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

The Phonological Model of DyslexiaDoctor Morgan of Sussex, England, published the first subject 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 softness 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 among 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 neurologic causes (8). People with dyslexia have trouble reading despite normal or high intelligence and exposure to sufficient vocabulary instruction. Specific reading problems manifes t in dyslexia include reversal of linguistic communication 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 pause 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 localize http//www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/291/5511/21657) Dyslexia Same Brains, Different Languages by Laura Helmuth , on the Scienc e 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.shtml9) 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.html10) Brief Introduction to FMRI , on the FMRIB web site http//www.fmrib.ox.ac.uk/fmri_intro/