Special Worksheet for Dyslexia by Sally Shaywitz
PSCH 352, Cognition and Memory, Summer 2004: Special Worksheet Template
This is due at the beginning of class. Please type your answers. Answers should be no more than 3 sentences long (with the exception of the special question, which can be longer).
Name: Key
Date:
Article: Shaywitz, 1996
1. Summarize the model of language processing provided in the article. (1 point)
Hearing (speaking) vs. reading (writing)
2. Based on the description in the article, how would you define Dyslexia? How does this definition relate to the model of language processing provided in the article? (1 point)
Problem with phonological processing
3. Describe two ways that people with dyslexia can learn to compensate for their deficits. (1 point)
Reasoning; meaning & context (top-down)
4. What brain regions are described as playing a role in language processing and which are implicated as being involved in dyslexia? (1 Point)
phonological: inferior frontal gyrus
meaning: middle and superior temporal gyri
men vs. women: use more left hemisphere temporal gyri
5. Briefly summarize (what you consider to be) the 2 most convincing pieces of empirical evidence that support the phonological deficit model of dyslexia described in the article. Why are these the most convincing? (2 points)
Ones that count:
1) Shaywitz, Fletcher, Shankweiler, Katz: phonological deficits are best
indicator of dyslexia. Specifically, Auditory Analysis Test, in which people
delete sounds from words. This and other phonological awareness tests were the
best predicators of reading ability.
2) Katz: dyslexics misname objects with similar sounding phonological words.
3) fMRI studies that showed differences in the temporal lobes of dyslexics
Ones that don’t count:
1) Liberman: ability to recognize sounds in words starts around age 6 (no dyslexic participants)
2) Connecticut Longitudinal Study early work: 20% of school age have dyslexia (doesn’t explain processing problems)
3) Bradley & Bryant: training in phonological awareness improves reading ability (no dyslexic participants)
4) Tallal: training in phonological awareness improves reading. (not only dyslexics were included)
5) Story about Greg, the med student with Dyslexia (it is not a study)