Sometimes the research findings and scientific articles can be hard to digest. While we do suggest you read the articles describing the most current research supporting our intensive intervention program, we have included below a couple essential images to provide a clear visual of the outcomes.
Dr. Ann Alexander, founder of Wellington-Alexander Center, worked in conjunction with Joe Torgesen on a NICHD grant to study efficacy of reading interventions. The results were published in 2001 and the above graph illustrated the progress made in the area of broad reading following an intensive intervention. Prior to the intensive intervention, these children’s broad reading skills stayed flat for 16 months in a typical special education classroom. Following the nine-week intervention, the children as a group demonstrated a steep progress slope and their scores were in the typical range of performance. What is even more exciting is that when these children were evaluated at the intervals of one and two years post-intervention, they not only maintained their gains, but the slope continued to point up, demonstrating that they are continuing to make progress over time. They are closing the gap.
The above images illustrate the neurological changes that occur following intensive language intervention. In typical readers, the left hemisphere of the brain is most active during reading and in individuals with dyslexia the right hemisphere tends to show more activity. People with dyslexia who have gone through the intervention have been shown to increase the activity in the left hemisphere, indicating more typical brain activity. The authors of this study (Simos et al, 2002) concluded that: “After intervention, a dramatic increase in the activation of the left temporoparietal region was noted in every child rendering activation profiles very similar to those observed in each of the eight children without reading problems.” Images from Simos PG, Fletcher JM, Bergman E, et al (Neurology 2002; 1203-1213)
