Growing Children

Episode
Dyslexia
Broadcast Info
2011 (59 mins)
Description
In this programme Laverne looks into one of the most common problems for children - dyslexia. She uncovers some incredible developments in neuroscience that are showing how the dyslexic brain works. As many as one in ten are now thought to be affected by this condition. Laverne discovers that when dyslexia is combined with that crucial period of children’s lives when they are first starting to learn it can be disastrous, leading to poor self-esteem, high stress and low achievement. Laverne also learns that dyslexia is not just something that affects children when they are learning to read. It is a lifelong incurable condition that can affect many aspects of someone’s life. How can someone with dyslexia cope as they start the process of entering the working world? We live in a world of words. Almost everything we do involves reading - instructions, computers, phones, newspapers. It’s a skill that is fundamental to functioning properly in today’s society. And with the internet it has become ever more crucial. It has now been estimated that we see or hear over 100,000 words every day. Laverne meets Lettie, a ten year old girl who faces a daily battle with reading. Through an insightful interview Laverne learns just how challenging this can make things for her. In a fascinating experiment Laverne also uses computer animations to make her favourite book - Jane Eyre - difficult for her to read. Through this we begin to see the different way in which a dyslexic views the world. Laverne also meets Alyce, who has just completed her GCSEs and is thinking about her future. How can dyslexia affect someone’s working life? Laverne follows her through her child care course - she sees how she struggles with reading to the children, but also her determination to follow her chosen career despite her dyslexia. Laverne also accompanies her in a very emotional sequence where she is reassessed to reveal the extent of her dyslexia. Laverne then investigates how children in the UK are taught to read and write and the reasons why dyslexics can struggle with this. Dyslexics have no problems with their eyes - so the issue with learning must lie elsewhere. Laverne visits the Medical Research Council’s Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit in Cambridge where an exciting new scan experiment is taking place. They are trying to mimic the process when children learn to read for the first time but under laboratory conditions; to study how their brains process visual information. Here we actually see which pathways in the brain are associated with reading - and amazingly which pathway causes problems for dyslexics. Laverne takes her investigation even further by visiting Professor Usha Goswami at the Centre for Neuroscience in Education in Cambridge. What is actually happening in the brain of a dyslexic child? Professor Goswami’s extraordinary theory appears to challenge the popular perception that dyslexia is all to do with words. Laverne is shown that it is in fact a difficulty with distinguishing between different rhythmic sounds that appears to be the real problem. Laverne also evaluates one of the most controversial aids to dyslexia - the mobile phone! Professor Clare Wood studied a group of 8-12 year olds over an academic year to analyse how mobile phone use - and particular regular texting - might affect their educational development. Could it be that texting on mobile phones can actually help children learn? After seeing how children can struggle with dyslexia Laverne then explores the other side of the argument - the belief that because dyslexia is so prevalent in the population it could involve some benefits. If dyslexia was all bad would evolution not have weeded it out by now? Laverne explores an exciting new area of research looking at why there are apparently so many dyslexics in the creative arts. Laverne therefore gives a full picture of the exciting new developments in dyslexia research. Our understanding of this condition has come a long way and this film gives a real understanding into why dyslexics struggle with reading and writing.
Genre
Science; Research; Biology; Mental Health

How to cite this record

The Open University, "Growing Children". https://learningonscreen.ac.uk/ou/search/index.php/prog/82491 (Accessed 09 Jan 2025)