under Music Majors on this website for this thread re piano lessons for dyslexic kids:</p>
<p>Musicians Brains Fine-Tuned to Identify Emotion
Sam Lee </p>
<p>Also, sorry I just glanced too fast at your original post and didn't notice that you already knew about the book and that was the basis of your question! My apologies.</p>
<p>Believe it or not, I think on of Sally Shaywitz's conclusions is now outdated as new studies have come in. She's focused on one area in which the problems can occur, the link between the sounds and phonemes. My recollection is that later research suggests that there are several potential areas in which problems can arise; her focus is just one of those. I don't know that this invalidates the list of computer programs.</p>
<p>shawbridge - I am curious to learn more about why you think Shaywitz's research is outdated ... do you have any references for the later research? Thanks!</p>