Neural Mechanisms in Dyslexia

ABSTRACT— Within the last two decades, evidence from many laboratories has converged to indicate the cognitive basis for dyslexia: Dyslexia is a disorder within the language system and, more specifically, within a particular subcomponent of that system, phonological processing. Converging evidence from a number of laboratories using functional brain imaging indicates that there is a disruption of left-hemisphere posterior neural systems in child and adult dyslexic readers when they perform reading tasks. The discovery of a disruption in the neural systems serving reading has significant implications for the acceptance of dyslexia as a valid disorder—a necessary condition for its identification and treatment. Brain-imaging findings provide, for the first time, convincing, irrefutable evidence that what has been considered a hidden disability is "real," and these findings have practical implications for the provision of accommodations, a critical component of management for older children and young adults attending postsecondary and graduate programs. The utilization of advances in neuroscience to inform educational policy and practices provides an exciting example of translational science being used for the public good.     

‘I think motherhood for me was a bit like a double‐edged sword’: the narratives of older mothers

It is assumed in Western society that women want to become mothers. This desire is situated within the ideology of the ‘perfect mother’. However, feminists have highlighted contradictions between this ideology and the reality of mothering. A trend towards later motherhood has recently been identified. Delayed motherhood has been associated with a number of advantages such as a sense of psychological readiness, however this may mask some of its negative aspects. The aim of the study reported here was to explore the transition to, and lived experience of, delayed motherhood. Five women who were over 30 prior to the birth of their first child were interviewed. A narrative analysis at the personal, interpersonal and societal levels was conducted. At the personal level, diverse stories which contained both problems in adapting to motherhood and also progressive aspects of positive experiences and integration of maternal identities were told. At the interpersonal level, the prominence of the ‘double‐edged’ tone conveyed maternal ambivalence. At the societal level, dominant ideologies of the ‘good mother’ and normative development were identified. Though the women actively constructed their stories and attempted to resist dominant representations, this analysis emphasises the need for more realistic portrayals of delayed motherhood. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Visual and phonological components of working memory in children

Previous studies have shown that young children's immediate memory for a short series of drawings of objects is mediated by a visual component of working memory, whereas older children rely chiefly upon a phonological component. Three experiments investigated the hypothesis that older children rely also, but to a lesser extent, on visual working memory. Experiment 1 confirmed previous evidence that 11-year-olds' memory is disrupted by phonemic similarity of object names, but is unaffected by visual similarity of the objects themselves. However, when articulatory suppression was used to prevent phonological coding, levels of recall were sensitive to visual rather than phonemic similarity. Experiment 2 compared the effects of interpolating an auditory-verbal or a visual postlist task on memory for drawings viewed either with or without suppression. The visual task had a clear disruptive effect only in the suppression condition, where it interfered selectively with recall of the most recent item. Experiment 3 compared the effects of interpolating an auditory-verbal or a mixed-modality (visual-auditory) postlist task when subjects were not required to suppress. There was greater interference from the mixed-modality task, and this effect was confined to the last item presented. These experiments are taken as confirming the presence of a small but reliable contribution from visual memory in 11-year-old children's recall. As in younger children, visual working memory in 11-year-olds is sensitive to visual similarity and is responsible for a final-item visual recency effect. The results also show that older children's use of visual working memory is usually masked by the more pervasive phonological component of recall. Some implications for the structure of working memory and its development are discussed.     

The community alcohol use scale: A scale for use in prevention programs

The Community Alcohol Use Scale (CAUS) was developed as a continuous, reliable, valid, and acceptable measure for primary prevention studies. Items were written following a comprehensive review of the literature on alcohol dependence and alcoholism. Based upon the responses of 315 respondents to the 100-item initial version of the scale, the 45-item CAUS was developed. The CAUS was then cross-validated on a local sample (n = 274) and a provincial sample (n = 745). Estimates of internal consistency were .91, .96, and .94, respectively, for the initial and cross-validation samples. Correlations of .48 and .69 were obtained between the CAUS and the Michigan Alcohol Screening Test for the initial and local cross-validation samples. In the provincial cross-validation sample a correlation of .62 was obtained between the CAUS and the Usual Weekly Alcohol Index. Preliminary cutting scores were developed to identify those at risk for alcoholism, and alcoholics. The CAUS has potential use as an evaluative and predictive instrument in a variety of primary prevention programs.     

