Other
Important Questions and Findings:
Other
Important Research Questions and Findings
The scope of the NICHD research program has much broader application than identifying effective methods for treating reading difficulties. Some of these research questions and the findings that have application in everyday classroom use are briefly described below: Question: Are there medical reasons to explain why 20 to 40% of the population do not naturally develop phonemic awareness? Finding: Yes, sophisticated modern brain research using neuroimaging and other technologies shows a different brain signature for many, but not all, children without phonemic awareness. This neuroimaging research is being conducted at several NICHD sites, thus providing the opportunity for replication.Question: Are reading difficulties inherited? Finding: Twin studies have found strong evidence for genetic etiology of reading difficulties, with deficits in phonemic awareness reflecting the greatest degree of heritability. There is also behavioral genetic evidence for degrees of heritability for letter processing.Question: How does ADD relate to learning difficulties? Finding: Disorder of attention and reading disability often coexist, but the two disorders appear distinct and separable with respect to the effects of attention-deficit disorder (ADD) on cognitive tasks. For example, it has been found that ADD children perform poorly on rote verbal learning and memory tasks, but relatively well on naming and phonemic awareness tasks. The converse appears to be the case for children with reading disabilities.Question: Do more boys than girls have reading difficulties? Finding: Despite the widely held belief that boys are more likely to have reading difficulties than girls, research has shown that as many girls as boys have difficulty learning to read. More boys are identified by teachers in school because of their tendency to be more rowdy and active than girls. |