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Reading is a complex skill. In order to understand that
the written symbols on a page have meaning, the student must have a
language foundation. Language is typically learned when we hear the
sounds of, and listen to our native language. Therefore, even though
learning to read involves a multi-sensory process, the foundation is
auditory. This makes sense since the ear, in utero, by five months is
the only fully functioning sensory system. It is developed first, and
therefore, one of our major sensory systems. The ear is involved with
hearing, listening, balance, and coordination. By sending correct
information to the brain at an early age, the brain is able to decipher
all the small pieces of information necessary to learn language. The
interpretation of these pieces of information becomes the basis for
reading.
Breakdowns that occur with reading disorders can be
varied. Some children have an excellent language foundation yet they
have issues with the visual representation of the printed word. Letters
can look reversed, words can blend into each other, tracking the words
on a page can be difficult, or the color of the paper or print make it
difficult to read what is on the paper. Any or all of these issues will
make reading difficult. People with these difficulties can often be
helped with special instruction, or by a Behavioral or Developmental
Optometrist.
Children with language issues often have more difficulty because their
problems are not as easily identified. Their problems may range from an
inability to hear and process sounds associated with specific letters,
causing difficulties with phonics, to the more complex skills needed to
comprehend the words they read. The range of auditory problems
associated with reading often stem from the necessity to use the many
diverse skills involved with auditory processing.
One skill would be the inability to quickly process speech sounds in
order to clearly distinguish them one from the other. Tallal, et al,
(1997) found that dyslexics have difficulty processing the temporal
characteristics of rapidly changing acoustic signals of any sort. For
example, this difficulty can interfere with their ability to distinguish
the sound differences between the letters /t/ and /d/. These sounds can
easily be ‘misheard’ in context so that /tad/ could be heard when /dad/
is what was said. This confusion leads to misunderstanding of what was
heard which affects their reading skills. They must feel confident in
order to know the difference between what they hear and what they read,
as well as being able to quickly identify when they have made an error.
It is important for students with slow or delayed auditory processing
skills to enhance this skill.
Early readers need to learn that spoken words can be broken down into
smaller segments called phonemes. Next they need to learn that phonemes
have individual sounds that are represented by letters. These letters
and sounds are then connected to form printed words. When training at
this level is mastered, fluent reading usually occurs.
Early reading progress is typically measured by a child’s
word-processing skills. Children may demonstrate errors with word or
letter recognition. Simply acquiring these word-processing skills
however, does not mean that the child will be able to comprehend what
they read. Some children have such difficulty decoding words that the
frustration makes them shy away from wanting to read. It takes a lot of
energy for them to decode words and this limits their ability to develop
the more complex tasks required for reading comprehension. Reading
comprehension includes more complex cognitive tasks, and language skills
are essential at this level.
A team of researchers from The University of Texas Health Science Center
in Houston, TX used Magnetoencephalography (MEG), a non-invasive,
high-resolution form of functional imaging to study the brains of
readers and non-readers. Their research suggests that people with
dyslexia “may lack the predominant involvement of left-hemisphere
auditory association cortices” shown in individuals without reading
problems. They also reported that these problems can “occur in children
with a wide range of general intellectual function”, meaning that
reading problems are not correlated to intelligence. These auditory
association cortices are important in sound identification, auditory
processing, and language learning. The researchers further point out
that the “brain in people with reading difficulties is responsive to
intense intervention”.
Perhaps this is why, as President/Founder of Davis Center, Inc,
Rockaway, NJ, I have found that sound-based therapies have made
significant change for problem readers. I am an educational and
rehabilitative audiologist, a retired teacher, and certified in every
major sound-based therapy. I began using sound based therapies over 12
years ago. Based on my training, experience and research I developed the
trademarked ‘Diagnostic Evaluation for Therapy Protocol’ to determine if
a sound-based therapy can be helpful. This assessment helps identify
hearing, listening, and sound processing weaknesses, and directs the
person to an appropriate corrective intervention. I am also using my
‘Reading Intervention Skills Assessment’ to determine if a specific
reading problem exists. For some, the issues are in basic sound
processing and my interventions start at this basic level. Listening
retraining may be necessary before tackling the more advanced levels of
discrimination or comprehension. For those with specific reading issues,
a reading intervention is suggested. This may be in the form of simple
tutoring, a computer sound program, or at a more complex level, a
program called Read-Spell-Comprehend®.
All Davis Centers Inc. interventions are intensive programs. Based on
the reports of brain researchers, intense therapy is needed in order to
make brain change. One of the foundational methods that I employ is the
Tomatis Method. It was developed over 50 years ago by Dr. Alfred
Tomatis, a French Ear-Nose-Throat physician. This method emphasizes the
voice-ear-brain connection, and helps facilitate the connection between
what our voices produce, and what our ear registers and sends to the
brain. Dr. Tomatis found that good listeners easily distinguish between
the various frequencies that make up speech. He also discovered that
good listeners filter out the irrelevant sounds around them. By
retraining one’s listening skills, one can make better sense and use of
their surrounding sound world. This method can be instrumental in
helping a reader pick up the necessary subtleties of listening required
to become good readers.
Jack, age 9, diagnosis ADHD, initially visited Davis Centers for a full
evaluation. He had difficulty attending in class, was bored and
frustrated in school, with no desire to read. Based on the Diagnostic
Evaluation for Therapy Protocol testing, an over-reactive hearing
sensitivity was identified and 2 therapies were administered. One of the
methods administered was the foundational Tomatis Method. After
completing the therapies, Jack’s mother reported “his changes were so
dramatic that he was enjoying going to school”. Further, he attended
better, was listening and comprehending more of what he was being
taught, more easily heard and discriminated sounds within words, and
reported that phonics was easier. However, reading was still a concern.
Read-Spell-Comprehend® was then recommended and one week after starting,
his mother reported that “he couldn’t wait to come home and start
reading”. His latest Report Card had mostly “Very Good’s”, and no “Needs
Improvements”. His mother suggested that the Davis Center should be
renamed “The Miracle Center”.
My approach is multi-faceted. I look at all aspects of how the person is
functioning. Sometimes a reader’s problem is the result of other
underlying problems that must be addressed first, foundationally, before
addressing the specific reading issues. If this approach is followed,
most parents report that their child wants to read, initiates reading on
their own, enjoys reading for the first time, and will attempt reading
material at an advanced reading level. They begin to listen better,
filter out extraneous distracting sounds, and feel more confident with
their reading skills, both silently and out loud. Most often, these same
reading skills enhance their creative writing skills. For more
information about the Davis Center’s philosophy and methods, visit
www.thedaviscenter.com . The
foundational approach is addressed first, focusing on developing what
the ear and the brain process, before addressing the particular reading
skills. This has proven to be helpful for most people with reading
weaknesses.
References:
Breier, J.I., Simos, P.G., Fletcher, J.M., Castillo, E.M., Zhang, W,
Papanicolaou, A.D (2003). Abnormal Activation of Temporoparietal
Language Areas During Phonetic Analysis in Children with Dyslexia. “Neuropsychology”,
Vol 17, No. 4.
Davis, D. “Sound Bodies through Sound Therapy”, Kalco Publishing, LLC,
Landing, NJ, 2004.
Tallal, P., Miller, S.L., Jenkins, W.M., & Merzenich, M.M. (1997). The
role of temporal processing in developmental language-based learning
disorders: Research and clinical implications. In B. Blachman (ed)
Foundations of reading acquisition in dyslexia: Implications for early
intervention (pp. 49-66). Hillsdale, NJ. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
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