Dyslexia causes
It’s generally agreed that dyslexia can ‘run in the family.’ It might be there in your genes, but exactly how and if it will show itself varies considerably from individual to individual.
Sometimes dyslexia can be attributed to a wide range of environmental factors, like birth trauma, problems during pregnancy, brain injuries, infections, and toxins. Extensive research has identified chromosome abnormalities linked to reading and spelling. However, although considerable progress has been made, the exact mechanism that causes genes to contribute to the multi-faceted dyslexic condition is still unknown.
Success without thinking
Over years of continuous study, numerous hypotheses have been put forward to explain the causes of dyslexia, but currently the most credible theory has to do with ‘automaticity’ and a small, but very important part of the brain called the cerebellum – your ‘skill center.’ Scientific research has identified that the cerebellum plays a major role in the process of learning and automating skills so that we can perform tasks ‘without thinking.’
Enter the skill center
The efficiency of the cerebellum varies between individuals.
When the ‘skill center’ is not working as efficiently as it should, it does not communicate adequately with all the major centers of the brain, especially the cerebrum – your ‘thinking center.’ If the whole cerebellum is affected, then the result is problems in making a whole range of skills, like reading, writing, concentration, and coordination become fully automatic. It can also affect balance, so learning to ride a bike becomes more difficult. When even the most mundane tasks become a problem, frustration and low self-esteem set in and, with it, accompanying behavioral and emotional difficulties. However the cerebellum is not always wholly affected, so a mix of different symptoms is usually the case.
Improving the efficiency of the cerebellum is fundamental to the Dore Program’s treatment of dyslexia. It’s the focus of the personalized, exercise-based program created for each and every Dore participant, designed to achieve greater responsiveness in the skill center and develop the links between it and other parts of the brain. It takes perseverance, dedication, and a good deal of effort, but the results are worth it – just ask Scott Quinnell, who says that the Dore Program changed his and his family’s life forever. Better still, click here to see the video of this rugby legend’s struggle with Dyslexia and learn about life after Dore.