All About Dyslexia

[grace bland]

hi friend,

Developmental reading disorder, also called dyslexia, is a reading disability that occurs when the brain does not properly recognize and process certain symbols.
Causes, incidence, and risk factors

Developmental reading disorder (DRD), or dyslexia, occurs when there is a problem in areas of the brain that help interpret language. It is not caused by vision problems. The disorder is a specific information processing problem that does not interfere with one’s ability to think or to understand complex ideas. Most people with DRD have normal intelligence, and many have above-average intelligence.

DRD may appear in combination with developmental writing disorder and developmental arithmetic disorder. All of these involve using symbols to convey information. These conditions may appear alone or in any combination.

DRD often runs in families.
Symptoms

A person with DRD may have trouble rhyming and separating sounds that make up spoken words. These abilities appear to be critical in the process of learning to read. A child’s initial reading skills are based on word recognition, which involves being able to separate out the sounds in words and match them with letters and groups of letters.

[kiasimi]

An inspiring article to share


http://news.asiaone.com/A1MEDIA/news/08Aug12/images/20120831.162416_np_samtan.jpg\">

The size of this text may seem huge to you, but for Mayor Sam Tan, anything smaller means he won't be able to deliver speeches and presentations.

Mr Tan, the Mayor of Central Singapore District, is dyslexic.

http://news.asiaone.com/News/Latest%2BNews/Edvantage/Story/A1Story20120831-368866.html

[thetinyseed]

grace bland:

Developmental reading disorder (DRD), or dyslexia, occurs when there is a problem in areas of the brain that help interpret language. It is not caused by vision problems. The disorder is a specific information processing problem that does not interfere with one's ability to think or to understand complex ideas. Most people with DRD have normal intelligence, and many have above-average intelligence.

It is true that dyslexia is NOT cause by vision problems. However, there have been instances where a child has been misdiagnosed with dyslexia but actually had immature visual skills. As a result, the poor kid was put into dyslexia programme for 3 years with little results. The parents almost gave up hope and took it that their child was just \"not very bright\".

Hence, it is important to exclude vision issues causing poor reading. The intervention for vision related reading problem is of course different from those suffering from true dyslexia.

[Gin]

Hi,


Does anyone have comments about the Ron Davis Dyslexia Correction Method?

Thanks.

[cnimed]

Gin:

Hi,


Does anyone have comments about the Ron Davis Dyslexia Correction Method?

Thanks.

I borrowed his book from the library and found that his description of his dyslexic experience fitted my son very much. So I did some of the exercises with my son. I did not do the re-orientation with my son as he was too young then, but I was able to find a few trigger words and that was helpful because they are high frequency words. I have since also found some of his trigger words in Chinese. I also encourged him to do activities that required bilateral coordination even if the start was very difficult.

My son also has vision issues - irlen and vision processing issues. We have addressed all these three areas over the past three years. He reads well now, but his spelling is still quite bad for his reading level. However the time he takes to learn spelling has shorten greatly over the last two years, for both English and Chinese, and his retention is much better now. Occasionally i have to go back to \"old\" words that he might have recorded wrongly in his memory bank when his vision problems were not yet discovered and reversals were very rampant, and relearn them with him so that he keeps the \"correct copy\".

There are many methods and ideas out there for children struggling to read. Keep looking and trying and you will likely find something that can help. Be consistent, and give it some time.

[Gin]

Hi deminc,


Thank you for yr response. My dd will be trying out with a Davis Facilitator soon. I did read The Gift of Dyslexia a couple of times. In fact, I still have the book with me. I prefer to leave the Orientation part to the professional as they have more experience picking out when a child seem disoriented. I am prepared to work with the follow-up for as long as required. My child is excellent where Spelling is concern. It is the comprehension that she lacks. She also shows some common symptoms of dyslexia.

[cnimed]

Hi Gin,

The facilitators are expensive but will be worth every cent if it works. Do come back and share the results with the rest of us after your child has gone through with the programme. What I gather is that if this is the right approach for the child, you should be able to see good results in a very short time.

I am curious that your child has excellent spelling ability but poor comprehension ability. I thought it is usually the other way round. But then dyslexia has different presentations in different individuals.

[Gin]

Hi deminc,


Yes, you are right that it would be worth every cent if it works. Our family is excited about this Program. My DD1 who is already 20+ says that she would love to save up and go for the Program herself, if it works for my DD2.

Rest assured that I will keep everyone posted with regards to my DD2’s progress. Of course, after attending the one on one program, there is still a lot of follow-up work that needs to be done. I also know a number of friends whose children have dyslexia. They are also waiting for news from me regarding my DD’s journey with this Davis Dyslexia Correction Program. Many parents experience the same anxiety about their children’s future, especially in this exam oriented society.

[jollysmith]

Parental support is really important for Dyslexic kids. They need to be treated at the same level as other children. Parents should include exercises, and workshops specially to help the child with this problem. Also the school needs to be informed of the same. The best is never to make a child in his young age made to realise that something is wrong with him/her. Some parents go overboard and this may lead to the child becoming timid and less confident in whatever he does.

[Gin]

Hi, just to update those who are interested.


After going for the Davis Dyslexia Correction Program, I have seen some improvement in my DD2's attitude towards learning. She is able to focus on her work and seems to be more confident in what she does. Time taken to do her homework is much shorter. I think she now sees that there is a new way for her to learn and it is indeed a breakthrough. What she could not do for herself a couple of weeks back, like buttoning her clothes, she now does it easily. By the way, she is dyspraxic, of course, with a little dyslexia. Somehow, the training to get the 'Alignment' corrected has done wonders. Of course, we still have lots of follow-up work to do but as long as she knows it is helping her, she gladly gets the work done. DD2 also enjoys the 'work' - clay modeling, Koosh Ball exercises, etc with Mom and Dad.
Although my DD2 never had problem with Spelling, the Davis Method has even helped her cut down the time she needs to master Spelling!

All I can say is that, the Davis Method seems to work for DD2. I have recommended some of my friends to go for the Assessment which costs only $100. It is up to them to try out the Program, if they are keen, that costs $2,500 for 5 full-days. However, if your child cannot complete the course, follow-up can be done even after the 5 days. As for my daughter's case, she did not complete the fourth part of the Program (she was still fearful and clingy at that stage). We shall have a follow-up session in 6 weeks time. I understand that the Davis Program's Policy is 'as long as it takes'.

By the way, my DD2 knows that she is Dyspraxic/Dyslexic. she even tells her friends about it. She is however happier knowing that she learns things in a different manner from the conventional way. she does not see it as a a 'Learning Disability' but a 'Learning Difference'. She knows that mainstream schools tend to go the 'One size fits all' way. Anyway, she is aware that she should not be 'labelled'. Just Different Strokes For Different Folks.

I recommend parents who have kids with Learning Differences read up on as many books as possible. I highly recommended book is 'In Their Own Way'. 'The Gift of Dyslexia' is of course a must read for those who interested in Davis Dyslexia Correction Program, to at least get to know what it is about.

Now that DD2 has been back in school for about 2 weeks, I see a more confident child. She does not have a phobia of writing Compositions anymore. She was (just 2 days ago) able to stand up to her friend who tried to take her pencil case. She never used the school toilet before, but now she does. She pays more attention when we speak with her. She has become more responsible and accountable. Reading is no longer a chore. In fact, she now eagerly looks out for new books to read when we go to the bookstore! Of course, she still loves to play with other kids. But on the whole, My husband and I are happy with the progress made!