A Neuroplasticity Perspective on Dyslexia:
The Imagery-Language Connection
From Theory To Practice
Angelica Benson, Ed.M.
Director of Development and Outreach
Lindamood-Bell Learning Processes
San Luis Obispo, California (USA)
European Dyslexia Association Summer Seminars
1 July 2023
Agenda
Lindamood-Bell Co-Founders, Authors, Researchers
Patricia Lindamood and Nanci Bell
1986
2023
Instructional Experience to Scientific Research
We believe, passionately, that children
and adults can be taught to read
and comprehend to their potential, including
those individuals previously diagnosed with
dyslexia, hyperlexia, and/or autism spectrum disorder.
~ Nanci Bell
Crisis to Solve
Learning to read and comprehend serves as a foundation for all educational pursuits and indeed for economic success in life, yet millions of students struggle to learn.
Yet, 15% of the school population in America, more than 7.2 million students, have a condition qualifying them for special education.
85% of those students have a primary learning disability in reading and/or processing language.
The most common type of learning disability is dyslexia.
Our goal is to help every individual
reach his or her potential to learn.
Our global efforts include
Lindamood-Bell Learning Centres,
Seasonal Learning Camps,
School Partnerships,
Professional Development Workshops,
and neurological and behavioural research.
Research Collaborators�
McGovern Institute for Brain Research and Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences
Department of Teaching,
Learning and Culture
Our instructional journey began in a clinical environment.
We questioned, we instructed, and we researched.
Why could some children learn to read from an
early age, yet others could not?
What was the primary cause of dyslexia?
Could the cause be identified and remediated so dyslexia would not need to be a lifelong struggle?
3 Sensory-Cognitive Functions
Sensory input of imagery is a primary sensory-cognitive function.
Two Types of Imagery�Parts and Wholes
Symbol Imagery is imagery for sounds and letters within words.
Concept Imagery is an imaged whole for oral/written language.
Comprehension
Language
Auditory
Contextual Reading
Visual
Word Recognition
Word Attack
A Paradigm for Reading
Sensory-cognitive functions underlie
the component parts of reading.
Fluency
Bell, Nanci. Visualizing and Verbalizing for Language Comprehension and Thinking, Gander Publishing, 1986, rev. 1991, 2007.
15
Dual Coding Theory:
A Theoretical Model For Literacy
Buzz
CA: 12-5 Grade: 7.0
Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test 75th Percentile
Comprehension 37th Percentile
Woodcock Word Attack 95th Percentile
Wide Range Achievement Test
Word Recognition 37th Percentile
Gray Oral Reading Test-3
Rate 10th Percentile
Accuracy 25th Percentile
Fluency 16th Percentile
At end of 6th grade, Buzz hated reading. Despite improved phonological processing, he still couldn’t read text accurately and easily. His teacher said, “He can sound out words better but he still can’t read.”
Symptoms of Weak Symbol Imagery
Weakness in:
*Student may or may not be diagnosed with dyslexia
Concept Imagery and Comprehension/Thinking
imaged whole
Higher Order Thinking
• main idea
• conclusion
• inference
• predict and extend
• evaluate
Natalie
CA: 11-10 Grade: 7.0
Comprehension _______________________
Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test___________86th Percentile
Woodcock Word Attack__________________86th Percentile
Wide Range Achievement Test
Word Recognition____________________87th Percentile
Gray Oral Reading Test-3
Rate_______________________________84th Percentile
Accuracy ___________________________95th Percentile
Fluency_____________________________91st Percentile
2nd Percentile
Though Natalie had easily learned to read words in her early grades, by 4th grade she was sick before going to school and moving her to the front of the classroom didn’t help her performance.
Symptoms of Weak Concept Imagery
Weakness in:
“Cognition is proportional to the extent that the coding mechanisms of mental representations (imagery) and language are integrated.”
Paivio’s Dual Coding Theory (DCT)
“Performance is mediated by the joint activity of verbal and nonverbal systems…cognition is always an interplay between the verbal and nonverbal systems.”
“…DCT is among the strongest current candidates for developing a unified, scientifically-based theory of literacy.
…DCT principles apply to grapheme-phoneme correspondences, vocabulary, grammar, the construction of mental models of text episodes, and imaginative responses to text including the social construction of self and others in literacy encounters.”
The DCT model addresses decoding as well as oral and written language comprehension and memory.
DCT Offers a Unified Theory of Literacy
Dual Coding and the�Cognitive Science of Learning
Science of Reading/Cognitive Science of Learning
Science of Reading
Cognitive Science of Learning
“There are individual differences
in the ability to create mental representations and thus
there are individual differences in the ability to dual code
imagery and language for cognition.”
