Patent US 5,083,924

A method and system for enhancing reading skills whereby readers can improve both reading speed and comprehension. This novel teaching method and system associatively combines input to visual, tactile, auditory senses. The reader is trained to conceptualize the meaning of words directly from symbols rather than from symbols and related sounds by causing the eyes to scan text more rapidly than both symbols and related sounds can be assimilated. The eyes are prompted to follow a rapidly moving finger induced to rhythmically move back-and-forth across the text at rapidly driven rates by an auditory beat. Different auditory inputs are provided to each ear, such that each hemisphere of the brain predominately receives signals which are related to its primary function. Rhythmic beats to induce higher reading rates are addressed to the left hemisphere of the brain which governs spatial relations, time, rhythm, and reading the written word. Subliminal affirmative motivational messages are concurrently addressed only to the right hemisphere of the brain which interprets the spoken word thereby minimizing conflict between the spoken subliminal affirmation and the reading of the written word. In one embodiment, rhythmic beats are mixed with the subliminal messages addressed to the right hemisphere for balance. Soothing background sounds such as recorded ocean waves are added to the auditory input to block aural interference. The auditory volume of rhythmic beats is varied periodically to reduce neural auditory adaptation.