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This story was printed from http://lesblind.is
Dyslexia as a gift
Dyslexic people are visual, multi-dimensional thinkers. We are
intuitive and highly creative, and excel at hands-on learning.
Because we think in pictures, it is sometimes hard for us to
understand letters, numbers, symbols, and written words.
We can learn to read, write and study efficiently when we use
methods geared to our unique learning style.
The cause for dyslexia lies in the tendency to think in pictures.
People who primarily think in words (experienced like talking to
oneself in the mind) do generally not develop learning difficulties.
This is primarily because the teaching methods used in normal
schools are designed primarily for the word thinkers.
This tendency to think in pictures is also responsible for a brain
which has great processing power.
THE MECHANISM OF DYSLEXIA
According to the research by Ronald Davis at the Reading
Research Council's Dyslexia Correction Center, dyslexics view the
world very differently from others. You might say they are wired
up differently. While most people perceive the world linearly,
dyslexics perceive in whole pictures. Also, most people have a
fixed point of reference from which they perceive the world
outside them and around them. Dyslexic individuals have a
peculiar capacity to move the reference point from which they
perceive objects.
These differences can be very helpful when examining objects
because the dyslexic can view objects from many perspectives
very rapidly. However, it is a serious handicap when viewing
linear symbols, such as letters or words. The solution to the
problem of reading and writing is to somehow represent the
symbol as a picture.
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Many words, for example, are easy to picture such as house, car,
cat and dog. Others such as a, the, and, and have are far more
difficult to picture. Most teachers, even in special education
programs, do not know how to help a person picture these words.
As the dyslexic individual tries to make sense of these symbols,
they shift their perspective, or where they view from, and this
causes letters on a page to move around, reverse themselves and
even to disappear completely.
TA series of events occur when a dyslexic individual attempts to
read or write as a normal person would:
1) The person encounters an unrecognized word, symbol or object.
2) The person begins to examine the object or word from many
different points of view. This causes words or letters to reverse,
turn upside down or disappear as the person changes their focal
point.
3) Incorrect information is collected about the word or object.
4) Mistakes are made in learning or reading.
5) The mistakes cause emotional reactions and frustration.
6) Compulsive solutions are adopted, such as intense
concentration.
7) These compulsive solutions inhibit the learning process and
lead to frustration and low self-esteem.
The Davis methods have proven successful in dealing with
dyslexia, dyspraxia, dyscalculia, dysgraphia, hyperactivity, ADD,
ADHD and Aspergers syndrome.