How We Target Dyslexia

For a majority of children who struggle with reading or who have dyslexia, the source of their difficulties lies in auditory processing.  They struggle to sound words out or they are older and devote so much effort to the decoding aspect of reading that reading comprehension is compromised.  

They struggle because they cannot hear the individual sounds inside words, the phonemes: children switch d's and b's not because they see them the same, but because they hear them the same. 

If the brain can learn to listen more accurately, with more clarity, d's and b's will sound distinct and decoding will be more automatic.  We provide help with dyslexia by making that happen, using Fast ForWord software.   This program treats the causes of reading difficulties, rather tutoring around them. 

Fast ForWord builds auditory processing skills in tiny incremental steps.  Faster, more effective auditory processing creates the ability to hear the unique sounds inside words more clearly.  This improved word memory integrity makes matches to text more comfortable when decoding, thereby making reading more comfortable, more automatic. 

Explaining Dyslexia

Dyslexia is an "unexpected difficulty with reading."  It is not a condition of the brain, but rather a simple description of a learning difficulty. 

Dyslexia does not mean that a child is below grade level with their reading, especially in earlier grades.  It means rather that there is a discrepancy between performance in other academic areas and reading, a discrepancy that can persist.  According to Sally Shaywitz, author of Overcoming Dyslexia, up to 40% of children do not take to reading easily.  This is not surprising -- reading is not natural.  It is a relatively new human invention and so there it no reading region in the brain. This is why development of reading skills is so unpredictable.

The chart indicates just how complicated reading is -- there are many opportunities to run into difficulty.  Having said that, most scientists think two thirds or more of reading issues stem from weak auditory processing, the inability to process at natural language speed. 

If a child cannot hear "cat" as "c-a-t," sounding out words is not going to be easy, and decoding will require much more effort than it should.  In later grades, this need to concentrate when decoding will hinder reading comprehension.

The fact that language processing is the most common reading glitch is not surprising -- language is lightning fast.  "One, one thousand" is one second, but there are 12+ separate sounds in there to be processed -- heard and understood. 

For more information on our CT and Westchester reading help, read testimonials from parents and students.