Every Wednesday, we take you inside the AFS-Test, the standardized assessment that allows Certified Dyslexia Trainers to definitively diagnose and categorize dyslexia and dyscalculia. This is week 15 of 25.
This week: Errors Are Information
Every error a child makes in reading or writing is a window into how their brain processes language. Error analysis, the S in the standardized AFS-Test, distinguishes perceptual errors from rule errors: did the child mishear the word, misremember its image, or simply not know the spelling rule? Each error type points to a different cause and calls for different training. This is why counting errors says so little, and analyzing them says almost everything.
About the AFS-Test
The standardized Attention-Function-Symptom Test has been used worldwide for more than 25 years. It examines the attention span, the sensory perceptions, and the error symptoms of a child, and turns the results into an individualized training plan following the AFS-Method.
Find a Certified Trainer
Certified Dyslexia Trainers conduct the standardized AFS-Test in your area or remotely. Learn more and find a Certified Trainer near you: dyslexiatest.com
You can find all published articles of this series under the tag AFS-Test Series.
Today is Veterans Day. The American Dyslexia Association thanks everyone who has served in the United States Armed Forces, and their families.
Many veterans grew up with dyslexia, often at a time when few people around them understood why reading and writing took them so much effort. They found their way all the same. Today we would like you to meet one of them.
From the Marine Corps to children’s books
Pip Is Lost in Paris
Robert Hethcoat is a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, and he is dyslexic. Getting words onto a page has never been the easy part for him. So he works in a way that suits him: he tells his stories out loud and uses dictation and assistive transcription tools to turn them into books.
He wrote to us this fall and offered to share his experience as a dyslexic writer. What caught our attention were his books for young readers. On the cover of the first one he says it plainly: “Written by a dyslexic author for dyslexic readers.”
That is a message children with dyslexia do not hear often enough. Having a hard time with spelling does not mean you have no stories to tell. There is more than one way to write a book.
His books for children
Pip Is Lost in Paris is an illustrated adventure about a small bird who discovers the landmarks and surprises of Paris.
The Fireflies of Smoke Hollow and The Springs of Sawgrass Hollow, the first two Smoke Hollow adventures.
The Fireflies of Smoke Hollow is a children’s fantasy about a girl named Junie, who discovers fireflies and a secret that changes everything.
The Springs of Sawgrass Hollow continues the series close to our home in Florida: Abe and his friends follow a mystery into the Everglades.
All three books are available on Amazon. You can see everything Robert is working on at horizinappspublishers.com.
For the children reading this with their parents
If reading and writing are hard for you, remember Robert. He served his country as a Marine, and today his name is on the cover of books. He did not wait until spelling became easy. He found tools that work for him and kept going. You can find your way too.
Thank you, Robert, for your service and for sharing your story. And thank you to all veterans.
Flag photo: U.S. Department of Defense, Army Staff Sgt. Sean K. Harp. The appearance of U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) visual information does not imply or constitute DoD endorsement.
The American Dyslexia Association is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit charity in Osprey, Florida, supporting children, families, educators, and adults with dyslexia.
Every Tuesday, we open up one lesson of the Dyslexia Trainer Certification Program here on the blog, all 48 of them, one week at a time. Whether you are a teacher, a parent, or an education professional, this series shows you exactly what certified dyslexia trainers learn, and how the program works from the inside.
This week: Breaking the Silence: Diagnosis and Support for Dyslexia in Adults
Dyslexia does not end with childhood. Many adults have spent years believing they are simply bad at reading or terrible spellers, never knowing their challenges have a name. This lesson covers diagnosis through case history and error analysis, training approaches adapted for adult learners, and the role of modern accommodations and technology. Meaningful improvement is possible at any age.
Dyslexia does not end with childhood, it persists into adulthood. For many, the lack of support in school leaves lingering struggles with reading, spelling, and writing. Some adults have lived for years believing they are “bad at reading” or “terrible spellers,” unaware that their challenges have a name. Others may have built careers and families but still feel anxious when asked to read aloud, complete forms, or write emails.
The good news is that adults can make meaningful improvements. Training looks different than with children, but when motivation, patience, and individualized strategies come together, progress is possible at any age. This lesson explores the specific approaches for adult dyslexia training, including attention (A) and symptom (S) work, diagnosis through case history and error analysis, and the use of modern accommodations and technology.
