Abstract
It is now evident that explanations of many developmental disorders need to include a network perspective. In earlier work, we proposed that developmental dyslexia (DD) is well-characterized in terms of impaired procedural learning within the language networks, with the cerebellum being the key structure involved. Here, we deepen the analysis to include the child’s developmental process of constructing these networks. The “Delayed Neural Commitment (DNC)” framework proposes that, in addition to slower skill acquisition, dyslexic children take longer to build (and to rebuild) the neural networks that underpin the acquisition of reading. The framework provides an important link backwards in time to the development of executive function networks and the earlier development of networks for language and speech. It is consistent with many theories of dyslexia while providing fruitful suggestions for further research at the genetic, brain, cognitive and behavioral levels of explanation. It also has significant implications for assessment and teaching.
Highlights
Developmental dyslexia (DD) is traditionally defined as ‘‘a disorder in children who, despite conventional classroom experience, fail to attain the language skills of reading, writing and spelling commensurate with their intellectual abilities’’ (World Federation of Neurology, 1968)
A critical problem for studying dyslexia is that by the time dyslexia is identified—or even suspected—a child will already be at least 5 years and probably considerably older, and his or her developmental history is lost to detailed investigation
It is established that the brain’s primary network structures are developed within the first 2 years of life, both for white matter structural connectivity, and for functional networks including the default mode network, the dorsal attention network and the salience network (Gilmore et al, 2018), and the early childhood period may prove critical for the understanding of the development of dyslexia
Summary
Developmental dyslexia (DD) is traditionally defined as ‘‘a disorder in children who, despite conventional classroom experience, fail to attain the language skills of reading, writing and spelling commensurate with their intellectual abilities’’ (World Federation of Neurology, 1968). We created the first truly developmental account (see Figure 1) which proposed that a range of factors could be at play in the pre-reading years, and that these could (depending on the number of cerebellar networks involved) lead to a range of symptoms within and beyond reading-related skills There is a growing consensus as to the processes involved in learning to speak—knowledge that was not available when the phonological deficit hypothesis was first proposed This analysis (Kuhl, 2004) and the follow-up analyses (Meltzoff et al, 2009; Kuhl, 2010) represent the current understanding on how speech and language develop over the first year of life. This is a clear target for pedagogical cognitive neuroscientific research
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