Dyslexia Begins With Visual Spatial Problems, Not Poor Verbal Skills (education)

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Dyslexia Begins With Visual Spatial Problems, Not Poor Verbal Skills

By Traci Pedersen Associate News Editor
Reviewed by John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on April 9, 2012

Dyslexia Begins With Visual Spatial Problems, Not Poor Verbal SkillsProblems with visual attention before a child is able to read may lead to a later diagnosis of dyslexia, according to a new study published in Current Biology, a Cell Press publication.

“Visual attention deficits are surprisingly way more predictive of future reading disorders than are language abilities at the pre-reading stage,” said Andrea Facoetti of the University of Padua in Italy.

The researchers believe that the findings not only end a long-term debate on the causes of dyslexia but also pioneer a new approach for early identification and intervention for the 10 percent of children who will struggle with extreme reading difficulties.

For a period of three years, the researchers studied Italian-speaking children, from the time they were pre-reading kindergartners until they entered second grade. The team evaluated pre-readers for skills in visual spatial attention—the ability to filter relevant vs. irrelevant information—in which the children were asked to pinpoint specific symbols among distractions.

The children were also tested on syllable identification, verbal short-term memory, and rapid color naming, followed over the next two years by measures of reading.

The findings revealed that kids who initially had difficulties with visual attention were the ones to struggle later with reading.

“This is a radical change to the theoretical framework explaining dyslexia,” Facoetti said. “It forces us to rewrite what is known about the disorder and to change rehabilitation treatments in order to reduce its impact.”

He emphasizes that simple visual-attention tasks should help identify young children at risk for dyslexia. “Because recent studies show that specific pre-reading programs can improve reading abilities, children at risk for dyslexia could be treated with preventive remediation programs of visual spatial attention before they learn to read.”

Source:  Cell Press

Mother and boy looking at book photo by shutterstock.


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APA Reference
Pedersen, T. (2012). Dyslexia Begins With Visual Spatial Problems, Not Poor Verbal Skills. Psych Central. Retrieved on April 9, 2012, from http://psychcentral.com/news/2012/04/09/dyslexia-begins-with-visual-spatial-p...

 

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Nomlaki Wintun Tribal member Named Opening Day Starter (profile)

Last year, Kyle Lohse, Nomlaki Wintun, helped the St. Louis Cardinals win the World Series.  Today, he’s helping them start their season as their opening day pitcher in their game against the Florida Marlins in Miami, an honor bestowed on a player trusted to help the team start their baseball season off on the right track.

Last season Lohse became only the 36th active pitcher to win 100 games when he helped lead the Cardinals to a 7-4 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The Cardinals Chris Carpenter, arguably one of the best pitchers in the game, is out of the lineup indefinitely.  Lohse won more games, however, and had a better ERA, than anyone on the staff last season. Lohse remains humble despite his success and getting the nod to open the season for the defending champs.

“It is an honor. But at the same time, Carp or Waino could be the ones out there doing it,” said Lohse to Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com. “I wish it was in a different circumstance, but I’ll be ready to get it going. That’s not really going to change my approach or anything. It’s Opening Day, but it counts as much as the hopefully 33, 34 other starts that I get.”

Read more:http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2012/04/04/reigning-world-series-champions-st-louis-cardinals-name-nomlaki-wintun-kyle-lohse-opening-day-pitcher-106298 http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2012/04/04/reigning-world-series-champions-st-louis-cardinals-name-nomlaki-wintun-kyle-lohse-opening-day-pitcher-106298#ixzz1r74OV0fY

President Obama Announces U.S. Nomination of Dr. Jim Yong Kim to Lead World Bank (news)

http://now.dartmouth.edu/2012/03/president-obama-announces-u-s-nomination-of-dr-jim-yong-kim-to-lead-world-bank-white-house/#.T3tkHhzOgrI.mailto 
Today, President Obama announced that the United States is nominating Dartmouth President Dr. Jim Yong Kim, a leader who has devoted his career to improving the lives of people in developing countries and championing the cause of global health, to be President of the World Bank. The World Bank’s mission is to reduce poverty and support development, serving as a vital source of financial and technical assistance to developing countries across the globe.