Dyslexia does not simply “go away” with age. It persists throughout life, with outcomes shaped by the support received in childhood. With effective intervention, individuals can learn strategies to manage letters, words, and text more successfully.
What you will learn in Lesson 18
How dyslexia shows up in adults who were never diagnosed
Diagnosis through case history and error analysis
How adult training differs from working with children
Modern accommodations and technology that help
About the Dyslexia Trainer Certification Program
Since 1997, more than 17,000 dyslexia trainers in 64 countries have been certified. The certification gives you more than knowledge: all the tools you need to actually work with dyslexic children are included as well. Worksheets, training programs, assessment materials, everything ready to use in your practice. You get the whole package.
The program is accredited by the American Dyslexia Association (ADA) and follows the training standards of the International Federation of Dyslexia and Dyscalculia Associations (IFDDA).
Catch up and start free
Lesson 1 is free for everyone. Register in a minute and see the program from the inside: dyslexiacertificate.com
You can find all published lessons of this series under the tag Lesson Series.
An AI model sorted children by their brain scans with 96 percent accuracy. That is the headline of a study published on October 9, 2026, in the journal Neural Computing and Applications [Source: Santhiya and Kanimozhiselvi, 2026]. What the news coverage leaves out: the 58 brain scans were not taken in India, where the study was done. They come from children in Austria, recorded for a study at the University of Graz. This article explains what the 96 percent really mean, what brain research tells us about dyslexia, and why parents still do not need a brain scan to find out whether their child has dyslexia.
In short
Researchers in India trained an AI on 58 MRI scans of children. It told apart typical readers, children with isolated spelling problems, and children with dyslexia with 96 percent accuracy.
The scans come from a free public dataset of the University of Graz, Austria. The children were 8 to 10 years old [Source: OpenNeuro ds003126].
Fifty-eight children is a very small number for an AI. The team added computer-generated brain images, and the method has not yet been tested on new children.
The AI learned to match groups that reading and spelling tests had already defined. The educational test is still the yardstick. Such tests only show that a child struggles, not why: only an assessment of attention and the sensory perceptions separates dyslexia from an acquired reading and spelling difficulty.
Dyslexia is identified through an educational assessment such as the AFS-Test, which looks at attention, sensory perceptions, and the errors a child makes.
Watch: what the 96 percent study really shows, in 77 seconds.
What the study did: an AI reads MRI scans
S. Santhiya and C. S. Kanimozhiselvi of Kongu Engineering College in Tamil Nadu, India, used structural MRI scans, so-called T1-weighted images that show the anatomy of the brain [Source: Neural Computing and Applications 38, article 781]. Their AI had to place each child in one of three groups: typical readers and spellers, children with isolated spelling difficulties, and children with dyslexia.
Because only 58 real scans were available, the researchers used two image generators to create synthetic brain images. These extra images balanced the groups and gave the AI more material to learn from. The team then compared several approaches, from simple machine learning models to three modern neural networks. Their combined model, MedFusionNet, merges those three networks. It reached 96 percent accuracy, while a single 3D network trained with the synthetic images reached 92 percent.
The science news site Scienmag presented the study on October 10, 2026, as a step toward early detection [Source: Scienmag, October 10, 2026]. The same report notes that the method will need validation on independent groups of children before it could ever be used outside the lab.
Where the 58 brain scans come from: children in Graz, Austria
The 58 scans come from Austria. The study names its data source as the public dataset ds003126 on the OpenNeuro platform. The dataset lists Chiara Banfi, Karl Koschutnig, Kristina Moll, Gerd Schulte-Körne, Andreas Fink, and Karin Landerl as its authors [Source: OpenNeuro ds003126, version 1.3.1]. The team worked at the University of Graz in Austria and at Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich, Germany, with funding from the Austrian Science Fund FWF [Source: FWF project I 1658].
The Graz researchers originally asked a different question: how does the brain work during reading when a child struggles only with spelling, and how does it work when a child has dyslexia? The children read real words and made-up words aloud while lying in the scanner [Source: Banfi and colleagues, Language, Cognition and Neuroscience, 2021]. According to the dataset, 22 children were typical readers, 16 had isolated spelling difficulties, and 20 had dyslexia, all between 8 and 10 years old. The researchers shared the data under the free CC0 license, which is why a team in India could use it years later.
