Archive for Saturday, August 31, 2002  Immature child struggles
to read  August 31, 2002   We have a 6-year-old son who is a
late bloomer and is having trouble learning to read. Even though
he is immature, I don't understand why this would keep him from
reading.  It is likely that your late-maturing youngster has not
yet completed a vital neurologic process involving an organic
substance called myelin. At birth, the nervous system of the
body is not insulated. That is why an infant is unable to reach
out and grasp an object; the electrical command or impulse is
lost on its journey from the brain to the hand. Gradually, a
whitish substance (myelin) begins to coat the nerve fibers,
allowing controlled muscular action to occur.  Myelinization
typically proceeds from the head downward and from the center of
the body outward. In other words, a child can control the
movement of his head and neck before the rest of his body.
Control of the shoulder precedes the elbow, which precedes the
wrist, which precedes the lar