Dyslexia

Turn Reading Struggles into Reading Successes

Did you know that dyslexia is not a problem with vision?

It is primarily an auditory disorder with weaknesses appearing specifically in phonological processing.

Dyslexia and Phonological Processing

While dyslexia was long thought to be a visual processing issue, we now know that dyslexia is a specific learning difference with a neurobiological origin. Those letter and word reversals are more related to difficulty remembering letter configurations and word patterns than actually seeing things incorrectly.

While auditory processing disorders need to be diagnosed separately from dyslexia, it’s almost impossible to discuss teaching kids with dyslexia how to read without first discussing phonological awareness since, in English, difficulty with phonological awareness is a strong predictor of dyslexia.

Phonological awareness is the ability to recognize and manipulate the sounds in sentences and words. Examples include identifying rhymes, recognizing alliteration, segmenting sentences into words, and identifying the sounds and syllables in a word.

A student’s phonological awareness impacts success with decoding, spelling, and writing. And although research shows that between 45 to 60% of students aren’t ready for the beginning phonemic awareness activities found in foundational reading programs, learners with dyslexia often struggle even more than average with processing sounds in letters and words.

The good news is that phonological and phonemic awareness can be strengthened, and kids with dyslexia can use Fast ForWord to practice clearly perceiving and piecing together sounds.

How Does Fast ForWord Help Build Phonological Awareness?

Fast ForWord teaches readers with dyslexia how to process sounds and build essential phonological skills.

Fast ForWord has patented technology that stretches the phonemes that are difficult to perceive because they are so fast or very similar to other language sounds in English.

For example, the sounds /ba/ and /da/ are difficult for many children to differentiate because the /b/ and /d/ sounds are very similar and are only 40 milliseconds long. Moreover, they cannot be stretched out because they are stop consonants. With stop consonants (b,d,p,t,g,k), the air is briefly blocked from leaving the vocal tract by the tongue or lips, so the sound itself is stopped.

Let's test this out with an exercise..

Take a good breath and make the /m/ sound. You can continue with the sound as long as you have breath. How long can you hold that sound?

Now, take another breath and make the /b/ sound. If you can continue the sound, think about what sound you are making. Are you holding out the /a/ (ahhhhhh) rather than the /b/? That doesn’t count—try just stretching the /b/ sound by itself.

You couldn’t do it, could you?

Humans simply can’t stretch stop consonants, but the right technology can. And that is where Fast ForWord comes in with its acoustically modified speech.

Some students need that modified speech to help train their brains to process some English phonemes accurately because those phonemic pathways are not fully developed…yet. The stretched sounds gradually shorten as the student progresses, so their brains begin processing at more typical speeds by the end of the exercises.

How Do Executive Functions Help Kids With Dyslexia Learn To Read?

Auditory processing skills are just one piece of the puzzle when it comes to teaching students with dyslexia how to read.

Executive functions are cognitive skills that help students sustain attention, remember what they’ve learned, avoid distractions, and organize their time and tasks. In many language and literacy programs, they are what’s missing - an unfortunate oversight since executive functions pave the path to deep and meaningful learning.

How Does Fast ForWord Teach Students with Dyslexia Cognitive Skills?

One thing that made a big difference for students is that Fast ForWord uses the science of learning to teach executive function skills rather than just depending on them. This explicit focus on cognitive skills within the context of literacy instruction means that Fast ForWord doesn’t just build better readers; it builds better learners.

Combining a language and/or reading skill with one or more cognitive skills is a neuroscience principle called simultaneous development. Building skills that work together strengthens learning.

Fast ForWord can Turn Reading Struggles into Reading Successes

In independent studies from Stanford and Harvard Universities, both focused explicitly on learners with dyslexia, researchers documented that Fast ForWord can create physical brain changes as it builds new synapses and strengthens neural pathways, specifically in the areas of reading.

After just eight weeks of use, weak readers with dyslexia developed brain activity patterns that resembled those of strong readers. As brain patterns changed, significant improvements were observed in word reading, decoding, reading comprehension, and language functions.

How Fast ForWord Helps Students with Dyslexia Read Better?

Fast ForWord wasn't quickly built in response to the science of reading movement. For over 25 years, it has continually focused on the science of learning and reading. It “rewires” the brain for reading by starting with the most foundational skills that help all readers but are particularly essential for learners with dyslexia.

How BrainFit Thailand Can Help Children with Dyslexia?

BrainFit Thailand is a leading provider of cognitive training programs that can help children with dyslexia. Our programs are based on the latest research on brain development and neuroplasticity. The programs focus on improving cognitive skills such as attention, memory, processing speed, and executive function.

One of the key components of BrainFit Thailand's program is the use of interactive exercises and games that are designed to stimulate different areas of the brain called "Fast ForWord". The program are adaptive to each child's individual needs and are designed to improve their cognitive skills gradually. The exercises are engaging and fun, which helps to keep children motivated, focused and become a better learner.