The Concise Oxford Dictionary defines dyslexia as word blindness and its derivation is from the Greek lexis meaning speech or language.
Case Study
In 2013 I saw a young girl who had been diagnosed with dyslexia. She was 6½ years old. Her mother also told me that her behaviour had been assessed as slightly autistic with erratic and agitated behaviour. The child had special tutors to help with her learning but there was difficulty in getting her to focus and concentrate.
Her mother also told me that her daughter had a history of ear infections and pneumonia as a very young child. There had been many courses of antibiotics to deal with these infections. Her mother had taken her off all dairy product about 10 days before she saw me and she said her daughter was a much different child in terms of temperament. Ear infections in young children are often connected with dairy allergy or intolerance. When I looked at her tongue it had a white coat and her mother said that she had been worse with the whole of the inside of the mouth being coated in white. This is indicative of oral and likely intestinal candidiasis. She had been taking coconut oil which has can compromise candida.
Before doing any kinesiology on this client I did my own assessment of her dyslexia. I pointed to a “b” and asked her what letter it was to which she answered a “d”. When I pointed to a “d” she said it was a “b”. I then asked her to draw the “b” by pointing at it but not saying which letter it was. To my surprise she drew a “b” and not a “d”. The same occurred for the “d”. However when I asked her to tell me what the letter was she switched them as described. This indicated to me that there was a disconnection between sight, speech and comprehension and that dyslexia is not entirely a problem to do with sight interpretation of the letter.
We see all images upside down and our brain reverses the image so that we see it correctly. Dyslexia seems then to be something more than just a problem with that brain pathway as the “b” would not look like a “d” if that was the case.
Parts of the brain involved in language and speech
The area of the brain which enables us to produce meaningful sounds, to assemble words and sentences is Broca’s area. The ability to comprehend speech and language is located in Wernicke’s area. People can have problems with speech and comprehension when there are lesions in these parts of the brain. However because of my experience with this client I consider it doubtful that this is the case with most children affected by dyslexia.
I also use muscle testing techniques to test for nutrient deficiency and excess. I sometimes combine this with hair tissue mineral analysis. Her mother had arranges separate blood tests for nutrient deficiency and excess and heavy metal screening. The results appear below.
The first testing I did with this client was for nutrient deficiency and found that her muscle testing responded to zinc. Muscles that originally tested “weak” tested “strong” or were in a normal homeostatic state after the zinc was placed on her. The blood tests showed the client to be very low in both zinc and selenium and moderately high in mercury which antagonises both zinc and selenium. See below for how these deficiencies affect learning ability.
Energetic Corrections affect Physical Function
I then used a light therapy technique (a Colourpuncture torch) on several acupoints on the head. I then got the client to repeat the exercise I mentioned earlier of identifying the letters “b” and “d”. When I pointed to the letter “b” she correctly identified it as a b. Likewise with the “d”. I have observed that where there is low energy in the energetic system there is lowered function and high energy is an indicator of dysfunction. Correcting these imbalances can result in changes in physical function.
A week later her mother called me to tell me about the blood test result which confirmed the low zinc assessment. I had suggested that the client take a zinc drink supplement and this was subsequently confirmed by her doctor.
Dyslexia is a much more complex disorder than just flipping “b” and “d” or not recognising “g”, “p” or “q”. It includes the inability to remember the sound that letter combinations make, the meaning of words (probably due to some problem with language being committed to immediate, short term and then long term memory). Sometimes the letters in words appear scrambled leading to an inability to read things like street signs. It is likely, although not definite, that people with dyslexia are born with the condition and that some or all aspects of dyslexia might be able to be reversed
Some additional information about nutrients and learning
Some effects of Zinc Deficiency
Zinc plays such important roles in the body. Here a few:
- The effective elimination of heavy metals. This is what Igor Tabrizian M.D. has to say about zinc as a defence against heavy metal absorption;
“Part of the defence against heavy metal absorption (esp. copper, mercury and cadmium) is related to a protein called metallothionine. This protein is made up of mostly the amino acid cysteine and contains seven zinc atoms. The sites of this metalloprotein suggest it’s important as a filter for toxins, but also it plays a part in learning and socialisation. Defects in this protein cause Autism, copper overload, dysbiosis (gut dysfunction), skin problems and gastritis with wheat and dairy intolerance.” – Igor Tabrizian: The Visual Textbook of Nutritional Medicine at page 108.
- Immunity. Zinc protects the body against viral infections as it impacts viruses’ ability to attach to cells. Zinc is secreted by every cavity and orifice in the body and acts like a lubricant and antiseptic. Candida likes blood and will flourish if there is no zinc to kill it off or if the zinc antagonists such as copper, mercury, aluminium and cadmium are in excess.
- Digestion. Zinc is needed to make stomach acid so that proteins can be broken down.
Zinc is a component of carboxypeptidase and aminopeptidase. These enzymes are required to further breakdown proteins into peptides and amino acids in the small intestine. Grains and dairy contain proteins which cannot be broken down unless there is sufficient zinc to form these enzymes. If undigested proteins escape the gut then this could lead to inflammation somewhere in the body such as the ears and cause unwanted pressure on the immune system, liver and kidneys which display themselves as intolerances or chemical sensitivities.
- Brain function and language. Zinc is required to make the neurotransmitters serotonin, melatonin, dopamine, noradrenaline and Gamma Amino Butyric Acid (GABA). Poor sleep patterns and depression go with low zinc levels. GABA is necessary to quieten the brain. Noradrenaline is required for alertness and lack of this neurotransmitter is linked with ADD. Low GABA, dopamine and noradrenaline are factors in ADHD. Zinc is also required to enable children to learn abstract concepts, to learn nouns the basis of language. Multi-tasking requires us to be able to engage in abstract thinking.