DEMOS Project - Module: Dyslexia

True or False - Question 4

Dyslexia has a physiological basis and there is no known cure.

You chose: False
Sorry, we don't agree, this statement is true.

There are often reports in newspapers about the latest medical advance in the treatment of dyslexia.

The Guardian, 13th May 2002

Researchers at the Dyslexia Research Trust say that food supplements bring enormous benefits for those with disorders such as dyslexia.
Results so far have been marked. One child's reading skills have improved by the equivalent of four years after just 12 weeks of taking the supplements.
However, a spokesman for the Dyslexia Association said 'we are keen not to raise people's expectations at a so called cure... we don't believe there will be a cure, or that one exists at the moment. So-called cures can help some people and not others, so that needs to be taken on board. The so-called brain foods, or supplements, are understood to show improvements in concentration, but it is teaching in the classroom which consistently works.

Daily Mail, 1st February 2001
How secrets of womb can help a dyslexic child.

Children with dyslexia can improve their reading and writing skills by mimicking the movements of a baby in the womb, researchers believe. They found that special routines designed to imitate certain 'primary reflexes' led to significant improvements in dyslexic children.

The Independent, 11 January 2001
Dyslexia will be eradicated 'by the end of the decade'

The crippling handicap of dyslexia in young children can be eradicated within the decade using physical exercise developed for astronauts by the US space administration Nasa, British specialists believe.

Also, Trevor McDonald's 'Tonight' programme caused controversy early on in 2002 when it reported on an apparent treatment for dyslexia. However, the evidence for the improvements did not adhere to the usual experimental rigour that research in this area demands.
(See : Wisher, C.R. (2002) Commentary. A Miracle Cure? 'Tonight with Trevor McDonald', ITV, 21/01/02. Dyslexia, 8.2.2002, p.116-117.)

Contrary to these reports there is no known cure for dyslexia.

Although it has a physiological basis and some suggest that it may be genetic in origin it is probable that most dyslexic people will live with the effects all their lives. However, they can learn certain techniques to improve their reading and writing, organisational skills and memory difficulties. Most dyslexia-specific tutoring is based on using multisensory and multimodal teaching methods to help the student learn more efficiently.

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