Well, let’s celebrate the good news - the British Government are spending more to help dyslexia. But, now for the bad news - they are doing even more of what has already proven to be a huge disappointment.
Research has shown that extra phonics teaching is of negligible benefit - children are already given plenty of effective phonics teaching. The problem with reading is nothing to do with the amount of teaching that is given on phonics, it is very often down to the fact children don't have ability to use that skill. The process of reading involves working memory, visual processing and other functions, which are all linked to the cerebellum.
When the right parts of the cerebellum are developed we frequently discover that children already have all the phonics teaching they need to be able to read and comprehend far better than before.
We have recently been told that the Government have spent an extra half a billion on programmes to help children, yet they have been completely ineffective. So why, oh why are they now doing more of the same?
If dyslexia wasn’t so serious it would be laughable, but even the American Government makes exactly the same mistakes. The graph below shows how the American Government have dramatically increased spend on literacy programmes without having any effect on reading ability.
Research has shown that extra phonics teaching is of negligible benefit - children are already given plenty of effective phonics teaching. The problem with reading is nothing to do with the amount of teaching that is given on phonics, it is very often down to the fact children don't have ability to use that skill. The process of reading involves working memory, visual processing and other functions, which are all linked to the cerebellum.
When the right parts of the cerebellum are developed we frequently discover that children already have all the phonics teaching they need to be able to read and comprehend far better than before.
We have recently been told that the Government have spent an extra half a billion on programmes to help children, yet they have been completely ineffective. So why, oh why are they now doing more of the same?
If dyslexia wasn’t so serious it would be laughable, but even the American Government makes exactly the same mistakes. The graph below shows how the American Government have dramatically increased spend on literacy programmes without having any effect on reading ability.
When will they realise that they are getting the wrong advice? When will they realise there is a highly effective solution to the root cause of not just reading but for so many of the other symptoms that are linked to learning difficulties?
