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This could be very good news!!

 

Marianne

 

Daily News from Healthypages

Wednesday, July 24, 2002

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Rhyme and rhythm could hold key to dyslexia

 

Researchers have found that a poor sense of rhythm is associated with

dyslexia, a finding that could offer new approaches to diagnosis and

treatment.

 

A team from University College London tested rhythmic ability in dyslexic and

non-dyslexic children. People with dyslexia have trouble processing language

in reading, writing and speech.

 

The experiment involved the children listening to two different types of

sound, one with a rhythmical beat and the other without. The results showed

that the dyslexic children had trouble recognising the rhythmic sound.

 

Scientists know that dyslexic children have difficulty understanding which

words rhyme and which do not. This requires identifying the onset of the

vowel, for example the difference between fit and fat.

 

The team found that the dyslexic children had trouble noticing the “beatâ€

that signals the onset of vowels in speech.

 

Lead researcher Dr Usha Goswami said, “We found that dyslexic children were

relatively insensitive to the amplitude-based cues (P-centres) that signal

the onsets of vowels in speech. Furthermore, we found a correlation in

children without dyslexia and their ability to track these amplitude changes

and their ability to read and write.â€

 

The scientists also discovered that children who were good readers were

exceptionally good at detecting rhythms.

 

Dr Goswami said this new approach to dyslexia was now being studied in 10

languages. “It could have significant implications for how we detect and

treat dyslexia in future,†she said.

 

Commenting on the findings, Carol Young, policy director for the British

Dyslexia Association, said, “This seems to be an extremely interesting

project looking at a known area of difficulty for children with dyslexia.

 

“The association is working to ensure that all children with dyslexia, which

could be up to 1 in 10 of the population, have access to dyslexia-friendly,

multi-sensory teaching practice across the UK.â€

 

She said early identification of the disorder allows children to be educated

more successfully and that the research could lead to a more accurate

diagnostic tool.

 

“At present, diagnosis is reliant on failure to achieve educational standards,

†she said.

 

© Health Media Ltd 2002