Lessons from the reading brain for reading development and dyslexia*. Issue 2 (2nd July 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Wolf, Maryanne; Ullman-Shade, Catherine; Gottwald, Stephanie
• Is Part Of: Australian journal of learning difficulties. Volume 21:Issue 2(2016)
• Page Start: 143
• Page End: 156
• Publication Date: 2016-07-02
• Subjects: Remedial teaching -- Periodicals; Remedial teaching -- Australia -- Periodicals; 371.905
• DOI: 10.1080/19404158.2016.1337364
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1940-4158

Abstract

Abstract: This essay is about the improbable emergence of written language six millennia ago that gave rise to the even more improbable, highly sophisticated reading brain of the twenty-first century. How it emerged and what it comprises – both in its most basic iteration in the very young reader and in its most elaborated iteration in the expert reader – is a story with several important lessons for how we think about reading development and how we approach reading challenges like dyslexia. For, an understanding of how the reading brain develops gives educators a unique lens on what the child has to learn, what the teacher would be wise to teach, and why the organization of the brain of an individual with dyslexia has precious little to do with reading.