According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, about 15 to 20% of American students have dyslexia. It would take a while before parents would acknowledge that their children are actually suffering from serious problems, thus denying them of proper treatment. The good news is, parents can consider brain training to help children cope with these problems.
Contrary to what most people believe, people with dyslexia do not necessarily have low intellect. There are some dyslexics that became successful in their chosen fields, like Albert Einstein, Thomas Edison, Alexander Bell and even journalist Anderson Cooper.
There is no standard treatment for dyslexia, it is based on the person’s need and condition. Once a child is diagnosed with dyslexia, the school where it is enrolled is required to create an Individualized Education Program (IEP) that would suit the child’s needs. The IEP will provide you with a clear understanding of the disabilities, methods on dealing with it and of course, the objectives of the program.
In a case study performed by the Edmond J. Safra Brain Research Center for the Study of Learning Disabilities in the University of Haifa in Israel, dyslexic college students showed improvements in their memory and reading performance after undergoing brain training. The creators of the training believed that through improving the memory capacity, more information could be retained, detected and used by the mind.
Meanwhile, a research led by Psychology professor John Gabrieli from the Stanford University, discovered that dyslexia could actually be connected with a defect on a neuron function. Those who have difficulty in reading would often have an abnormal function of the neuron’s myelin.
By understanding this neurobiological aspect of dyslexia, the researchers were able to design a kind of training which helped dyslexics become better readers after eight weeks of the training. In the training, the dyslexics were subjected into understanding the basic sounds of language rapidly.
While training with sounds, a brain imaging was performed. The areas which do not function properly, becomes activated and showed normal performance for the first time. Aside from the problem areas of the brain, other regions were also maximized during the training.
This training is important to help them distinguish the difference between the letters. One of the biggest problems of dyslexics is how they distinguish letters with almost similar sounds. The words are broken into sounds and they are exaggerated or slowed down to put emphasis n the sounds.
After the training, the students participating experienced an increase in their language and reading exams. And since the children were able to improve on their reading skills, they also became more confident.
The best option would be to get a cognitive trainer or get into a learning center that has the ability to handle dyslexics. Tutoring would allow them to use different exercises based on their needs. These centers would also have knowledge of different dyslexia tools, which are of course, in the form of brain exercises and games. Brain training would also help in identifying weak points and how they could be improved.
Today, the concept of brain training had been fully accepted by science. In a nutshell, it is a series of mental exercises developed and designed to stimulate the functioning of the brain and improve its present cognitive status.
This series of mental drills was first intended to reduce the effects of symptoms connected with Alzheimer’s and other related illnesses that lead to the deterioration of such brain functions like memory, perception and reasoning.
Later, this developed into a full-pledged health aid when research discovered that brain training had helped improve memorization and visual reasoning. Research also showed evidence that these mental calisthenics had considerably slowed down the effects of aging of the mind and other age-related mental deterioration.
This package of exercises usually includes puzzles and logic games, flash cards, video games and other thinking drills. All of them are designed to improve the memory and to help increase concentration. This, in turn, helps better perception and reasoning.
Brain mapping
There are now facilities today that offer brain training using modern techniques and the latest technologies. Usually, these modern clinics begin their program with brain-mapping.
This is to assess the present electromagnetic readings of the brain, its many parts, and the activities in each of these areas. With the gathered information, doctors would be able to design the proper series of treatment protocols that will fit the needs of the patient.
Brain plasticity
The whole concept of brain training hinges on the theory of brain plasticity. In the old days, scientists erroneously thought the brain’s network is already fixed with the onset of aging and that old people could not learn any more new information.
The idea of brain plasticity turned that old notion 180 degrees. Today, we know that the brain is always learning, and that it changes itself with the process and even gets better after sometime.
Scientists now also know that average human beings have the ability to change their brain’s neural paths with the acquisition of new knowledge and experiences.
Other benefits
Brain training not only targets old people but also those regular individuals who have a wide range of mental conditions that needed to be addressed. These modern-day mental troubles include anxiety, depression, stress, addiction and others. (It sometimes includes conditions caused by traumatic brain injuries.)
Brain training had been able to improve many of these mental troubles. With it, patients were able to benefit such things as mental clarity, emotional well-being, and the old abilities to concentrate. There were others, too, who were able to even enhance their physical performances in sports, for instance.
Alternatives
Thankfully, you can do your own brain training. Do crossword puzzles, sudoku, as well as other word and board games. The internet has a wealth of aids to help your skills in memorization, visualization and reasoning – all for free.
The key to getting the most benefits of brain training is consistent, regular practice. Just like physical exercises, all it takes is doing a few ones every day. Coupled with good nutrition and consistent physical exercises, brain training can do wonders for your brain.
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