THE GIFT OF DYSLEXIA - UMT Admin Panel

261 Pages·2009·2.99 MB·English

THE GIFT
OF D Y S L E X IA
Why Some of the Smartest People
Can't Read and How They Can Learn
Ronald D. Davis
with Eldon M. Braun
A Perigee Book
Contents
Foreword by Dr. Joan Smith
Author's Note
Preface
Acknowledgments
Part One What Dyslexia Really Is
Chapter 1 The Underlying Talent
Chapter 2 The Learning Disability
Chapter 3 Effects of Disorientation
Chapter 4 Dyslexia in Action
Chapter 5 Compulsive Solutions
Chapter 6 Problems with Reading
Chapter 7 Spelling Problems
Chapter 8 Math Problems
Chapter 9 Handwriting Problems
Chapter 10 The Newest Disability: ADD
Chapter 11 Clumsiness
Chapter 12 A Real Solution
Part Two Little P.D.—A Developmental Theory
of Dyslexia
Chapter 13 How Dyslexia Happens
Chapter 14 The Two-Year-Old and the Kitten
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Contents
Chapter 15 Ages Three to Five
Chapter 16 The First Day of School
Chapter 17 The Age of Disability
Part Three The Gift
Chapter 18 Understanding the Talent
Chapter 19 Curiosity
Chapter 20 Creativity
Chapter 21 The Gift of Mastery
Part Four Doing Something About It
Chapter 22 How Can You Tell?
Chapter 23 Symptoms of Disorientation
Chapter 24 The Mind's Eye
Chapter 25 Implementing the Davis Procedures
Chapter 26 Perceptual Ability Assessment
Chapter 27 Turning It Around
Chapter 28 Release and Review
Chapter 29 Fine Tuning
Chapter 30 Coordination
Chapter 31 Basic Symbol Mastery
Chapter 32 Three Steps to Easier Reading
Chapter 33 Symbol Mastery for Words
Chapter 34 Continuing the Process
Recommended References
Glossary
Index
viii
Foreword
During my twenty-five years of experience in working with
learning disabled students, I have learned that it is always the
student who teaches me what I need to know. Therefore, it is no
surprise to me that a dyslexic individual has come forward to teach
us what we need to know about dyslexia.
As a student, Ron Davis suffered the injustices, unfair
treatment and humiliation familiar to most individuals with the
unique learning style called dyslexia. The combination of talents
and inefficiencies described in Ron's book will be recognized
immediately by others who possess this unique combination of
skills and difficulties.
As a teacher, Ron Davis provides us with an experiential,
first-person understanding of what the dyslexic student encounters.
He describes how learning differs for the dyslexic individual in
words we can understand. He makes the experience real and, in so
doing, gives us the insights necessary to teach effectively.
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Foreword
Four different learning locks are opened by the keys of Ron's
accomplishments:
1. The key to understanding that the dyslexic learning style is
actually a talent.
2. The key to comprehending the dimensional awareness of the
dyslexic individual.
3. The key to conceptualizing disorientation.
4. The key to techniques which control disorientation, thereby
controlling the dyslexic symptoms.
A wide variety of symptoms is manifested by the dyslexic
syndrome. For that reason, experts in different fields provide a
variety of definitions. The most frequently recognized characteristics
include severe reading, spelling and writing delays, and reversals of
symbols. Other symptoms of the dyslexic syndrome include time and
space confusion, disorganization and difficulty with comprehension.
Some dyslexics find that they are totally unable to learn to read.
As adults, they still struggle with putting sounds and letters together
to decode words. They cannot recall symbols or combinations
of symbols. Words they know do not look familiar on the page. They
usually test below third-grade level in word recognition, even though
they may have had years of reading intervention.
Other individuals can read words fairly well. When reading
aloud, they sound coherent. But these students find that they
cannot understand what they read. They must go over a sentence
several times in order to glean some meaning from it. They tend
to experience severe difficulty in writing, and find the symbols of
language very frustrating.
