Return-Path: <nifl-4eff@literacy.nifl.gov> Received: from literacy (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by literacy.nifl.gov (8.10.2/8.10.2) with SMTP id h5CIjqC13048; Thu, 12 Jun 2003 14:45:52 -0400 (EDT) Date: Thu, 12 Jun 2003 14:45:52 -0400 (EDT) Message-Id: <4E2E1668.77686432.0A349A3F@aol.com> Errors-To: listowner@literacy.nifl.gov Reply-To: nifl-4eff@literacy.nifl.gov Originator: nifl-4eff@literacy.nifl.gov Sender: nifl-4eff@literacy.nifl.gov Precedence: bulk From: AWilder106@aol.com To: Multiple recipients of list <nifl-4eff@literacy.nifl.gov> Subject: [NIFL-4EFF:2374] Re: Fw: Overview concepts of Michael Pressley X-Listprocessor-Version: 6.0c -- ListProcessor by Anastasios Kotsikonas Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 X-Mailer: Atlas Mailer 2.0 Status: O Content-Length: 2406 Lines: 23 Tom, Let me take just a small part of this. First, language (hearing and speech) and reading and writing are different though we often say "language" when we are talking about "reading and writing." The Sylvian fissure runs from the ear region, slanting, toward the back of the brain. On the front side of the fissure is Broca's area, on the back side of the fissure is Wernicke's are. This is on the left side of the brain. Broca's area is associated with the mouth region and the part of the motor strip that controls this region. The motor strip goes like a band across the brain from one ear region to the other. Wernicke's area is associated with the ear and the auditory cortex. Damage to either of these areas harms first speech, then hearing of language--or making sense, actually. BUT there may be many other language areas of the brain that are left intact, so a person with Broca's aphasia may not be able to speak at all or very little, while higher language skills, like thinking in sentences, are intact. A person with damage here may also not be able to write sentences. This points to the idea that language is first, basically, a motor skill. Think of a small child who says a word and points. Those who have imaged different parts of the brain have found that specific language skills--like changing verbs to nouns, for example, happen in one spot of the brain. Interestingly, different languages "map" onto different parts of the brain. Reading is visual, it depends on a language base having been laid down in the brain. Images register on the visual cortex, which is like a movie screen, sort of, at the back of the brain. Different senses are linked in the brain, like auditory cortex areas with visual; when recall (reading)is required, these areas are tapped. For a person to read fluently, the timing recall of words has to be perfect. In dyslexia, the visual memory for words seems scant; also, the auditory memory for certain phonemes is imperfect, so the linkages between these systems don't seem to be made. Much of what is termed "dyslexia" these days is, I believe, the result of poor teaching and not a neurological problem. I study this area, among others, and rely on research, teaching experience, and first hand accounts. I depend a lot on list serv members to point me to areas that I should study further and for anecdotes. Andrea
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