This detail matters. Which child belonged to which group was decided before any AI saw a single image. The Graz team had sorted the children with standardized reading and spelling tests, the kind US schools call achievement tests: the Salzburg Reading Screening (SLS 2–9), the Salzburg Reading and Spelling Test (SLRT-II, reading words and pseudowords), and the Diagnostic Spelling Test (DRT 3). A child counted as dyslexic with a reading score at or below the 16th percentile, and as having an isolated spelling deficit with a spelling score at or below the 16th percentile and typical reading. The starting point was a screening of 2,562 children at the end of third grade [Source: Banfi and colleagues, Human Brain Mapping, 2019]. The AI learned to find the result of those tests in the brain images. The test remains the yardstick.
A reading and spelling test, however, only shows that a child struggles with reading and spelling. It does not show why. Dyslexia can only be confirmed when attention and the sensory perceptions are assessed as well. This matters because dyslexia and an acquired reading and spelling difficulty look alike on paper but have different causes: dyslexia is genetic and shows in different sensory perceptions, while an acquired difficulty results from outside circumstances such as long absences from school, a change of school, or a stressful event in the family. Because the cause is different, the training has to be different, too. The AFS-Test separates the two, because it assesses attention and the sensory perceptions alongside the errors. Our guide to dyslexia and sensory processing explains the difference in more detail.
What 96 percent means with 58 children
Ninety-six percent sounds almost perfect. With 58 children, the remaining 4 percent equals two or three children. The researchers checked their model with five-fold cross-validation: the data is split into five parts, the AI learns from four and is tested on the fifth, five times in turn. Each test round therefore includes only about a dozen children.
Then there are the synthetic brain images. They help the AI learn, but they are derived from the real scans. The study summary does not say whether the synthetic images were created only from the training data in each round. That detail decides how much the 96 percent can be trusted. The Scienmag report also calls 58 real scans a modest foundation and stresses that the method has to work on new children from other studies.
A comparison shows how much such numbers vary. In 2020, a research group in Spain let a similar 3D network analyze brain activity of 55 children during reading. It classified 72.73 percent of the children correctly [Source: Zahia and colleagues, Computer Methods and Programs in Biomedicine, 2020]. Small groups, different data, and different test procedures lead to very different results.
The dyslexic brain: different, and able to change
Researchers have known for a long time that, on average, the brains of children with dyslexia work differently during reading. Dr. Astrid Kopp-Duller, who developed the AFS Method, describes dyslexia as genetic and as a matter of different sensory perceptions: people with dyslexia take in letters, sounds, and symbols differently, which affects reading, spelling, writing, and/or calculating. It is a learning difference, not an illness.
Brain research also shows that these patterns can change through teaching. At the University of Washington, researchers scanned 10 children with dyslexia and 11 typical readers. After 28 hours of comprehensive reading instruction, the brain activity of the children with dyslexia during reading tasks closely resembled that of the typical readers [Source: Aylward and colleagues, Neurology, 2003; University of Washington News]. For parents, this is the most useful message from the brain scanner: the right training makes a visible difference.
How dyslexia is identified without a brain scan
Parents and teachers do not need an MRI to find out whether a child has dyslexia. A brain scan is expensive, requires a child to lie still for a long time, and tells you nothing about which training will help. An educational assessment does exactly that. The AFS-Test looks at three areas together: attention while writing, the sensory perceptions, and the errors themselves. The result leads straight to a training plan. Our series Inside the AFS-Test explains each area week by week.
The assessment always comes first. Only if it shows signs that a child may not see or hear well do we recommend a visit to a doctor. Certified Dyslexia Trainers carry out the AFS-Test and the training that follows. If you want to support children with dyslexia yourself, the Dyslexia Trainer Certification Program at dyslexiacertificate.com is a good place to start.
What AI research means for parents today
No child needs a brain scan to find out about dyslexia. Educational assessments are proven, quick to arrange, and lead directly to training.
Look early. If a child keeps misspelling the same words in different ways despite practice, an assessment makes sense.
Words stick through word formulation, which works with word image, word sound, and word meaning, not through copying a word ten times.
