In learning, all children have different learning abilities. In like manner, they face various learning difficulties depending on where they are born, health issues/problems, and other possible differential factors. Dyslexia is one common concern. Dyslexia includes disorders difficulty in learning how to read, interpret, letters, symbols and words. It does not, however, affect the general intelligence among children. There have been many types of treatments for dyslexia in both adults and children. This literature review will investigate different types of successful dyslexia treatments and their outcomes. All studies included are academic journals and peer-reviewed scholarly works published between 2008 and 2016 and were retrieved from Kean University Library Database, specifically in MEDLINE. Keywords used for the search included dyslexia and treatment and then limited by additional terms including children, adults, and intervention.
Literature Review
It is important to note that it is very hard to link dyslexia as a form of reading disability to any mental deficit. Correspondingly, it is also misplaced to account it to the lack of opportunity to learn. In its entirety, it is a case that affects close to 17% of the young learners about the minimum reading score that educators use during the analysis of dyslexia (Niolaki & Masterson, 2015). Also, the interventions that clinicians and other medical officers use differ significantly depending on the age of children and the level of the problem.
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On the same note, it is essential always to mind that dyslexia is not a disability in nature that a person can claim to have or to lack. As such, it is a reflection of the different abilities people have regarding reading skills and how they span across different leaners. Besides, it is not an accurate claim to think of dyslexia as a visual processing disorder (Heth & Lavidor, 2015). In this situation, the people with dyslexia label are the ones below the average reading skills (Niolaki & Masterson, 2013). As a result, the symptoms of the condition may vary significantly and call for different measures of intervention.
Does the type of treatment matter?
In a study conducted to determine how developmental dyslexia varies with different treatment strategies and groups, it was evident that there will be a significant difference in the outcome. That is true in particular through a cognitive and neuropsychological assessment based on intervention program that is in itself based on the balance model and control. As such, if there is a universal treatment procedure about different reading and spelling abilities, the result will vary depending on the level of the problem (Lorusso, Facoetti & Bakker, 2011). Also, if there is any hemisphere-specific manipulation on the procedure in place, it is obvious that the results will be different in reading-related neuropsychological functions.
Some treatment systems can work out for both mild and severe cases. Among many that involve outpatient clinic measures is the use of trained speech therapists to condition problems. In such a case, there is the treatment of dyslexia through computerized programs such as Flash Word where the therapist uses a list of words, phrases as well as short sentences for expression (Lorusso, Facoetti & Bakker, 2011). On the same case, one can also use ocular fixation that requires the child to follow a luminous dot that oscillates from top to bottom of a board and vice versa. ocular fixation is the act of maintaining one’s vision in one place. The only element that varies is the speed of oscillation because therapists keep adjusting.
The outcomes support the view that Flash Word treatment intervention that applies the techniques of ocular fixation is one way to respond to M-Type dyslexia. As a consequence, it significantly improves the ability of leaners to spell words correctly in all the common cases. However, the only shortcoming with the aforementioned assessment method is on L- and P-Type dyslexia where it does not have any notable effect on the reading speed and writing when the therapist dictates items as well as in memory. Regardless of such limitations, that kind of program intervention could improve reading accuracy and provide a suitable way to respond to dyslexia cases particularly in children who are somewhat conversant with computer technology (Lorusso, Facoetti & Bakker, 2011).
Role of music in developmental dyslexia treatment
Because dyslexia is a psychology-related disorder, interventions based on improving mental abilities are the most prime when responding to the problem. As the situation stands, the primary issues concerning dyslexia are all about reading, connecting information, and learning sounds. Music is one proved way to intervene because it songs play an essential role in boosting phonological awareness, helping the affected to segment words correctly as well as improving their memory (Flaugnacco et al., 2015). As a result, music does not only help in mind stimulation but is also proven intervention to enhance intellectual performance.
To understand the role of music in abetting dyslexia, it is vital to note several issues with it is associated. Firstly, in the process of learning, children mostly learn words holistically during their first years of life. As such, they do not recognize the inner structures such as the length of the phrase. Phonological awareness that music enhances is the knowledge that words contain structures which are a necessity to help the children to read and learn properly. Phonology is the discipline concerned with the study of a sound organization in natural languages. As they grow and reach their first grade, children need to have phonological awareness, and if they lack it, there is no doubt their learning becomes challenging. As a result, they are concluded to have auditory processing disorder.
