Electric shock treatment helps dyslexic children read faster, doctors say

Mild electric shocks to the scalp may help dyslexic children to read faster and with fewer errors, researchers have claimed.

Eighteen children with dyslexia received 20 minutes of the shocks three times a week for six weeks as part of the study at Rome's Bambino Gesù children's hospital.

These shocks were extremely weak and Dr Deny Menghini, who led the study, said the children were subjected to no pain.

"We used one milliampere of current, which is equal to the electricity that powers a single Christmas tree light,” she told The Times.

"The subjects felt nothing, except a slight vibration at the start. Real electroshock therapy uses 600 milliamperes."

After receiving the course of shocks, she said children made fewer errors when reading, and could read faster.

“Reading rates accelerated by about 13 per cent, which is like the benefit of a year’s schooling in six weeks,” Dr Meghini said.

Findings published in the Restorative Neurology and Neuroscience journal said children also made fewer errors when reading uncommon words, and were 60 per cent faster at reading words invented for the test.

Dr Menghini said those who took part in the test remained healthy and did not have side effects, and that six months after the shocks they were still reading faster.

The research team are currently testing the effect of shocks on a different area of the brain – the visual word form area, which allows the individual to recognise words and letters.

Research indicates this part of the brain does not show as much activity in people with dyslexia.

An estimated one in 10 people in the UK have dyslexia, and it is classified as a disability according to the Equalities Act 2010. There is currently no treatment for dyslexia, though special support is often given in schools.