I just ran into this and want to share, as I have often noted how very, very hard “my” LD readers work when they read. IndeedVirginia Berninger and others on her research team at the University of Washington, with the aid of PEPSI technology, have discovered that dyslexics use on the average of 4.8 times more brain power than do normal readers, when reading! In other words, they must work almost 5 times as hard. She has also shown that remediation can improve this, to 1.8 on the average, in a study conducted at the U. of W. That is still almost twice as hard, folks.
This somewhat supports my contention that, with good teaching, dyslexics who perservere, stick with it, make themselves read everyday, can improve over time, but it takes them much more time. Ad adult dyslexic explained to me how she taught herself to read after she had children of her own (she made herself read 2 hours per day and over several years was able to maintain her skills and gradually decrease the amount of time she HAD to read daily, initially she lost ground when she missed a day or didn’t put in her full 2 hours). A little bit like exercising and building a muscle.
Anitya,
You continue to contribute good findings and good sense.
Quick reading fixes for dyslexics are as scarce as hen’s teeth (probably scarcer).
As Albert Einstein told us, ” Everything in life (reading instruction included) should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler.”
Thanks for all you do for your students and for us.
Peace.