In normal situations, if someone wants to learn music, there is training in pitch and tone among other effects. In the training process, the learner needs to go through the necessary exposure that aids in improving the connections between the known and the unknown; therefore, there is the procedural development of the missing factors. The same element applies when helping children who do not achieve phonological awareness at the appropriate stage. As one way to enhance their skills, they require intense training in the hearing discrimination of the speech sounds which eventually leads to improved phonological awareness (Flaugnacco et al., 2015).
The role of music as a therapy to dyslexia is, therefore, in the improvement of phonological awareness that is vital to helping the children to read and learn. In connection, sensorimotor synchronization is also an elemental factor about dyslexia in children. In its case, music training enables the improvement of temporal processing and rhythm abilities in both the infant and advanced stages of learning besides improving awareness and reading skills (Flaugnacco et al., 2015). The above claim borrows from the basics that in a situation of poor performance, the essential task is to check on the temporal processing; therefore, helping the affected children to develop in several vital areas such as the memory, speech, and words processing abilities.
Trans-cranial direct current stimulation treatment (TDCS)
Although learners may have different learning abilities, the one elemental objective that treatment procedures seek to achieve is improved literacy. As a result, many people with developmental dyslexia do suffer from reading, word coding, and segmentation difficulties compared to others in their respective age who face a setback in learning as a whole. However, it is primary to note that the situation is prevalent in males since there are about ten percent more boys than girls who have developmental dyslexia (Heth & Lavidor, 2015).
Additionally, the dorsal system plays a major role in checking on reading prowess as an intervention procedure. In this sense, there is the application of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation Treatment (TDCS) method that is very efficient with adult scenarios. As such, it is not a way to help in cases regarding children as it works well in music and ocular fixation. In this case, the adults with the problems receive stimulation over the visual extra-striate (part of cortex) area. It is also the section that magnocellular input dominates. In response, if there is no sham stimulation in the entire process and everything remains active, it is a proven method towards improving reading speed and fluency (Heth & Lavidor, 2015).
Monolingual Speakers and Sight Word Training
Importantly, as far as there is a determination to improve phonological abilities in the children, not all children have reading difficulties related to dyslexia. For instance, Mcarthur et al. (2013), observes that if there is lexical and sublexical processes assessment particularly in cases regarding the spelling of non-words, it is very likely to find that the children are not impaired. In this case, even if there is an indication of spelling errors, a significant number of them always appear to be phonologically plausible (Niolaki & Masterson, 2013). Above all, there may be slow word reading and weak or irregular word reading, but it should not be confused with phonological deficits. Regarding that, it is important to subject the children to advanced testing before concluding any case. Besides, the treatment of dyslexia can also work well through sight word training. Just as in the case with music, the method involves procedural exposure to words that brings difficulties to the children in a way to enhance phonics comprehension. Eventually, through sight word and phonics word training, there is a significant gain in phonological aspects; therefore another way to improve the treatment and assessment of children with dyslexia problems (Mcarthur et al., 2013).
In conclusion, it is no doubt that dyslexia learners exhibit weak coordination, confusion as well as poor sequencing of related terms as dominant aspects. However, as the reviewed literature reveals, some treatments work well for children while others are effective in adults. Although they are not the only proven interventions, the noted cases are proof that if the therapist applies the efficient method timely, it is possible to deal with the issue of dyslexia to a significant proportion. All that matters is the accurate identification and proper intervention process.
References
Flaugnacco, E., Lopez, L., Terribili, C., Montico, M., Zoia, S., &Schön, D. (2015). Music Training Increases Phonological Awareness and Reading Skills in Developmental Dyslexia: A Randomized Control Trial. PLOS ONE PLoS ONE,10 (9).doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0138715
Heth, I., & Lavidor, M. (2015). Improved reading measures in adults with dyslexia following transcranial direct current stimulation treatment. Neuropsychologia,70 , 107- 113.doi:10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2015.02.022
Lorusso, M. L., Facoetti, A., & Bakker, D. J. (2011). Neuropsychological Treatment of Dyslexia: Does Type of Treatment Matter? Journal of Learning Disabilities,44 (2), 136- 149.doi:10.1177/0022219410391186
Mcarthur, G., Castles, A., Kohnen, S., Larsen, L., Jones, K., Anandakumar, T., &Banales, E. (2013). Sight Word and Phonics Training in Children With Dyslexia. Journal of Learning Disabilities,48 (4), 391-407.doi:10.1177/0022219413504996
Niolaki, G. Z., & Masterson, J. (2013). Intervention for a multi-character processing deficit in a Greek-speaking child with surface dyslexia. Cognitive Neuropsychology,30 (4), 208- 232.doi:10.1080/02643294.2013.842892
