Nonliteral comprehension deficits in children with learning disabilities: Implication of brain imaging technology

Recent studies using fMRI support the claim that the right hemisphere (RH) may contribute uniquely to the processing of novel metaphoric language. Understanding novel metaphoric expressions imposes considerable interpretive demands, especially for schoolchildren with learning disabilities. This chapter presents an intervention program using “thinking maps” that is based on RH mode of processing. Sixty children with learning disabilities (LD) and 60 children with typical development participated in the study. All subjects administrated an idiom and a metaphor questionnaire. The LD group was divided to three groups: one group underwent an intervention program using “thinking maps,” the second group studied the metaphors by memorizing their meaning, and the third group had no intervention. Results revealed that only the group that used the “thinking maps” showed understanding of items not used during the intervention stage. These results have important implications for the development of intervention programs.