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 is to do with ‘automaticity’ and a small, but very important part of the brain called the cerebellum – your ‘skill centre’. Scientific research has identified that the cerebellum plays a major role in the process of learning and automating of skills, so that we can perform tasks ‘without thinking’.
Enter the skill centre
However, the efficiency of the cerebellum varies between individuals.
When the ‘skill centre’ is not working as efficiently as it should, it does not communicate adequately with all the major centres of the brain, especially the cerebrum – your ‘thinking centre’. 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 behavioural 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 programme’s treatment of dyslexia. It’s the focus of the personalised, exercise-based programme created for each and every Dore participant, designed to achieve greater responsiveness in the skill centre 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 Programme 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.