Tim Miles

Dyslexia and mathematics

Contributors Preface 1. Some Theoretical Considerations Tim R. Miles 2. Individual Diagnosis and Cognitive Style S.J. Chin 3. Linking Language to Action Mary Kibel 4. Reading and Writing in Mathematics Elaine Miles 5. Difficulties at the Secondary Stage Anne Henderson 6. The Use of Structured Materials Tim R. Miles 7. The Use of Patterns S.J. Chin and J.R. Ashcroft 8. An Overview Elaine Miles Name Index Subject Index.

Preliminary observations concerning treatment of visual discomfort and associated perceptual distortion

A system for therapeutic precision tinting is described. Some individuals who are subject to perceptual distortion of text no longer perceive the distortion when the text has a particular colour. A simple colorimeter enables an observer to illuminate text with light of a particular chromaticity. varying first CIE 1976 hue angle (huv). then saturation (suv), and then luminance, to obtain a setting that maximizes visual comfort and reduces any perceptual distortion. The colorimeter setting is then matched by a combination of tinted trial lenses. The combination uses only two dyes at a time from a selection of seven, unless a dark lens is required, when a third neutral (grey) dye is added. The subject observes both text and a normal scene when wearing tinted trial lenses. A variety of trial lenses are compared including those that match the colorimeter setting and others with similar hue angle. Spectacle lenses are then limed so as lo have a spectral transmission identical to that of the chosen combination of trial lenses. Certain patients with reading disorders, eye‐strain, headaches or photosensitivy epilepsy report benefit when wearing spectacles limed according to the above techniques. The physiological basis for the therapeutic effects is uncertain, but may involve a selective impairment of luminance or colour‐difference channels.

Dyslexia and musical notation

The authors examine the difficulties experienced by dyslexic musicians in the formalized study of music, in particular, musical notation. They describe case studies from the literature and from personal interviews they conducted with musicians about their educational histories, musical weaknesses and strengths, and successful compensatory strategies. The authors make instructional suggestions for educators and musicians with dyslexia on how to use multisensory approaches to teach musical notation.

Reading disabilities: genetic and neurological influences Bruce F. Pennington, editor Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1991. 252pp

a particularly valuable contribution written by Alvin Liberman and entitled ’Observations from the sidelines’. Discussing the growth of language from an evolutionary standpoint he notes that in the case of writing systems ’someone had to decide that certain optical shapes, and only those shapes, should be considered to have linguistic significance’. In contrast, ’speech percepts did not have to be named ... they &dquo;name themselves&dquo;’ (p. 242). However, ’connecting the optical characters to the phonology is not so easy as it might seem ... While our ancestors