Simple Answers and Quick Fixes: Dyslexia and the Brain on the Internet

Abstract

After well over a century of research about dyslexia, there is still no consensus about how it differs from other decoding difficulties, how it is identified, and its causes. Nevertheless, there is an abundance of research about dyslexia, mostly conducted outside of education, and much of it focused on the brain. This attention to the brain and dyslexia is also reflected on the Internet. In the study reported here, we analyzed information on the Internet focusing on dyslexia and the brain, grounding our examination in varying perspectives about the connections between neuroscience and education. We found that many of the sites include distortions, simplifications, and misinterpretations of neuroscience research, and some sites used this misinformation to bolster claims for the efficacy of the so-called brain-based interventions. We suggest that educators who become familiar with the limitations and affordances of neuroscience research, while maintaining a focus on the broad range of factors that influence literacy learning, can help to moderate the spread of misinformation.