Thousands of dyslexic students, across the UK, are referred of something called "Asfedic tuning", this is a procedure that supposedly results in a precise identification of a persons optimal background best suited for acquiring the optimum reading speeds. Here are my notes about this:
[1] Is this Aprotocol@ a form of unconscious sensory teaching that Arecalibrates@ the retinal receptors to filter the returned spectral frequencies of light returned off the perimeter of the target object? Or is there a more fundamental brain architecture reprogramming process involved. Is the effect to force consistent use of a better suited area of the brain for lexical analysis among dyslexic readers? Or is the effect to change the configuration of a persons semantic nets
[2] Are there any changes made to the Aprotocol@ for the percentage of the people with dyslexia that are also are sensitive to light?
[3] The technical details of the protocol and the basis of the hypothesis used to develop it seem to be based on a mix of the magnocellular fast processing visual system and anatomy of the eye. Was there any research undertaken into genetics or anatomy (other that of the eye) or into less specific cognitive neuroimaging.
[3] What methods / controlled clinical research have been done to rule out, for example, the possibility of undetected binocular vision problems or any Aplacebo@ effects, or other biases such as limited feed back from a subjective test (i.e. would it not be a more scientific test if veering texts were read out by the subject?) Since this is text based on a single sensory impairment that takes no account to cooperation, phonological difficulties? Is there any distinction between discrepancy defined subjects and poor readers or severity of difficulty?
[4] Have there been any studies utilising Magnetoencephalography; functional magnetic resonance imaging or positron emission tomography to determine if there are any changes in the configuration of cortical maps in response to the Asfedia/Asfedic Tuning.
[5] Is the effect of rapidly improvements in a person's reading speed in any way based on a neutral consequence of elevating the perceptual symptoms of insula disconnection, i.e conscious segmentation and translation to the mental image of a sound.
[6] Are there adjustments in respect of the activation of the visual system, specifically is there use of area V5 of the cerebral cortex, i.e. improvements in efficient visual tracking? More use of the left cerebral hemisphere in general? And perhaps more interestingly the cortical area V4, in response in the tuning process?
[7] Since the protocol is an accumulative effect, is there any possibility the prolonged exposer to a produce that permanently effects a persons ability filter potentially harmful spectral frequencies, that could course retinal sensitivity. Could continued use then cause improper firing of signals to the visual cortex which would result in visual distortions!
I am the website administrator of the Wandle Industrial Museum, http://www.wandle.org