Ronen Lavi

School of Education and The Sagol School of Neuroscience

PI: Prof. Naama Friedmann, Dr. Ricardo Tarrasch

The Project

Reading is a fundamental ability in every student's life. Nevertheless, Students diagnosed with dyslexia is a rather common phenomenon. While current knowledge derived from neurocognitive science includes 21 different dyslexia types, students are rarely diagnosed for their specific dyslexia type, and evidence-based treatment methods, tailored for the specific dyslexia type, do not exist. In addition, it seems that a significant 'gap' is also apparent when comparing current knowledge derived from brain research regarding the biological bases of language and reading difficulties compared to current knowledge derived from neurocognitive science. The current project aims to discover the neural correlates of different dyslexia types using brain imaging, and examine the neural and behavioral effects of an innovative digital tool - TIKRA!, developed in our lab to ameliorate reading among students with specific types of dyslexia.

After setting the starting ground for the project in the previous year, especially in the fields of tasks development, recruitment and diagnosis of first participants, we believe that the following year will be a ground breaking one. The results of the study promise to have a meaningful impact in the fields of diagnosis and treatment of students with dyslexia.  In addition, it will act as a starting point for future brain research of different dyslexia types, which currently is rather scarce. Significant results will also have the potential to examine the brain effects of TIKRA!, as the first evidence-based reading aid tool tailored to specific types of reading difficulties.

About me

Ronen Lavi has a Bachelor's degree in psychology & education, and Master's degree in learning disorders, Both from Tel-Aviv University. He is currently a second year PhD student at the Brain and Language Laboratory, under the supervision of Prof. Naama Friedmann. His professional expertise is in the field of diagnosis and treatment of learning disorders, and his main focus is diagnosis and treatment of adults dealing with developmental dyslexia.