Study: Poor Readers Can Improve Brain Function

By Rachel Jones

Published May 5, 2004 at 12:00 AM EDT

Proper tutoring for a child who's struggling to read can change the way the brain works, a Yale University study finds. Published in the journal Biological Psychiatry, the study examined tutoring that focuses on the sounds of letters and words. After one school year, brain scans showed lasting changes in the children. NPR's Rachel Jones reports.

Note: Study co-author Sally Shaywitz has written a book on reading disorders, "Overcoming Dyslexia: A New and Complete Science-Based Program for Reading Problems at Any Level," published by Alfred Knopf, 2003.

Rachel Jones

Rachel Jones reports on education, social policy, and welfare reform issues at NPR. She has also covered children’s health and development, as well as well as racial disparities in health care.

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