Not in everyday practice. In studies, groups of children with and without dyslexia differ in brain images, but a single scan does not replace an educational assessment. Dyslexia is identified with tests such as the AFS-Test.
How accurate is the new AI dyslexia study?
The model MedFusionNet classified 96 percent of the children correctly. It was based on only 58 real scans plus computer-generated images, and it has not yet been tested on new children [Source: Santhiya and Kanimozhiselvi, 2026].
Where do the brain scans in the study come from?
From a free public dataset of the University of Graz, Austria, with 58 children aged 8 to 10, published on OpenNeuro.
Is a dyslexic brain different from a typical brain?
On average, yes: brain activity during reading differs. Research from the University of Washington shows that these patterns can change after 28 hours of reading instruction [Source: Aylward and colleagues, 2003].
How is dyslexia assessed in children?
With an educational assessment. The AFS-Test looks at attention, sensory perceptions, and errors and leads to a training plan. A reading and spelling test alone shows that a child struggles, not why; assessing attention and the sensory perceptions is what separates dyslexia from an acquired reading and spelling difficulty. Training to become a Certified Dyslexia Trainer is available at dyslexiacertificate.com.
Sources
Santhiya, S., and Kanimozhiselvi, C. S. (2026). MedFusionNet integrating diffusion augmentation and multi backbone models for pediatric MRI classification. Neural Computing and Applications 38, article 781. doi.org/10.1007/s00521-026-12492-3
Scienmag (October 10, 2026). AI Model Reads Brain Scans to Spot Dyslexia in Children with 96% Accuracy. scienmag.com
Banfi, C., Koschutnig, K., Moll, K., Schulte-Körne, G., Fink, A., and Landerl, K. Dataset “Reading-related functional activity in children with isolated spelling deficits and dyslexia,” OpenNeuro ds003126, version 1.3.1, CC0. openneuro.org
Banfi, C., and colleagues (2021). Reading-related functional activity in children with isolated spelling deficits and dyslexia. Language, Cognition and Neuroscience 36(5), 543 to 561. doi.org/10.1080/23273798.2020.1859569
Banfi, C., Koschutnig, K., Moll, K., Schulte-Körne, G., Fink, A., and Landerl, K. (2019). White matter alterations and tract lateralization in children with dyslexia and isolated spelling deficits. Human Brain Mapping 40(3), from page 765; sample, tests (SLS 2–9, SLRT-II, DRT 3), and group criteria. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Austrian Science Fund FWF. Project I 1658. fwf.ac.at
Zahia, S., and colleagues (2020). Dyslexia detection using 3D convolutional neural networks and functional magnetic resonance imaging. Computer Methods and Programs in Biomedicine. doi.org/10.1016/j.cmpb.2020.105726
Aylward, E. H., and colleagues (2003). Instructional treatment associated with changes in brain activation in children with dyslexia. Neurology 61(2), 212 to 219. PubMed 12874401
Every Wednesday, we take you inside the AFS-Test, the standardized assessment that allows Certified Dyslexia Trainers to definitively diagnose and categorize dyslexia and dyscalculia. This is week 14 of 25.
This week: Body Perception
Body perception is the most overlooked foundation of learning: knowing one’s own body, feeling left and right without thinking, sensing where you are. It is the reference system all other orientation builds on. Children with underdeveloped body perception often appear clumsy, tire quickly when writing, and mix up directions. The standardized AFS-Test includes body perception for exactly this reason, completing the picture that allows trainers to definitively diagnose and categorize what a child needs.
The standardized Attention-Function-Symptom Test has been used worldwide for more than 25 years. It examines the attention span, the sensory perceptions, and the error symptoms of a child, and turns the results into an individualized training plan following the AFS-Method.
Find a Certified Trainer
Certified Dyslexia Trainers conduct the standardized AFS-Test in your area or remotely. Learn more and find a Certified Trainer near you: dyslexiatest.com
You can find all published articles of this series under the tag AFS-Test Series.
Every Tuesday, we open up one lesson of the Dyslexia Trainer Certification Program here on the blog, all 48 of them, one week at a time. Whether you are a teacher, a parent, or an education professional, this series shows you exactly what certified dyslexia trainers learn, and how the program works from the inside.
