Sensory integration in children with dyslexia

• Grant number: 10/03676-7
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Start date: August 01, 2010
• End date: July 31, 2012
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Physical Education
• Principal Investigator: José Angelo Barela
• Grantee: Andre Rocha Viana
• Host Institution: Centro de Ciências Biológicas e da Saúde. Universidade Cruzeiro do Sul (UNICSUL). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Learning difficulty is experienced by many children producing enormous problems to the educational system. When such a learning difficulty is observed in children with no specific causes, the term dyslexic is used to characterize this problem. Despite many studies, very little is known about the causes and reasons that lead dyslexic problems. Recently, many evidences have indicated that children with dyslexia also show difficulties or lower performance in many motor tasks. We also observed that dyslexic children show differences in the use of sensory information to control posture. Therefore, it was suggested that dyslexic children show difficulties to use available sensory stimuli in order to control and coordinate motor actions. Recently, it was suggested that dyslexia would be congenital and related to disorders in the cerebellum functioning, responsible to sensory-motor integration. Despite the pertinence of such a suggestion, it needs to be empirically examined. Therefore, the aim of this study is to examine the coupling between sensory information and motor action, in the conditions with visual and somatosensory information, in dyslexic children and children without learning difficulties. Considering that identification of dyslexic children occurs only after the beginning of alphabetization, if it is the cause that difference in the coupling between sensory information and motor action can be used to identify these children, such a identification would be occur much earlier. Moreover, if dyslexic causes are congenital, as recently suggested, these children could be enrolled in sensory motor program of intervention in order to avoid or minimize possible future problems.

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

VIANA, ANDRE R.; RAZUK, MILENA; DE FREITAS, PAULO B.; BARELA, JOSE A.. Sensorimotor Integration in Dyslexic Children under Different Sensory Stimulations. PLoS One, v. 8, n. 8, AUG 16 2013. (10/03676-7, 09/16051-8)

ANDRÉ ROCHA VIANA; JOSÉ ANGELO BARELA; CLAUDIA GARCIA; ANA MARIA FORTI BARELA. Controle postural e uso de informação visual em crianças praticantes e não praticantes de ginástica artística. Rev. Bras. Ciênc. Esporte, v. 33, n. 3, p. 747-760, 2011-09-00. (10/03676-7)