Brain scans spot early signs of dyslexia
Key points
- Instead of waiting for a child to experience reading delays, scientists now say they can identify the reading problem even before children start school, long before they become labeled as poor students and begin to lose confidence in themselves.
- In order to read, children must map the sounds of spoken language onto specific letters that make up words.
- Because dyslexia is primarily associated with difficulty in learning to read, it cannot be reliably diagnosed until your child is the age at which reading typically begins.
- Although typically diagnosed during the second or third grade of school - around age 7 or 8 - a team from Children's Hospital Boston said they could see signs of the disease on brain scans in children as early as 4 and 5, a time when studies show children are best able to respond to interventions.
Instead of waiting for a child to experience reading delays, scientists now say they can identify the reading problem even before children start school, long before they become labeled as poor students and begin to lose confidence in themselves.
Although typically diagnosed during the second or third grade of school - around age 7 or 8 - a team from Children's Hospital Boston said they could see signs of the disease on brain scans in children as early as 4 and 5, a time when studies show children are best able to respond to interventions.
"We call it the dyslexia paradox," said Nadine Gaab of the Laboratories of Cognitive Neuroscience at Children's, whose study was published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Gaab said most children are not diagnosed until third grade, but interventions work best in younger children, hopefully before they begin to learn to read.
"Often, by the time they get a diagnosis, they usually have experienced three years of peers telling them they are stupid, parents telling them they are lazy. We know they have reduced self esteem. They are really struggling," Gaab said in a telephone interview.
Her study builds on an emerging understanding of dyslexia as a problem with recognizing and manipulating the individual sounds that form language, which is known as phonological processing.
Dyslexia Signs
Although the signs of dyslexia will vary some according to age, here are several of the early signs of dyslexia which you are likely to notice if you are looking for them:
Difficulty tying shoelaces (or other fine motor activity)
Trouble remembering the days of the week or the months of the year in order (sequential struggles)
Stuttering
Pronouncing words incorrectly
(or using them in odd places in a sentence - i.e., the wrong part of speech)
Ignoring or misunderstanding directions
Difficulty remembering more than one instruction at a time
For example, if you ask your child to "go to the bathroom closet, get a washcloth and wipe off the counter" - the likelihood of completing the tasks will be highly unlikely)
Organizational difficulties
Communication struggles
(Includes finding the right word or making oneself understood; these children may be easily frustrated with frequent meltdowns)
In order to read, children must map the sounds of spoken language onto specific letters that make up words. Children with dyslexia struggle with this mapping process.
Written and revised by
Andrey Nailor, M.D.
Our doctors write and review articles for accuracy and keep them up to date.
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