Both types of dyslexics experience the same humiliation and
frustration. They are technically illiterate and limited in their
freedom to make the printed word work for them.
These individuals have always provided a strong motivation for
x
Foreword
educators and researchers. Their disabilities in reading and using their
intelligence in a traditional manner have inspired our organization to
continue seeking answers and solutions to their discomfort. In our
efforts to assist our clients at the Melvin-Smith Learning Center, we
investigate any and all techniques which appear.
In 1983, a dyslexic student from our school's program was
taken by his parents to Ron Davis's Research Council. This was
our first introduction to a truly unique program. When the student
returned to school, he was definitely "on a high" from his success.
He claimed that he could concentrate and stay on task for the first
time.
I immediately questioned him about what it was that had made
such a difference. "I can't tell you, Dr. Smith," he informed me. "It
might make you sick. Only dyslexic people can do this. It makes
other people sick." I now understand that he was referring to the
Orientation Counseling he had received, and the side effect of
queasiness that disorientation can sometimes have on people who
are not dyslexic. But at the time, I was both confused and skeptical.
I decided to wait and observe him to determine whether any lasting
changes appeared in his learning patterns.
What I observed was a student whose ability to focus on studies
was obviously improved. By the end of the eighth grade, he was
accepted into a prestigious high school, and apparently he was
successful. He demonstrated consistently improved levels of
confidence, and gradually changed in his reading and writing skills
as he participated in the Word and Symbol Mastery program.
Two years later, I encountered another student who was about
to attend the Reading Research Council program. This time,
things were different. I was invited to come along and learn the
techniques which would be used to tutor her after her training
program. My curiosity had already been raised, so I was eager to
experience the program firsthand.
After what I saw, I decided to become trained in the Davis
xi
Foreword
Orientation Counseling processes and Davis Symbol Mastery
techniques. Subsequently, more teachers on our staff have taken
the training, and we use these techniques regularly at the Melvin-
Smith Learning Center.
The Davis concept of "orientation" is most easily recognized by
educators and psychologists as "attention." Orientation Counseling
provides the client with a stabilization and a point of reference for
the focus of attention. This is essentially to prevent disorientation
and confusion in working with symbols for reading, writing,
spelling, speaking and computation. A strong visual stabilization
takes place, which benefits attention focus and creates the feeling of
"control" reported by most individuals. Gaining control of and being
in charge of one's learning system is essential to learning, especially
when something as complex as a reading system is being learned.
The presentation of the dyslexic learning style as a talent is
correct. For years, we have observed that individuals who
experience dyslexic symptoms are highly intelligent. The talents
which create the vulnerability for confusing symbolic information
are assets in other ways. For example, individuals who "see" the
dimensional attributes in our world understand intuitively how
things work. They find that they have an innate ability for fixing
things, understanding engines, electronics, plumbing, construction,
visual arts and other related fields. Tasks which require the ability
to visualize something in a creative or different way are often
simple for the individual with these talents. This is most likely why
so many inventors, scientists, athletes and creative individuals find
that they also have dyslexic symptoms.
After Orientation Counseling, the Symbol Mastery techniques
developed by Ron Davis are utilized to improve the student's
reading and writing skills, primarily by resolving confusions
about letters, words, numbers, punctuation marks and math sym
bols. These procedures have an excellent foundation in learning
theory. They use each of the senses for learning and provide for
xii
Foreword
concept integration. Students see, touch, discuss and conceptualize
the information they are learning. The application of a strong
multisensory approach provides stimulation of important parts
of the brain and facilitates long-term retention.
The keys Ron has given us for the four learning locks mentioned
previously have benefited our clients and advanced our research
into the understanding of the dyslexic syndrome. Because of our
increased understanding, we have developed more effective ways
of communicating the dyslexic experience to our clients' families,
friends and employers, and to the individuals themselves. The
confirmation provided by our clients is reassuring and inspires
confidence that the diagnosis is correct. A shared understanding
of what is being experienced by the individual becomes possible.