Children's perceptions of male and female principals and teachers

This study examined the influence of male and female school principals on first graders' perceptions of school principals and teachers. Participants were 190 male and female first graders who were shown four videotapes depicting all combinations of male and female teachers and principals. Results showed that children were accurate in their labeling of the videotapes regardless of whether the roles presented were stereotypical or counterstereotypical, and regardless of the sex of their principal. On rating scales, children with female principals were more nonstereotypical than children with male principals. Maternal employment was unrelated to their perceptions of teachers and principals. The results suggest that first-grade children do not hold overly stereotypic views and that the presence of both sexes as models for the role of school principal can have a noticeable positive effect on children's perceptions.     

The right to refuse treatment in Oregon: A two-year statewide experience

The right to refuse treatment seems well established for psychiatric patients. Individual states, however, have very different procedures for managing this right and for overriding the refusal. Oregon's administrative procedure for override depends on an evaluation by an independent examining psychiatrist. This article empirically examines the 432 refusals leading to override requests in three Oregon psychiatric institutions in 1983 and 1984. Treatment refusal was found to be a common occurrence in all age groups. Those who refused treatment were seriously ill, unemployed, single individuals with previous psychiatric hospitalizations. Most refused treatment because of denial of their illness or delusional thinking about medication. Most refusals were overridden following the independent psychiatrist's examination. Because of the significant cost of the override procedure to the patient and the mental health system, the authors propose a new procedure which combines parts of the current procedure with a requirement that, at the time of the civil commitment hearing, the judge makes a separate decision as to the patient's competency to make treatment decisions.     

Yale Children's Inventory (YCI): An instrument to assess children with attentional deficits and learning disabilities I. Scale development and psychometric properties

The Yale Children's Inventory (YCI), a parent based rating scale, and the scales derived from it have been developed to identify and measure multiple dimensions of learning disabilities with particular emphasis on attentional deficits. Scale construction was based on factor analytic procedures. Measures of internal consistency, test retest reliability, and coefficients of congruence support the reliability and stability of the 11 scales. A discriminant function classified normal and learning disabled children with a relatively high rate of accuracy. The relationship and content of the three relevant YCI scales were compared to the DSM-III diagnostic categories for ADD. As operationalized, DSM-III criteria for hyperactivity formed a cohesive factor, while criteria for attention and impulsivity were not distinguishable from each other since they loaded together on a single factor. In contrast, the equivalent YCI scales for attention, impulsivity, and hyperactivity were found to be distinct.     

Performance indicators for student services

New arrangements for funding higher education institutions promise to introduce sharper management styles. Such institutions can anticipate that much closer scrutiny will be given to the details of their activities, with value for money becoming a more prominent factor. The development of performance indicators offers management a way of evaluating effectiveness and efficiency. It may be difficult to develop valid performance indicators for many aspects of higher education, but perhaps those difficulties will be greatest in relation to services whose activities are essentially private and as such hidden. An approach to the development of performance indicators is presented which could be effective in relation to counselling services in higher education institutions.     

Relations between teachers' judgments of girls' and boys' compliance and intellectual competence

This study examined the relation between teachers' perceptions of children's compliance to them and their evaluations of the children's intellectual competence. One hundred and nine boys and 94 girls from 25 preschools participated in the study. Evaluations of the children's intellectual competence and their compliance to teachers were provided by teachers from each preschool. The children were given measures of intelligence and problem solving, which together with age and compliance to teachers were used to predict the teachers' evaluations of the children's intellectual competence. Only IQ and age significantly predicted teachers' evaluations of boys' competence. Teachers' evaluations of girls' intellectual competence were significantly predicted by age, compliance to teachers, and problem-solving scores, with the less compliant girls being perceived as less competent. The results were interpreted as indicating the possible influence of sex role bias on teachers' judgments of girls' intellectual competence.This research was funded by a grant from the Quebec Department of Education and was performed while the second author was supported by a scholarship from the Quebec Department of Education.