The theoretical context of this research is developmental neuropsychology—in particular, the educational implications for the classification of and intervention in specific developmental dyslexia (SDD). Controlled and validated research can help identify optimal teaching methods for groups and individuals. Within this framework, neuropsychological theory can be explored as a medium for improving intervention for pupils with SDD. Neuropsychological stimulation cannot change the macro aspects of the brain but can change its "fine-tuning" and its response to written text. Within the psycho-neurological approaches, Bakker (1979, 1990, 1998) developed both a diagnostic procedure and empirically investigated intervention procedures. The theory rests on the Balance Model of learning to read, in which differential hemisphere involvement is implicated in beginning and advanced reading. Intervention can take place via hemisphere-specific stimulation using visual or tactile stimulation or hemisphere-alluding stimulation using modified text. Two investigations are presented, one experimental and another clinical. The results support the validity of dyslexia subtyping and the effectiveness of the treatment methods.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Bakker, D.J. (1979). Hemisphere differences and reading strategies: Two dyslexias?Bulletin of the Orton Society, 29, 84-100.
2.
Bakker. D.J. (1990). Neuropsychological treatment of dyslexia. New York: Oxford University Press.
3.
Bakker, D.J. (1994). Dyslexia and the ecological brain. Journal of Clinical and ExperimentalPsychology, 25, 734-743.
4.
Bakker, D.J. (1998, January). Iron will be sharpened by iron: The Balance Model explained. Memorial Lecture, Free University of Amsterdam .
5.
Bakker, D.J., Bouma, A., & Gardien, C.J. (1990). Hemisphere-specific treatment of dyslexic subtypes: A field experiment. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 23, 433-438.
6.
Bakker, D.J., & Licht, R. (1986). Learning to read: Changing horses in midstream . In G. Th. Pavlidis & D. F. Fisher (Eds.), Dyslexia: Its neuropsychology and treatment (pp. 87-95). New York: Wiley .
7.
Bakker, D.J., Licht, R., & Kappers, E.J. (1995). Hemispheric stimulation techniques in children with dyslexia. In M. G. Tramontana & S. R. Hooper (Eds.), Advances in child neuropsychology (Vol. 3, pp. 144-177). New York: Springer Verlag.
8.
Bakker, D.J., Moerland, R., & Goekoop-Hoefkens, M. (1981). Effects of hemisphere-specific stimulation on the reading performance of dyslexic boys: A pilot study. Journal of Clinical Neuropsychology, 3, 155-159.
9.
Bakker, D.J., & Vinke, J. (1985). Effects of hemisphere-specific stimulation on brain activity and reading in dyslexics. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology, 7, 505-525.
10.
Barr, W.B. (1997). Examining the right temporal lobe's role in nonverbal memory. Brain andCognition, 35, 26-41.
11.
Bentin, S. (1981). On the representation of a second language in the cerebral hemispheres of right-handed people. Neuropsychologia , 19, 599-603.
12.
Boder, E. (1973). Developmental dyslexia: A diagnostic approach based on three atypical reading patterns. Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology, 25, 663-687.
13.
Boder, E., & Jarrico, S. (1982). The Boder Test of reading-spelling patterns. London: Psychological Corp.
14.
Bradshaw, J.L., & Gates, E.A. (1978). Visual field differences in verbal tasks: Effects of task familiarity and sex of subject. Brain andLanguage , 5, 166-187.
15.
Bradshaw, J.L., & Hicks, R.E. (1977). Word recognition, lexical decision and visual field. Bulletin of the Psychonomic Society, 10, 266.
16.
Coslett, H.B. (1991). Read but not write 'idea': Evidence for preserved reading in "pure" alexia. Brain, 113, 327-329.
17.
Coslett, H.B., & Monsul, N. (1994). Reading with the right hemisphere: Evidence from transcranial magnetic stimulation. Brain and Language, 46, 198-211.
18.
Daniele, A., Giustolisi, L., Silveri, M., Colosimo, C., & Gainotti, G. (1994). Evidence for a possible neuroanatomical basis for lexical processing of nouns and verbs. Neuropsychologia , 32, 1325-1341.
19.
De Graaf, M.B. (1995). Hemispheric engagement during letter and word identification in beginning readers. Amsterdam: Free University.
20.
Department of Education and Science. (1994 ). The code of practice on the identification and assessment of special educational needs. London: HMSO.
21.
Dryer, R., Beale, I., & Lambert, A. (1999). The Balance Model of dyslexia and remedial training: An evaluative study. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 32, 174-186.
22.
Fries, C.C. (1963). Linguistics and reading. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston.
23.
Galaburda, A.M., & Livingstone, M. (1993). Evidence for a magnocellular defect in developmental dyslexia. In P. Tallal , A. M. Galaburda, R. R. Llinas, & C. von Euler (Eds.), Temporal information processing in the nervous system (pp. 70-82). New York: The New York Academy of Sciences.
24.
Goldberg, E., & Costa, L.D. (1981). Hemisphere differences in the acquisition and use of descriptive systems. Brain and Language, 14, 144-173.
25.
Grace, G.M. (1987). Brief results of pilot study. Unpublished manuscript, University of Victoria, BC, Canada.
26.
Grace, G.M. (1990). Effects of hemisphere-specific stimulation on academic performance and event-related potentials in dyslexic children. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Victoria University, Victoria, Canada.
27.
Grace, G.M., & Spreen, O. (1994). Hemisphere-specific stimulation of L and P types: A replication study and critical appraisal. In R. Licht & G. Spyer (Eds.), Bakker's Balance Model of dyslexia (pp.133-181). Assen, The Netherlands: Van Gorcum.
28.
