Dyslexia - In tune but out of time

Abstract

Rhythmic timing is important in speech. Great poems with metrical rhythms illustrate this well - think of Auden's 'This is the night mail, crossing the border, Bringing the cheque and the postal order⋯' - the prosodic structure (the internal rhythmic patterning of the words) actually seems to convey the rhythm of the train. Children with dyslexia find it difficult to hear speech rhythm and speech timing, and also have difficulties in perceiving musical rhythms. These difficulties in timing could explain why dyslexic children struggle with phonology (the sound structure of words) across languages. But music and poetry may also help dyslexic children to improve their rhythmic abilities.