PATH to Reading

NEWS RELEASES

Society for Neuroscience (SFN) News Release: HOW COMPUTER PROGRAMS HELP CHILDREN OVERCOME LANGUAGE PROBLEMS

Learning Solution for Children with Dyslexia, Autism, ADD and ADHD: Moving To Read (MTR) Therapy* Brings Remarkable and Lasting Changes to over 900 Students

Groundbreaking Solution for Teenager with Severe Head Trauma: Moving To Read (MTR) Therapy* Brings Remarkable and Lasting Changes

Society for Neuroscience (SFN): HOW COMPUTER PROGRAMS HELP CHILDREN OVERCOME LANGUAGE PROBLEMS
11/11/2003 For immediate release.

NEW ORLEANS, Nov. 11 - Scientists continue to unravel the mystery of the brain’s role in the development of language skills — and with some provocative results.

Second-grade students who have difficulty reading can significantly improve their reading skills within three months by practicing left-right movement discrimination for 5 to 10 minutes once or twice a week, according to a new study funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). This is the first time any study has found a training method that improves the reading skills of all types of inefficient readers.

The training method used in the study is an interactive computer game called MovingToRead (MTR), which was developed by Teri Lawton, PhD, chief executive officer of Perception Dynamics Institute (PDI) of Topanga Canyon, California. Lawton is the founder of PDI, a company that is developing this software for use in the schools that eventually will be profitable.

MTR therapy was designed to enhance the “where” motion pathway in the brain — the circuit of neurons that helps readers determine the location of letters of a word and words on a page. Some scientists believe that immature motion pathways are related to reading problems in children.

The study recruited 115 second-grade students from three elementary schools in the Santa Monica-Malibu and Los Angeles Unified School Districts. “MTR has been proven to be most effective in second-graders, who are at an age [7 years] when their brains are most receptive for learning,” says Lawton. Using the Dyslexia Determination Test (DDT), the students were identified as either “efficient” or “inefficient” readers. Both of these groups were divided into three subgroups. One subgroup of efficient and inefficient readers received MTR therapy for 5 to 10 minutes, once or twice a week, for three months. A second subgroup played another computer game—one designed to train the “what” visual pathway in the brain, which helps readers determine what type of word is being presented to them. The third subgroup received their school’s standard reading program. All groups also read for 15 minutes a day.

“We found that most children who practiced left-right movement discrimination transitioned from an inefficient to an efficient reader,” says Lawton. “They more than doubled their reading speed, while the reading speeds of the other two groups of inefficient readers barely increased.” Among the efficient readers, however, no significant difference emerged. Each subgroup of efficient readers increased its reading speed, although the children who practiced direction discrimination almost doubled their speed, whereas those in the other two groups improved by about 50 percent.

“These results indicate that reading skills are controlled by the where motion pathway in the brain,” says Lawton.

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PATH to Reading therapy was originally known as MovingToRead (MTR)

Learning Solution for Children with Dyslexia, Autism, ADD and ADHD: Moving To Read (MTR) Therapy* Brings Remarkable and Lasting Changes to over 900 Students

Learning Solution for Children with Dyslexia, Autism, ADD and ADHD: Moving To Read (MTR) Therapy Brings Remarkable and Lasting Changes to over 900 Students

Del Mar, CA (PRWEB) July 28, 2006 -- Elementary school children who experience difficulty reading can permanently improve their skills with Moving To Read (MTR) therapy. The specially designed MTR computer software improves children’s reading and learning skills by one to three grade levels. The program has been used successfully by over 900 students in seven different public elementary schools. A range of learning deficiencies from mild reading difficulties to Dyslexia, Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD and ADHD) and Autism are addressed by the therapy.

MTR therapy permanently improves children’s learning abilities and reading effectiveness, including fluency, comprehension, spelling, and pronunciation. It encourages children’s desire to read and helps them build self-esteem and confidence. With only 15 weeks of treatment, involving 30 minutes twice a week, MTR therapy permanently improves children’s ability to concentrate, pay attention in class and follow instructions. As a side benefit, children’s behavior also significantly improves with the therapy.

“Before the MTR therapy, Darcey’s frustration with reading and all of her school work was overwhelming. What I’ve noticed most about her improvement, is the ease with which she is able to read worlds on the page, and as a result is developing a better understanding of what she is reading,” notes Darcey’s mother, Sheila McCarthy. “Darcey has also noticed that learning math is much easier. It seems like her memory is better. Her teacher has noticed that she has no problem with memorizing and understanding, whereas last year this was a big problem.”

