EXPERTS from the University of York have discovered that a simple brain scan may predict when youngsters with dyslexia will learn to read.

The brain disorder makes it difficult for even very bright children to learn how to read and can be a lifelong source of frustration.

But according to research carried out by the University of York, Stanford University School of Medicine, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of Jyvaskyla, in Finland, brain scans can predict the improvement of teenagers’ reading skills, with up to 90 per cent accuracy.

The research found brain scan results to be significantly more accurate in predicting how well a dyslexic child ultimately reads than standardised reading tests or the child’s behaviour.

Prof Bruce McCandliss, one of the lead authors of the study, said: “This study takes an important step toward realising the potential benefits of combining neuroscience and education research by showing how brain scanning measures are sensitive to individual differences that predict educationally relevant outcomes.”

The research found brain scan results to be significantly more accurate in predicting how well a dyslexic child ultimately reads than standardised reading tests or the child’s behaviour.

Prof McCandliss said: “This approach opens up a new vantage point on the question of how children with dyslexia differ from one another in ways that translate into meaningful differences two to three years down the line.”

He said the research raised the prospect of a future test that could help match dyslexic students with the most effective treatments available.