~ Nanci Bell
Imagery and Language Processing
Comprehension
Word
Attack
Word
Recog
Paragraph
Reading
Decoding
Weak Comprehension
weak or dyslexia
Weak or hyperlexia, autism
Symbol Imagery
Concept Imagery
Behavioral Results
(2008-2022)
Lindamood-Bell Learning Center�Decoding and Comprehension Deficits
Based on students who received over 40 hours of instruction at Learning Centers
January 2008 through December 2022.
n=27,064
Symbol Imagery
Phonological and orthographic imagery �for reading and spelling words—orthographic memory.
Decoding Only Students
*Statistically significant (p < .0001)
Based on students who received over 40 hours of Seeing Stars (symbol imagery/orthographic and phonological processing) only instruction at Learning Centers, January 2008 through September 2022.
Average Hours of Instruction: 111.4
n = 10,145• Average Age: 9.2
Pre- and Posttest Percentiles
Decoding Only Students
Medium (3.0–4.5)
Large (> 4.5)
Small (< 3.0)
Based on students who received over 40 hours of Seeing Stars (symbol imagery/orthographic and phonological processing) only instruction at Learning Centers, January 2008 through September 2022.
Magnitude of Change
Average Hours of Instruction: 111.4
n = 10,145 • Average Age: 9.2
Average Standard Score Changes
Dyslexia Students With Previous Diagnosis
Average Hours of Instruction: 123.4
n = 2,764 • Average Age: 9.7
*Statistically significant (p < .0001)
Based on students with third-party diagnoses of Dyslexia who received over 40 hours of Seeing only instruction at Lindamood-Bell Learning Centers, January 2008 through December 2022.
Pre- and Posttest Percentiles
Sym
Imag*
Phon
Awar*
Word
Att*
Word
Rec*
Acc*
Flu*
Reading Comp*
Vocab*
Dyslexia Students With Previous Diagnosis
Average Hours of Instruction: 123.4
n = 2,764 • Average Age: 9.7
Based on students with third-party diagnoses of Dyslexia who received over 40 hours of Seeing only instruction at Lindamood-Bell Learning Centers, January 2008 through December 2022.
Medium (3.0–4.5)
Large (> 4.5)
Small (< 3.0)
Average Standard Score Changes
Magnitude of Change
Sym
Imag*
Phon
Awar*
Word
Att*
Word
Rec*
Acc*
Flu*
Reading Comp*
Vocab*
Our Take Aways
If we measure sensory-cognitive processing, differentiate the diagnosis, and provide instruction to develop the sensory input of imagery to interplay with language, individuals can become independent in language and literacy skills.
These findings suggest a counter view to the belief that a reading disability, such as dyslexia, is a lifelong challenge that cannot be changed.
A Neuroplasticity Perspective On Dyslexia:
Highlights From 3 Research Studies
What is Neuroplasticity?
Neuroplasticity can be defined as the ability of the nervous system
to respond to intrinsic or extrinsic stimuli by reorganizing its structure, function and connections.
Gray Matter Changes Following Reading Intervention
in Dyslexic Children�(Krafnick, Flowers, Napoliello, & Eden, 2011)
Krafnick, A. J., Flowers, D. L., Napoliello, E. M., & Eden, G. F. (2011). Gray matter volume changes following reading intervention in dyslexic children. Neuroimage, 57, 733-741. doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2010.10.062
Research Design
†
Intervention: Symbol Imagery Instruction (provided by Lindamood-Bell Learning Processes, administered one-to-one, 5 days per week, for 8 weeks, 2-4 hours per day)
Pre-Intervention:
(1) neuropsychological assessment in reading and, (2) neuroimaging measures
Post-Intervention:
(1) neuropsychological assessment in reading and, (2) neuroimaging measures
Overview
Significant Neurological Findings�
Four areas of brain structure showed increased gray matter volume (GMV) at the end of the intervention.
These areas included those involved in memory and mental imagery. In the left hemisphere, this included the anterior fusiform/hippocampus and precuneus.
The precuneus is involved with episodic memory, visuospatial processing, and aspects of consciousness.
All Brain Structure Changes Were Maintained Following Instruction
T1 is before instruction, T2 after their remediation, and T3 (null period) is 8 weeks later.
