Reading in the Brain Approved for .7 ASHA CEUs

Nov. 10, 2011 - PRLog -- This new continuing education course is based on the book Reading in the Brain: The Science and Evolution of a Human Invention (2009, 400 pages) which provides a clear and readable summary of current research on the neural basis of reading, with direct applications to instruction and treatment planning. By pinpointing the brain processes used to identify words, it clarifies both the normative course of literacy development as well as the defining features of dyslexia. This perspective is also used to identify the ingredients of reading intervention that can "rewire" the brain, and to help the clinician sort through continuing controversies about effective instruction. Surprising findings such as the way neurons have been “recycled” to allow our brains to read, and why mirror writing is the norm in early development, are also included. Course# 70-14 | 36 posttest questions

Learning Objectives:

1. Identify the basic visual and cognitive processes involved in extracting sounds and meaning from print
2. Identify the brain regions and neural mechanisms used in word identification
3. Describe the “neuronal recycling hypothesis” that explains the brain’s unexpected capacity for reading
4. Identify how written language has evolved to exploit the brain’s natural propensity for shape recognition
5. Explain how the neural basis of reading can refine theories of literacy development
6. Describe the brain mechanisms underlying dyslexia,  and the ingredients of effective interventions
7. Explain how mirror errors reflect a natural ability that must be unlearned in order to read and write
8. Summarize the relationship between brain function and cultural development

About the Author(s):

Stanislas Dehaene, PhD is Professor at the Collège de France and Chair of Experimental Cognitive Psychology.  He received his training in mathematics at the Ecole Normale Supérieure in Paris, then completed a PhD in cognitive psychology. He has been working since 1997 at the Orsay brain imaging center near Paris (Service Hospitalier Frédéric Joliot of the Commissariat A l'Energie Atomique), where he has been director of the Cognitive Neuroimaging Unit since 2001. Dr. Dehaene's interests concern the cerebral bases of specifically human cognitive functions such as language, calculation, and reasoning. His main scientific contributions include the study of the organization of the cerebral system for number processing. He is the author of over 100 scientific publications in major international journals. He has also edited three books on brain imaging, consciousness, and brain evolution, and has authored two general-audience films on the human brain. He is the associate editor of Cognition, an international journal of Cognitive Science.

Accreditation Statement:

This course is offered for .7 ASHA CEUs (Intermediate level, Basic area).

ASHA credit expires 10/28/2014. ASHA CEUs are awarded by the ASHA CE Registry upon receipt of the quarterly completion report from the ASHA Approved CE Provider. Please note that the completion date that appears on ASHA transcripts is the last day of the quarter regardless of when the course was completed.

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Professional Development Resources, Inc. is a nonprofit educational corporation organized in 1992. Our mission is to provide healthcare professionals with accredited continuing education courses on topics that are vital to contemporary clinical practice.