When they receive the information following their assessment,
clients frequently say, "That's it. That's what I experience." At this
point, their isolation and confusion are released. They are ready
to experience the changes which can accompany a therapeutic
program.
The combination of student and teacher shared with us by Ron
in this book enriches our understanding of millions of individuals
who experience the unique learning style known as dyslexia.
Ron's work has provided us with a means for understanding the
dyslexic learner. He has developed a set of effective techniques for
meeting unique learning needs, which in turn have given us
newfound hope for success.
Joan M. Smith, Ed.D.
Licensed Educational Psychologist
Licensed Speech Pathologist
Dr. Joan Smith is Educational Director of the Melvin-Smith Learning Centers, with corporate offices
in Sacramento, California. She is the author and co-author of numerous books and articles on special
education. Her latest publication J'SYOU Don't Have to Be Dyslexic.
xiii
Foreword
Orientation Counseling processes and Davis Symbol Mastery
techniques. Subsequently, more teachers on our staff have taken
the training, and we use these techniques regularly at the Melvin-
Smith Learning Center.
The Davis concept of "orientation" is most easily recognized by
educators and psychologists as "attention." Orientation Counseling
provides the client with a stabilization and a point of reference for
the focus of attention. This is essentially to prevent disorientation
and confusion in working with symbols for reading, writing,
spelling, speaking and computation. A strong visual stabilization
takes place, which benefits attention focus and creates the feeling of
"control" reported by most individuals. Gaining control of and being
in charge of one's learning system is essential to learning, especially
when something as complex as a reading system is being learned.
The presentation of the dyslexic learning style as a talent is
correct. For years, we have observed that individuals who
experience dyslexic symptoms are highly intelligent. The talents
which create the vulnerability for confusing symbolic information
are assets in other ways. For example, individuals who "see" the
dimensional attributes in our world understand intuitively how
things work. They find that they have an innate ability for fixing
things, understanding engines, electronics, plumbing, construction,
visual arts and other related fields. Tasks which require the ability
to visualize something in a creative or different way are often
simple for the individual with these talents. This is most likely why
so many inventors, scientists, athletes and creative individuals find
that they also have dyslexic symptoms.
After Orientation Counseling, the Symbol Mastery techniques
developed by Ron Davis are utilized to improve the student's
reading and writing skills, primarily by resolving confusions
about letters, words, numbers, punctuation marks and math sym
bols. These procedures have an excellent foundation in learning
theory. They use each of the senses for learning and provide for
xii
Foreword
concept integration. Students see, touch, discuss and conceptualize
the information they are learning. The application of a strong
multisensory approach provides stimulation of important parts
of the brain and facilitates long-term retention.
The keys Ron has given us for the four learning locks mentioned
previously have benefited our clients and advanced our research
into the understanding of the dyslexic syndrome. Because of our
increased understanding, we have developed more effective ways
of communicating the dyslexic experience to our clients' families,
friends and employers, and to the individuals themselves. The
confirmation provided by our clients is reassuring and inspires
confidence that the diagnosis is correct. A shared understanding
of what is being experienced by the individual becomes possible.
When they receive the information following their assessment,
clients frequently say, "That's it. That's what I experience." At this
point, their isolation and confusion are released. They are ready
to experience the changes which can accompany a therapeutic
program.
The combination of student and teacher shared with us by Ron
in this book enriches our understanding of millions of individuals
who experience the unique learning style known as dyslexia.
Ron's work has provided us with a means for understanding the
dyslexic learner. He has developed a set of effective techniques for
meeting unique learning needs, which in turn have given us
newfound hope for success.
Joan M. Smith, Ed.D.
Licensed Educational Psychologist
Licensed Speech Pathologist
Dr. Joan Smith is Educational Director of the Melvin-Smith Learning Centers, with corporate offices
in Sacramento, California. She is the author and co-author of numerous books and articles on special
education. Her latest publication is You Don't Have to Be Dyslexic.
xiii