Neurobiological studies have identified visual, spatial and temporal sequencing problems that cause many learning and reading disabilities. MTR therapy is a clinically proven treatment that addresses neural timing deficits and effectively re-programs neurological connection patterns and frequencies that hinder children’s learning.

“MTR therapy provides a comprehensive, rapid, and effective strategy for remediating reading problems,” reports Dr. Teri Lawton, CEO and Research Director of Perception Dynamics Institute (PDI) and developer of the program. “MTR therapy is designed to enhance the ‘where’ motion pathway in the brain — the circuit of neurons that helps readers determine the location of letters in a word and words on a page.” While traditional vision therapy typically improves eye movements, eye coordination, depth of focus, and tracking ability, MTR therapy strengthens an entirely different visual pathway -- the brain’s motion or dorsal pathway. By retraining motion pathway neurons to function optimally, MTR therapy causes a physiological change in neural timing that enables permanent improvements in the visual channels.

An extended clinical validation study, funded by the National Institutes of Health and PDI, found that children in grades 2-4 improved their reading fluency two to four fold. The results of this study are about to appear in the journal Optometry and Vision Development.

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PATH to Reading therapy was originally known as MovingToRead (MTR)

Groundbreaking Solution for Teenager with Severe Head Trauma: Moving To Read (MTR) Therapy* Brings Remarkable and Lasting Changes

Following a serious head trauma that severely compromised her reading and writing skills, 18 year-old Chelsea Ellwood permanently improved her learning abilities and reading effectiveness with Moving To Read (MTR) therapy. With only 11 weeks of treatment Chelsea's reading and comprehension improved dramatically. The specially designed MTR computer software uses images of moving contrast patterns, which rapidly improves reading and learning skills by 1 to 3 grade levels.

Del Mar, CA (PRWEB) August 24, 2006 -- While crossing the street on April 15, 2003, Chelsea Ellwood was hit by a car and thrown into the windshield, incurring a severe and devastating head injury. When she returned to school, she could not see clearly, had double vision and could not focus on words. The vision loss severely affected her ability to learn and her grades dropped drastically. She would get headaches, become dizzy and was unable to remember a list of instructions. Chelsea was diagnosed with severe post-concussive head trauma.

After three years of traditional rehabilitation and vision therapy, which produced marginal improvements, Chelsea was introduced to Moving To Read (MTR) therapy. After only 11 weeks of treatment MTR therapy permanently improved Chelsea's ability to read, concentrate, pay attention in class and follow instructions. Her reading speed improved from 434 words per minute (wpm) to 1542 wpm and she no longer suffered from headaches.

"MTR therapy seemed to help heal my brain quickly,” she recalls, “I feel I can read much better now than before the accident. I can read much faster and understand what I'm reading much more easily.” Not only has Chelsea successfully graduated from Mira Mesa High School but she will be attending Springfield College, Massachusetts in the fall.

The specially designed MTR computer software uses images of moving contrast patterns, which rapidly improves children’s reading and learning skills by 1 to 3 grade levels. “MTR therapy is a clinically proven treatment that addresses neural timing deficits and effectively re-programs neurological connection patterns and frequencies that hinder children’s’ learning” explained Dr. Teri Lawton, CEO and Research Director of Perception Dynamics Institute (PDI) and developer of the program. The therapy addresses a range of learning deficiencies from mild reading difficulties to Dyslexia, Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD and ADHD) and Autism. MTR therapy has been used successfully by over 900 students in 7 different public elementary schools.

“MTR therapy is designed to enhance the ‘where’ motion pathway in the brain” notes Dr. Lawton, “This pathway of neurons helps readers determine the location of letters in a word and words on a page. By retraining the motion pathway neurons to function optimally, MTR therapy causes a physiological change in neural timing that enables permanent improvements in the visual channels.”

After witnessing her daughters remarkable recovery, Chelsea's mother, a 7th grade mathematics teacher, now recommends MTR therapy for students who have difficulties reading and retaining information. “Both elementary and high school children can permanently improve their skills with moving to read therapy. I recommend MTR therapy for many of my students. I believe that low achieving students would greatly benefit. My daughter used MTR therapy and it made a huge difference in her life. This is a wonderful treatment."

An extended clinical validation study, funded by the National Institutes of Health, found that children in grades 2-4 improved their reading speed two to four fold. The results of this study are about to appear in the journal Optometry and Vision Development.

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