Gross-Glenn, K., Duari, R., Roshii, F., Barker, W.W., Chang, J.Y., Apicella, A., Boothe, T. & Lubs, H.A. (1986). PET scan studies during reading in dyslexic and non-dyslexic adults. Neuroscience Abstracts, 24, 371.
29.
Holmes, B. (1994, August 27). Fast words speed past dyslexics. New Scientist, p. 10.
30.
Huettner, M., Rosenthal, B.L., & Hynd, G.W. (1989). Regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) in normal readers: Bilateral activation with narrative text. Archives of ClinicalNeurology, 4, 71-78.
31.
Hynd, G.W., Hynd, C.R., Sullivan, H.G., & Kingsbury, T., Jr. (1987). Regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) in developmental dyslexia: Activation during reading in a surface and deep dyslexic. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 20, 294-300.
32.
Kappers, E.J. (1988). Neuropsychological treatment of initial dyslexia . In A. van der Leij & J. Hamers (Eds.), Dyslexie 1988 (pp. 57-68). Lisse , The Netherlands: Swets & Zeitlinger.
33.
Kappers, E.J. (1994). Neuropsychological treatment of dyslexia in clinical practice. In K. P. van den Bos, L. S. Siegel, D. J. Bakker, & D. Share (Eds.), Current directions in dyslexia research (pp. 235-250). Amsterdam / Lisse, The Netherlands: Swets & Zeitlinger .
34.
Kappers, E.J. (1997). Outpatient treatment of dyslexia through stimulation of the cerebral hemispheres. Journal of Learning Disabilities , 30, 100-125.
35.
Kappers, E.J., & Bos, W.N. (1991). Effecten van neuropsychologische behandeling van dyslexieen. In A. van der Leij & E. J Kappers (Eds.), Dyslexie. Lees en spellingproblemen: diagnostiek en interventie (pp. 91-114). Leuven , Belgium: Acco.
36.
Kappers, E.J., & Hamburger, H.B. (1994). Neuropsychological treatment of dyslexia in outpatients. In R. Licht & G. Spyer (Eds.), The Balance Model of dyslexia: Theoretical and clinical progress (pp. 101-133). Assen, The Netherlands: Van Gorcum.
37.
Lehmkuhle, S., Garcia, R.P., Turner, L., Hash, T., & Boro, J.A. (1993). A defective visual pathway in children with reading disability. The New England Journal of Medicine, 223, 989-996.
38.
Licht, R., Bakker, D.J., Kok, A., & Bouma, A. (1988). The development of lateral event-related potentials (ERPs) related to word naming: A four year longitudinal study. Neuropsychologia, 26, 327-340.
39.
Masutto, C., Scabar, A., Bravar, L., & Fabbro, F. (1994). Neurolinguistic differentiation of children with subtypes of dyslexia. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 27, 520-526.
40.
Mohr, B., Pulvermuller, F., & Zaidel, E. (1994). Lexical decision after left, right, bilateral presentation of function words, content words and non-words. Evidence for interhemispheric interaction. Neuropsychologia, 32, 105-124.
41.
Neale, M.D. (1989). The Neale analysis of reading ability (revised British edition). Windsor: NFER-Nelson .
42.
Nicholson, R.I., & Fawcett, A.J. (1994). Reaction time and dyslexia. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 47A, 29-48.
43.
Notermans, N.A., & van der Rijdt, J. (1984). Onderzoek naar de behandelingseffecten van hemisfeer-specifieke training op het leesgedrag en de oogsbewingen van kinderen met leesproblemen. Unpublished thesis, Catholic University, Tilburg, Holland.
44.
Paulesu, E., Frith, U., Snowling, M.J., Gallagher, A., Morton, J., Frackoviak, R.S.J., & Frith, C.D. (1996). Is developmental dyslexia a disconnection syndrome? Evidence from PET scanning. Brain, 119, 142-157.
45.
Renner, M.J., & Rosenzweig, M.R. (1987). Enriched and impoverished environments: Effects on brain and behaviour. New York : Springer.
46.
Rennie, J. (1991). Dyslexia: A problem of timing. Scientific American, 11, 14.
47.
Richards, L., & Chiarello, C. (1995). Depth of associated activation in the cerebral hemispheres: Mediated versus direct priming. Neuropsychologia , 33, 171-179.
48.
Robertson, J. (1996). Specific learning difficulties (for example, dyslexia): Differential diagnosis and intervention. Unpublished doctoral thesis, Victoria University, Manchester, England.
49.
Robertson, J. (1997, September). Neuropsychological studies in intervention in dyslexia: A report of recent British studies into differential treatment . Paper presented at the Fourth World Congress on Dyslexia, Macedonia, Greece.
50.
Rourke, B.P. (1982). Central processing deficiencies in children: Towards a developmental neuropsychological model. Journal of Child Neuropsychology, 4, 1-18.
51.
Russo, A.E. (1993). Effects of the presence of pathological left-handedness indications on the efficiency of a neuropsychological intervention with low achieving readers. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Pennsylvania, Harrisburg.
52.
Silverberg, R., Bentin, S., Gaziel, T., Obler, L.K., & Albert, M.L. (1979). Shift of visual field preference for English words in native Hebrew speakers. Brain andLanguage, 8, 184-190.
53.
Stein, J.F. (1997, September). How impaired magnocellular processing can cause visual reading errors. Paper presented at the Fourth World Congress on Dyslexia, Macedonia, Greece.
54.
Stein, J.F., & Walsh, V. (1997). To see but not to read: The magnocellular theory of dyslexia. Trends in Neuroscience, 20, 147-152.
55.
Tallal, P. (1997, April). Language learning impairments: Integrating basic science, technology and remediation. Keynote lecture at the annual meeting of the British Dyslexia Association, York, England.
