Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, January 16, 1992 TAG: 9201160203
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: BOSTON LENGTH: Medium
STUDY: CHILDREN MAY OUTGROW DYSLEXIA
Contrary to widely held belief, most youngsters diagnosed with dyslexia in kindergarten soon outgrow severe reading problems, according to a controversial study.The research suggests that rather than being a specific, all-or-nothing condition, dyslexia ranges from mild to severe and changes over time.
"Our data indicate that dyslexia is part of a continuum of normal reading ability," said Dr. Sally E. Shaywitz of Yale Medical School, who directed the study.
An estimated 5 percent to 10 percent of Americans are considered to be dyslexic. Even though common, the condition is difficult to define and often misunderstood.
The widely held idea that victims see words and letters reversed is not a necessary part of dyslexia. The smarter the youngster, the better he reads, and the latest study views dyslexia as simply reading below one's IQ level.
The study suggests that dyslexics are not lumped together as extremely poor readers. Instead, the disorder occurs in degrees, and there is no clear cutoff between those who have it and those who do not.
If true, the findings may have important implications for how schools identify and treat youngsters with reading problems.
Whether dyslexia is a distinct entity or simply part of the normal range of reading ability has been controversial for several years.
"This is part of a continuing debate that will keep people going back to the lab to look again," said Dr. James F. Kavanagh of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.
The study, published in today's New England Journal of Medicine, was based on 414 children who entered kindergarten in 12 Connecticut towns in 1983. The researchers tested them annually as they went through school.
They found that just 28 percent of those classified as having dyslexia in first grade still had it in third grade. By sixth grade, 17 percent were considered dyslexic.