Development dyslexia—recent and contemporary issues

Abstract

Developmental dyslexia has traditionally been considered as belonging in the domain of education psychology. It was suggested that children who exhibit difficulties learning to read and never become fluent readers even though they are otherwise intelligent have specific learning disorders called developmental dyslexia. With the advent of better theories on language and reading, and better methods for assessing the structure and function of living human brains and for determining genetic transmission, dyslexia is now poised to become a focal concern of cognitive neuroscience. The connotations go far beyond the scientific theories and apply primarily to the clinical work of the occupational developmental therapist.

The cognitive and developmental abilities of children and young adults were assessed in correspondence with the neurophysiological issues raised by Geschwind and Galaburda and later by ample evidence put forward by Galaburda and colleagues.

Clinical signs of developmental dyslexia were detected in 468 clients who came to the Shlavim” clinic in Israel for an intervention of cognitive rehabilitation and developmental therapy. It was established that left handedness, immune disorders, circadian irregularities and learning disabilities are closely linked and point to the possibility of evident developmental dyslexia.

The neuroscience issues and application to the clinical work of the occupational developmental therapist will be discussed in this paper.