Who can help us?
Your child can help if they are between the ages of 8 and 12, and are native speakers of English. They must be in good mental health and not have any ferrous metal (iron) in their body.

What kinds of metal are ferrous?
There are some possible metal items that would restrict your child from participating, like dental braces or a permanent retainer. It is okay if your child wears glasses with metal frames, because we can provide prescription glasses with plastic frames just as a "loaner" during the scan. Zippers on pants are fine. Here is a more complete list of types of metal that would disqualify someone from participating. 
 

permanent dental retainer	metal fragments in the eyes	cardiac pacemaker
dental braces	aneurysm clip	neurostimulator
cochlear implant		shrapnel

Are some kinds of metal OK? 
Anything non-ferrous is safe. We have a magnetic detector here to check if there is any doubt. 

What will my child be asked to do? 
Children will perform reading tasks presented on a computer screen. For example, they will be asked whether two words rhyme.  They will also have an fMRI scan while they do these reading activities.  Your child's appointment will last approximately 2 to 3 1/2 hours. Most of the time is just to let your child become familiar with the reading activities.

How long will my child be in the fMRI? 
You child will be in the fMRI scanner for about 50 minutes.

What exactly is fMRI? 
Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging is a safe, non-invasive technique. It does not involve any x-rays or injections. fMRI allows us to determine what areas of the brain are working while a person reads a word or a sentence. An fMRI scan involves lying on a table, which slides part way into the scanner. When in the scanner, children will perform computer reading exercises while their brain activity is recorded.