Bjorn Karlsen – författare

This book reports a longitudinal study of a cohort of 3, 200 children who started first grade in 1976 in Bergen, Norway. Approximately 250 of these children had learning disabilities. This sample of learning disabled were studied and treated over an 8-year period. About 190 of the learning disabled children had dyslexia. In addition to collecting extensive psychological data on each of these dyslexic children, the Bergen study sought to diagnose and treat the various subtypes of manifest dyslexia. This comprehensive study demonstrated the seriousness of the problem, exemplified by the fact that the retarded children tended to show greater growth in reading and spelling in the primary grades than the dyslexics. The findings from this important study will have profound implications on the treatment of dyslexic children in the future.

Psychological and educational researchers in the Scandinavian countries have cooperated in a research effort relating to children''s learning disabilities for more than a decade. Support has come from the federal governments and other funding agencies in Norway, Sweden, and Denmark through the Secretariat for Scan­ dinavian Cultural Cooperation. A number of independent studies have already been published, dealing with various aspects oflearning disabilities in the literacy skills of reading and writing. The largest and most comprehensive study was the Bergen Project, a longitudi­ nal study of an entire cohort of children, with special emphasis on those who developed specific learning disabilities in reading and writing (dyslexia). These dyslexic children were studied, diagnosed, and treated over a period of nine years, along with various control and comparison groups, which included a large subgroup with general learning disabilities (retarded). The Bergen Project involved the collection of voluminous data. The children were identified by means of special diagnostic tests and treated using remedial materials and techniques that had been developed to deal with various types of dyslexia. The ophthalmology team not only tested the children, but they also prescribed and provided glasses, and even performed surgery when necessary. The pediatric neurologists did general pediatric and neurological examinations, following up many of the cases with EEGs and CT (computerized tomography, brain x-rays).