Exercise 'cures' school children of their dyslexia
May 21 2004
By Emma Pinch, Birmingham Post
With daily tickings off for everything from forgetting his sports kit to the state of his homework, Simon Coleman was rapidly losing confidence.
Eventually Simon was diagnosed with classic dyslexia. He could not hold facts about English in his memory and he was disorganised and forgetful.
His parents, Janice and Russell, were at the end of their tether trying to find something that helped.
When the headmaster of Balsall Common Primary school suggested a little known treatment of physical exercises they were sceptical but willing to give it a try.
What it achieved they hail as nothing less than magic.
Not only has he passed his 11-plus exam to get into the local grammar school but, now aged 13, Simon is scoring an A plus in English and been advised to take it for A-level.
His achievement was so remarkable that the entire school then took part in two years of research, with the result that all 40 pupils with learning problems associated with dyslexia have been 'cured'.
"The dyslexia was affecting all parts of Simon's life," said Mrs Coleman. "He was always being told to listen and try harder. His confidence was really going downhill."
Headmaster Trevor Davies suggested Simon's parents get in touch with the Dore Achievement Centre in Kenilworth where they had been carrying out work into dyslexia using exercise.
The exercises, such as getting children to stand on a cushion on one leg and then throw a beanbag from one hand to the other, were formulated to try and connect more fully the cerebellum part of the brain to the neural pathways.
Carried out at home for ten minutes in the morning and ten minutes in the evening, they improve balance and hand-to-eye co-ordination.
"The commitment was one of the biggest tests," said Mrs Coleman. "It felt ridiculous hopping round the kitchen throwing a beanbag about. I was really sceptical." A few months into the treatment Simon started becoming emotional and disruptive and had trouble sleeping at nights. This, she was told, was a signal that the brain was trying to process the new information and build new pathways.
Since he finished the programme, the results of which last for life, he has got into Solihull Boys School and his comprehension skills have improved by three years.
Following this success, in 2001 the school was asked to take part in a wider scientific study co-ordinated by the University of Exeter.
They screened more than 400 pupils and identified 40 with moderate to acute learning difficulties.
The group was split in two with half taking part in the exercise programme and the others acting as a control.
The exercise group soon began to show improvement, with some teachers even believing that parents were doing their children's homework.
After six months the control group was also introduced into the exercise programme so they too could benefit from the treatment. The researchers re-screened the children after the treatment and all were shown free of dyslexic symptoms and remedial help in school was no longer necessary.