*Statistically significant ( p ≤ .05)
Conclusion
Krafnick, A. J., Flowers, D. L., Napoliello, E. M., & Eden, G. F. (2011). Gray matter volume changes following reading intervention in dyslexic children. Neuroimage, 57, 733-741. doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2010.10.062
Rapid and Widespread White Matter Plasticity During an Intensive Reading Intervention
(Huber, Donnelly, Rokem & Yeatman, 2018)
Huber, E., Donnelly, P. M., Rokem, A., & Yeatman, J. D. (2018). Rapid and widespread white matter plasticity during an intensive reading intervention. Nature Communications, 9, 2260. doi:10.1038/s41467-018-04627-5
Research Design
†
Intervention- Experimental Group: Symbol Imagery Instruction (provided by Lindamood-Bell Learning Processes, administered one-to-one, 5 days per week, for 8 weeks, 2-4 hours per day)
Pre-Intervention::
(1) neuropsychological assessment in reading and, (2) neuroimaging measures
At Regular Intervals and Post-Intervention:
(1) neuropsychological assessment in reading and, (2) neuroimaging measures
Overview
This study “used a longitudinal intervention design to examine experience-dependent growth in reading skills and white matter in grade school-aged, struggling readers. Diffusion MRI data were collected at regular intervals during an 8-week, intensive reading intervention. These measurements reveal large-scale changes throughout a collection of white matter tracts, in concert with growth in reading skill.”
Significant Neurological Findings�
Brain connectivity effects were observed within the arcuate fasciculus, where language and sounds are processed, within the left inferior longitudinal fasciculus where visual inputs, such as letters on a page are transmitted through the brain, and the posterior callosal connections which link the two hemispheres of the brain.
Conclusion
Reading skills improved by an average of one full grade level for students who took part in the eight week intervention to develop symbol imagery for phonological and orthographic processing.
Diffusion MRI data collected during instruction indicates that there were large-scale changes in white matter conductivity correlating with the gains in reading. Subjects in the control group showed no changes.
Intervention to stimulate and develop symbol imagery led to increased brain structure conductivity and improved reading for children with reading difficulties including dyslexia.
Huber, E., Donnelly, P. M., Rokem, A., & Yeatman, J. D. (2018). Rapid and widespread white matter plasticity during an intensive reading intervention. Nature Communications, 9, 2260. doi:10.1038/s41467-018-04627-5
Intensive Summer Intervention Drives Linear Growth of Reading Skill in Struggling Readers �(Donnelly, Huber, & Yeatman, 2019)
“The goal of this study was to analyze reading growth curves during an intensive summer intervention program. A cohort of 31 children (6–12 years) with reading difficulties (N = 21 with dyslexia diagnosis) were enrolled in 160 hours of intervention occurring over 8 weeks of summer vacation. We collected behavioral measures over 4 sessions assessing decoding, oral reading fluency, and comprehension. Mixed-effects modeling of longitudinal measurements revealed a linear dose-response relationship between hours of intervention and improvement in reading ability; there was significant linear growth on every measure of reading skill and none of the measures showed non-linear growth trajectories.”
Fig. 2. (A) Mean growth of composite reading skills. Growth curves are plotted using the intercept and slope estimates from a linear mixed-effects model with session as a categorical variable. The dashed lines represent measurements during the baseline period. Results show growth across reading measures during the intervention period, and no change (or a decline) in scores during the baseline period.ASD-EXP group. Note: Figure used with permission.
Donnelly, P. M., Huber, E., & Yeatman, J. D. (2019). Intensive summer intervention drives linear growth of reading skill in struggling readers. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, 1900. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01900
Overview
The goal of this study was to analyze reading growth curves during an intensive summer intervention program.
The research team collected behavioral measures over 4 sessions assessing decoding, oral reading fluency, and comprehension.
These results highlight the opportunity to improve reading skills over an intensive, short-term summer intervention program, and the linear dose-response relationship between duration and gains.
Conclusion
Changes in white matter and dosage amounts correlate to changes in reading behavior.
These findings show the intervention’s positive efficacy in developing dyslexic readers’ sensory-cognitive functions, phonemic awareness and orthographic processing as related to measures of decoding.
Findings add validity to the tenets of Dual Coding Theory (DCT) and suggest the universality of phonemic and orthographic awareness/processing with dyslexic profiles.
Donnelly, P. M., Huber, E., & Yeatman, J. D. (2019). Intensive summer intervention drives linear growth of reading skill in struggling readers. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, 1900. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01900
Dyslexia Research Findings Summary�University of Washington
Institute for Learning and Brain Sciences [I-LABS]
“While many parents and teachers might worry that dyslexia is permanent, reflecting intrinsic deficits in the brain, these findings demonstrate that targeted, intensive reading programs not only lead to substantial improvements in reading skills, but also change the underlying wiring of the brain’s reading circuitry.”
- Jason Yeatman, Ph.D.
Director
Brain Development & Education Lab
Stanford University
In Conclusion
In Conclusion
Current/Future Directions
Thank You EDA.
Contact: angelica.benson@lindamoodbell.com
Research Abstracts:
www.lindamoodbell.com/research