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A Gene Causing Dyslexia Found

Posted by timothy on from the hopeful-signs dept.

Rovaani writes "A group of Finnish scientist have found a gene causing dyslexia. Dyslexia is the most common learning disorder among children and affects anywhere between 3 percent and 10 percent of the population."

2 of 47 comments (clear)

  1. Obvious by IainHere · · Score: 3, Informative

    It has been known for over a century that dyslexia runs in families. It is common practise today to keep a particular eye on siblings of those with dyslexia in order to diagnose them quicker if they turn out also to have it.

    All this means that it is obvious that there are genes that cause dyslexia. Also, this research has been done on a single family, which will likely only find a single cause of a problem that has many causes.

    Don't get me wrong, it's great that this research is ongoing, it's just that it's of no real use, or news value.

  2. Dyslexia is not a disorder! by nanobug · · Score: 2, Informative

    It has been known for some time now that dyslexia is not a disorder, but a special ability in certain individuals that enables them to perceive objects in full 3D. That is, when they look at something, their minds instantly build a full 3D image and lets them 'see' it from all directions simultaneously, with no particular direction being any more important than the other. That is why they treat letters and words as 3D, spin them around in their mind, and often write them down backwards or in the wrong order, or confuse certain letter combinations like p and d, or N and Z.
    The researcher that first conceived of this idea found a technique that improved the reading and writing ability of 80% of dyslexsics nearly instantly: get them to imagine a camera just above their right shoulder (or left) which is looking at whatever they are looking at. Focus their attention on what the view through the camera lens would be. This slight change raises that particular viewpoint above the others in their minds.
    People with dyslexia, once they learn the above technique, have an advantage over the rest of us, and are well suited to any job involving 3D, such as architects, 3D games designers, choreographers etc.
    So we (the ones without dyslexia) have a limitation that they lack.