This week: When Theory Meets the Child. Case Studies in Dyslexia Training
Frameworks provide structure, but every learner’s story is unique. In this lesson you follow two very different children: Mark, a 12-year-old with long-standing dyslexia complicated by early medical issues and an overprotective parent, and Emma, an 8-year-old just starting her literacy journey but already showing resistance and avoidance. Their cases show how attention, perception, and symptom training must be balanced differently for each child.
Case studies bring theory to life. While frameworks like AFS provide structure, every learner’s story is unique, shaped by personal history, environment, and emotional context. By looking closely at real examples, trainers learn how to translate assessment results into practical strategies.
Mark was born on July 24, 2013. His mother works as an office employee, and his father is an engineer. The parents are separated, and Mark lives with his mother. He has no siblings.
What you will learn in Lesson 17
Mark, 12: long-standing dyslexia, medical history, an overprotective parent
Emma, 8: early literacy struggles, resistance, and avoidance
Balancing attention, perception, and symptom training per child
Translating assessment results into practical strategies
About the Dyslexia Trainer Certification Program
Since 1997, more than 17,000 dyslexia trainers in 64 countries have been certified. The certification gives you more than knowledge: all the tools you need to actually work with dyslexic children are included as well. Worksheets, training programs, assessment materials, everything ready to use in your practice. You get the whole package.
The program is accredited by the American Dyslexia Association (ADA) and follows the training standards of the International Federation of Dyslexia and Dyscalculia Associations (IFDDA).
Catch up and start free
Lesson 1 is free for everyone. Register in a minute and see the program from the inside: dyslexiacertificate.com
You can find all published lessons of this series under the tag Lesson Series.
Every Wednesday, we take you inside the AFS-Test, the standardized assessment that allows Certified Dyslexia Trainers to definitively diagnose and categorize dyslexia and dyscalculia. This is week 13 of 25.
This week: Spatial Orientation
Letters and numbers live in space: b and d differ only by direction, 12 and 21 only by position, and writing itself moves from left to right. Spatial orientation also includes time: yesterday and tomorrow, before and after. A child with underdeveloped spatial orientation confuses directions, loses their place on the page, and struggles with place value in math. The standardized AFS-Test measures this area precisely, so that training can build stable spatial and temporal anchors.
The standardized Attention-Function-Symptom Test has been used worldwide for more than 25 years. It examines the attention span, the sensory perceptions, and the error symptoms of a child, and turns the results into an individualized training plan following the AFS-Method.
Find a Certified Trainer
Certified Dyslexia Trainers conduct the standardized AFS-Test in your area or remotely. Learn more and find a Certified Trainer near you: dyslexiatest.com
You can find all published articles of this series under the tag AFS-Test Series.
Every Tuesday, we open up one lesson of the Dyslexia Trainer Certification Program here on the blog, all 48 of them, one week at a time. Whether you are a teacher, a parent, or an education professional, this series shows you exactly what certified dyslexia trainers learn, and how the program works from the inside.
This week: Tech Meets Training. Practical Computer Use for Dyslexia
Computers and tablets feel natural to children, and that affinity can be turned into meaningful practice. Properly guided, digital tools capture attention, give instant feedback, and allow endless repetition without judgment. This lesson shows how to weave technology into the AFS framework, with clear guidelines: 10 to 15 minutes of focused use per session, a balance of guided and independent practice, and a sharp eye for which tools build skills and which just distract.
Technology is no longer an optional add-on in dyslexia training, it is part of the daily reality of children’s lives. Computers, tablets, and smartphones feel natural and intuitive to learners, and this affinity can be leveraged for meaningful practice. Properly guided, digital tools become powerful allies: they capture attention, provide instant feedback, and allow for endless repetition without judgment.
This lesson explores how to weave technology into the AFS framework. From perception games to reading practice to writing supports, computers make training more engaging and help children feel successful. At the same time, trainers must apply clear guidelines: 10–15 minutes of focused use per session, a balance of guided and independent practice, and a careful eye on which tools truly build skills versus which are just distractions.
Very few children, especially children with dyslexia, resist the pull of computers, tablets, or smartphones. These devices are already part of children’s everyday lives, and they often feel more natural to them than books or paper. Technology offers an intuitive, interactive entry point, which makes it an excellent ally in training.
