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This difference in perception might just be critical, says University of Washington neuroscientist Patricia Kuhl. For it is during the first year of life that children form what Kuhl terms "mental magnets," which sweep up similar-sounding speech sounds and file them away in phonic bins. If language-impaired children never perceive ba and da as different, then they may form mental magnets that file these sounds into the same broad category, seriously undermining their ability to group sounds into words and sentences later on. Indeed, believes Benasich, the ability to make fine acoustic distinctions is one of the pilings on which language is built. "If the pilings are rickety," she says, "then language is not going to develop as well."
If this analysis is correct, then the possibilities for intervening early in a child's life multiply. "Wouldn't it be wonderful," asks Merzenich, in a burst of enthusiasm, "if we could treat dyslexia before a child started trying to read?" Or better still, before a child started trying to talk. Tallal and Merzenich go so far as to suggest that some forms of language impairment could turn out to be more correctable than poor hearing or poor eyesight. They point out that the earphones that transmit the exaggerated speech sounds to children's ears in the lab are only temporary aids. "When you take off eyeglasses, you can't see," observes Kuhl. "But when you take off these funny-looking earphones, then you might just proceed to understanding normal speech."
Perhaps. But, until Tallal and Merzenich know for certain, they may be giving more hope than is justified. Ever since the Science articles appeared in early January, thousands of desperate parents have flooded the Rutgers and University of California switchboards with calls, asking when the new therapy will be offered by local schools. To handle the overload, the researchers have set up an 800 number.
All the two neuroscientists can offer at the moment, however, is promising results from a very small research project. Whether the same approach will prove valuable, or even marginally useful, for the estimated 10 million dyslexic children in the U.S. remains an open question, and parents would be unwise to harbor unrealistic hopes. About one thing, however, there is no doubt. Tallal and Merzenich have made a difference in the lives of at least a few children. Keillan, the girl who hated kindergarten, is now 6 years old. She adores first grade. She runs to school smiling. And, with just a little difficulty, she is learning to read.