These ectopic clusters of cells are mainly found in the left and the front of the brain - the areas which are important for reading and writing. This makes reading harder, where the brain has to quickly interpret the different letters and words which the eyes see as they scan words and sentences. There are more dyslexic boys than girls, and investigations are being carried out to see whether a child's mental development is altered by the hormone testosterone. It is thought that a child's immune system could be affected by an excess of testosterone, which could lead to problems such as allergies, asthma and dyslexia. With the use of EEG, where electrodes are fitted to a person's head, it has been possible to see increased brain activity on the right side of the brain when a child is beginning to learn to read.
Increased activity is noticeable on the left side in an advanced reader.
A combination of both Sometimes a child has experienced early hearing problems and has also inherited genes which dispose him or her towards difficulties dealing with the printed word. These children are often found to be quite severely dyslexic, and need a lot of support through their school and college years. It is thought that there is a variety of types of Dyslexia. At Direct Learning we find that there is no one pattern which all dyslexic children and adults fit. Some dyslexic children have good short-term memory, whilst others are really weak in this area.