What you will learn in Lesson 16
Where technology genuinely helps in dyslexia training
The 10 to 15 minute guideline for focused digital practice
Balancing guided and independent computer work
Telling skill-building tools apart from distractions
About the Dyslexia Trainer Certification Program
Since 1997, more than 17,000 dyslexia trainers in 64 countries have been certified. The certification gives you more than knowledge: all the tools you need to actually work with dyslexic children are included as well. Worksheets, training programs, assessment materials, everything ready to use in your practice. You get the whole package.
The program is accredited by the American Dyslexia Association (ADA) and follows the training standards of the International Federation of Dyslexia and Dyscalculia Associations (IFDDA).
Catch up and start free
Lesson 1 is free for everyone. Register in a minute and see the program from the inside: dyslexiacertificate.com
You can find all published lessons of this series under the tag Lesson Series.
A child with dyslexia can copy a word ten times and still misspell it the next morning. Dyslexia spelling problems rarely go away with more copying. Word formulation, a technique Dr. Astrid Kopp-Duller developed for the AFS Method in 1997, takes a different route: every word is learned through its image, its sound, and its meaning. The Dyslexia Research Center USA now offers 1,612 English words prepared this way, free of charge at wordformulation.com. Here is how word formulation works, what brain research from the University of Washington later found, and how parents and teachers can use it.
In short
Word formulation helps with dyslexia spelling by teaching a word in three steps: the word image, the word sound, and the word meaning. None of the steps can be skipped.
1,612 English words are free on wordformulation.com, covering nine parts of speech, from basic vocabulary to common error words, online or as a printable PDF.
Dr. Astrid Kopp-Duller developed the concept in 1997 as part of the symptom training of the AFS Method.
Brain research from the University of Washington points the same way. In 2003, Elizabeth Aylward, Virginia Berninger, and colleagues showed that after 28 hours of instruction, brain activation in children with dyslexia closely resembled that of typical readers.
Word formulation works best as part of individual training with a Certified Dyslexia Trainer, plus a few minutes of practice at home every day.
Watch: how a child with dyslexia learns a word, in 84 seconds.
Dyslexia spelling: why copying a word ten times often does not work
Children with dyslexia have different sensory perceptions and tend to lose attention when they work with letters. That is why the AFS Method by Dr. Astrid Kopp-Duller works in three areas: attention training, function training, and symptom training. Practicing mistakes alone does more harm than good, because it does not reach the reasons behind the mistakes. You can read more about this in From Errors to Insights and Sensory Perception Training.
Word formulation belongs to the symptom area, the part of the method that trains reading, spelling, writing, and/or calculating directly (Symptom Training in Language Arts). A word only stays in long-term memory when the child has seen its shape, heard it clearly, and understood what it means. If one of the three is missing, the word slips away again, no matter how often it was copied.
Representing the word image three-dimensionally is a principle of the AFS Method. Children shape a word from modeling clay, lay it out with wooden letters or tiles, or write it in spray cream. Each of the 1,612 words on wordformulation.com shows the word in several of these forms, for example in clay, on tiles, laid out with peanuts, and in cursive. In addition, every word can be assembled in a word puzzle in different sizes and found again in the word search game Find the Words.
One word, three representations: the word image “learn” on wordformulation.comWord Puzzle: assemble every word in different sizesWord search game “Find the Words”
Step 2: The word sound, spelled out and sounded out
The second step is hearing the word clearly. With Word Sound, children listen to how a word sounds and how it is spelled out letter by letter or sounded out. They can listen as often as they like and speak along. Saying the word while hearing it links the sound to the letters the child has just seen.
Word Sound: listen to every word, spelled out and sounded out
Step 3: The word meaning, from part of speech to your own sentences
The third step makes sure the child knows what the word means and how to use it. First, the word is assigned to a part of speech. Then its meaning is explained, followed by grammatical details such as the plural or verb forms. Finally, the child works through the word family and forms sentences with the word and its relatives. The word family matters because it shows that “learns,” “learner,” and “unlearn” share the same spelling core. On the page for learn, for example, the word family lists ten related words and ten example sentences.
Example “learn”: part of speech, word meaning, and word family on wordformulation.com
Confirmed by brain research at the University of Washington
Dr. Astrid Kopp-Duller described word formulation with its three parts in 1997, as part of the symptom training in the AFS Method. What she built from practice was later confirmed by brain research at the University of Washington in Seattle, where Virginia Berninger, Elizabeth Aylward, and their colleagues studied how children with dyslexia learn words.
