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"Experts" must stop denying the facts
"The following article was published in the British newspaper, the Daily Mail by the British Dyslexia Association. I am posting the article here with my response to illustrate the fear and ignorance displayed by many when confronted with novel, but proven, ideas for treatment." — Harold Levinson, M.D.
BDA and DI join forces to raise concern about unproven dyslexia therapies
October 29, 2000
o mark the beginning
of Dyslexia Awareness Week, dyslexia charities have joined together to
warn parents that research and treatments for dyslexia need proper evaluation.
"Not all interventions are equally effective and many are not properly tested," says Shirley Cramer, executive director, Dyslexia Institute. "Dr Harold Levinson is in the UK this week discussing his work on dyslexia and it is fair to say that he has been controversial in the USA for many years," she adds.
Although Dr Levinson's hypothesis about the causes of dyslexia shares common ground with some researchers working in this country — in that their explanation for a child's difficulty lies in a cerebellar deficit — it is his treatments that attract controversy.
Dr Levinson uses a variety of drugs based on his diagnosis of a child's speed of visual processing and his main intervention is based on a drug which is commonly used to reduce sea sickness. "We are aware of no published or peer reviewed control studies evaluating this technique, so his intervention remains unsubstantiated, " says BDA chief executive, Joanne Rule. "It is important that parents and professionals look to proven and evaluated practices to support dyslexic children," she adds.
The last 15 years have seen great advances in scientific knowledge and understanding about dyslexia. Numerous studies have indicated which educational practices are most effective in teaching children with dyslexia.
The BDA and the Dyslexia Institute are concerned that parents of dyslexic children are likely to be vulnerable to new and different "treatments" for dyslexia. "In contrast to unproven therapies, there is an evidence base that early diagnosis of dyslexia, followed by appropriate, specialist teaching will enable children with dyslexia to succeed," says Shirley Cramer
Dr. Levinson responds
Published in the Sunday Telegraph on November 1, 2000
have
been following with amazement the British Dyslexia Association's increasing
fear that dyslexic children and adults can be medically diagnosed and
significantly helped — safely, rapidly and often dramatically.
Over the recent past, my 30-year dyslexia-cerebellar (inner-ear) concepts have been independently validated worldwide and supported by cerebellar neurophysiologist and Nobel Laureate Sir John Eccles and other distinguished scientists — some within the British Dyslexia Association.
Since I have had an 80–90% improvement rate among UK dyslexic children who have previously failed to improve with BDA educational methods, I can only conclude that this association is far more interested in helping themselves vs. suffering dyslexics and their loving families — especially as the BDA has similarly negated all other helpful therapies to date.
For reliable information contact:
Harold N. Levinson, M.D.
Clinical/Research Director
The Levinson Medical Center for Learning Disabilities
56 Glochester Road, Suite 525
Kensington SW7 4UB
Phone: 0870 750 0718
http://www.levinsonmedical.com