Udall Scholarship (education scholarship)

Three Dartmouth students have been granted scholarship awards from the Morris K. Udall and Stewart L. Udall Foundation, which recognizes college sophomores and juniors who either intend to pursue careers related to the environment, or who intend to pursue careers in Native health care or tribal public policy and are Native American or Alaska Native. Jason Curley ’13 was one of 80 students nationwide to be awarded a Udall Scholarship, and Nicole Kanayurak ’13 and Montana Wilson ’13 were two of 50 honorable mentions.

Jason Curley ’13 was one of 80 students nationwide to win a scholarship from the Morris K. Udall and Stewart L. Udall Foundation. Curley’s plans for the future include earning a postbaccalaureate degree, attending medical school, and then returning to the Navajo Nation to practice medicine and develop more effective health care policies. (photo by Eli Burak ’00)
Assistant Dean for Scholarship Advising Kristin O’Rourke, says this was the most competitive year to date for the Udall scholarship program, which saw a large increase in the number of applications. “To have one winner and two honorable mentions during the most competitive year shows how strong our students are,” says O’Rourke.
Curley, a Native American Studies major and digital arts minor from Ganado, Ariz., received an award of up to $5,000 from the Udall Foundation. He plans to earn a postbaccalaureate degree following graduation and then attend medical school. A Navajo/Diné, he intends to return to the Navajo Nation after completing medical school, to practice medicine and develop more effective health care policies.
“I’m very honored to have received this distinguished award because it recognizes something I’ve always aspired to, which is service, and more importantly service to Native Americans,” says Curley, who is a member of Casque & Gauntlet Senior Society and Lambda Upsilon Lambda fraternity, and who received the Office of First Year Students’ annual prize for outstanding male student.
Curley has also served as the undergraduate resident assistant for Dartmouth’s Native American House. “Being awarded a Udall Scholarship confirms to me that other people have faith and trust in me and think that I’ll do good work for my people.”
This spring, while on a D-Plan leave term, Curley will continue community health outreach in the Navajo Nation, work which he had started with Partners in Health the summer after his first year at Dartmouth.
“Community health outreach and policy-making that has to do with the holistic and individual wellbeing of people are the things I’m very much interested in,” says Curley, who is also a member of Occom Pond Singers and has served on the Dartmouth Pow-Wow Committee. “And having been a part of this community health outreach program, I feel that there’s no one better to address the health needs of my people than one of our own.”

Nicole Kanayurak ’13, a Udall Scholarship honorable mention, is interested in Arctic environmental policy issues pertaining to oil, gas, and natural resource development on the North Slope of Alaska. (photo by Eli Burak ’00)
Kanayurak, an environmental studies major from Barrow, Alaska, plans to “be a leader in Arctic environmental policy issues pertaining to oil, gas, and natural resource development on the North Slope of Alaska.” The daughter of a whaling captain and subsistence hunter, she is considering law school and hopes to “help alleviate the tension and dichotomies of different groups involved with Arctic issues as we experience environmental changes in our communities. I would like to help the Inuit people cope with these changes.”
A James O. Freedman Presidential Scholar and an Occom Scholar, Kanayurak is working with Professor Xiahong Feng in the Department of Earth Sciences, analyzing tundra soil samples from Greenland. “It’s good to have the opportunity to learn about the Arctic all the way over here and get a new perspective, and also to be learning things that I can potentially apply back home,” says Kanayurak, who is also a member of Native Americans at Dartmouth, Smart Women Securities, and the Dartmouth Council on Climate Change.

Montana Wilson ’13, a Udall Scholarship honorable mention, plans on becoming a professor and educating students “on tribal governance, sovereignty, and political theory.” (photo courtesy of Montana Wilson ’13)
Wilson is a government and Native American Studies double major from Poplar, Mont. A Gros Ventre, whose people are enrolled in the Fort Belknap Indian Community of the Fort Belknap Reservation of Montana, Wilson plans to pursue a PhD in government focusing on tribal administration and public policy. His goal is to become a professor and educate students “on tribal governance, sovereignty, and political theory. Simultaneously, I will be an advocate for underrepresented Native American people and tribes in the development of tribal public policy.”
A Dartmouth Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellow, as well as a Gates Millennium Scholar and an Occom Scholar, Wilson is a member of Casque & Gauntlet, Alpha Theta coeducational fraternity, and president of the Dartmouth Pow-Wow. He also works as a Dartmouth admissions intern.
For more information on the Morris K. Udall and Stewart L. Udall Foundation Scholarship, see Dartmouth’s National Scholarships/Fellowships website.