In 2003, Elizabeth Aylward, Todd Richards, Virginia Berninger, and colleagues scanned the brains of 10 children with dyslexia and 11 typical readers while they mapped sounds to letters and connected suffixed words to their roots. The children with dyslexia then received 28 hours of comprehensive reading instruction. Afterward, their reading scores had improved, and the amount and pattern of their brain activation closely resembled that of the typical readers (Aylward et al., 2003). As Aylward put it, the instruction did not rewire the brain but strengthened circuits that were already there (University of Washington, 2003).
In 2006, the same team published what they call triple word form theory. They found distinct brain signatures for three forms of a word: the phonological form (how it sounds), the orthographic form (how it is spelled), and the morphological form (its meaningful parts, such as the root and endings). Instruction that addressed one form also changed how the brain processed the others (Richards et al., 2006). These three forms correspond closely to the word sound, the word image, and the word meaning with its word family in Dr. Kopp-Duller’s word formulation. Researchers also use the term orthographic mapping for the process of connecting sounds and letters so that a word is stored for good.
How to use wordformulation.com at home and in class
The collection was compiled over many years. It started with common error words, then added core and basic vocabulary, and it keeps growing. The 1,612 words cover nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions, numerals, pronouns, and interjections. Every word can be practiced online or printed as a PDF with tracing lines and letter construction, so children can collect their words in a folder.
Every word formulation is also available as a printable PDF
A simple routine for one word a day:
Look: open the word page, look at the word image, and build the word from clay or letter tiles.
Listen: play the word sound, spelled out and sounded out, and say it together.
Understand: read the meaning, find the part of speech, and go through the word family.
Use: say or write one sentence with the word, then do the puzzle or the word search.
Ten minutes are enough. Short daily practice works better than one long session on the weekend, as our 31-day plan and our overview of free dyslexia resources explain. Praise every small step, and compare a child only with their own progress. A Certified Dyslexia Trainer can choose the right words for each child after an AFS test and combine word formulation with attention and sensory perception training.
Frequently asked questions
What is word formulation in dyslexia training?
Word formulation is a technique from the AFS Method by Dr. Astrid Kopp-Duller. A child learns each word through three steps: the word image, the word sound, and the word meaning, including part of speech, word family, and sentences. 1,612 English words prepared this way are free at wordformulation.com.
Why do children with dyslexia misspell words they have practiced many times?
Copying a word trains only part of what is needed. A word stays in long-term memory when a child has seen its shape, heard it clearly, and understood its meaning. Children with dyslexia also tend to lose attention with letters, so training needs to include attention and sensory perception as well, as described in Lesson 11.
What research confirms word formulation?
Brain research at the University of Washington confirmed the approach. Aylward, Berninger, and colleagues showed in 2003 that after 28 hours of instruction, brain activation in children with dyslexia closely resembled that of typical readers. In 2006 the team described distinct brain signatures for how a word sounds, how it is spelled, and its meaningful parts. See Aylward et al., 2003 and Richards et al., 2006.
Is wordformulation.com free?
Yes. The Dyslexia Research Center USA offers all 1,612 words on wordformulation.com free of charge, online or as printable PDFs, together with Word Sound, Word Puzzle, Find the Words, and a Word of the Day.
How long should a word formulation session take?
About ten minutes a day is enough for one word. Short daily sessions work better than long ones. A Certified Dyslexia Trainer can plan which words to practice based on the child’s mistakes.
Aylward, E. H., Richards, T. L., Berninger, V. W., Nagy, W. E., Field, K. M., Grimme, A. C., Richards, A. L., Thomson, J. B., & Cramer, S. C. (2003). Instructional treatment associated with changes in brain activation in children with dyslexia. Neurology, 61(2), 212–219. https://doi.org/10.1212/01.wnl.0000068363.05974.64
Richards, T. L., Aylward, E. H., Field, K. M., Grimme, A. C., Raskind, W., Richards, A. L., Nagy, W., Eckert, M., Leonard, C., Abbott, R. D., & Berninger, V. W. (2006). Converging evidence for triple word form theory in children with dyslexia. Developmental Neuropsychology, 30(1), 547–589. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15326942dn3001_3
