Sensory training and special education — can practice make perfect?

Sensory training, based on the latest research findings in neuroscience and perceptual psychology, is beginning to make a significant impact on practice in the treatment of language impairments. This training has three novel aims: the stimuli are designed to engage and develop specific brain processing modules; the training task difficulty is dynamically modulated, leading to the most efficient learning for an individual; and the tasks are presented as highly motivating computer games to encourage the long periods of training that result in optimal learning. The published results are impressive, with improvements averaging two years in language age following four weeks of intensive training. In this article, David Moore, Professor of Auditory Neuroscience at the University Laboratory of Physiology in Oxford and Chief Technology Officer for Mind Weavers Ltd at the Oxford Centre for Innovation, explores the research leading to these initiatives. While the mechanisms of the training remain controversial, it seems likely that, in the future, automated training of this type will make a major impact on practice in special education and in many other fields.