Ron Davis, in his book The Gift of Learning said, and I quote "that all the symptoms of dyslexia were actually all the symptoms of disorientation. When a dyslexic individual is sufficiently confused, he will disorient spontaneously without noticing it.

But this is not the case with ADD, math and dysgraphic handwriting problems. For them, the effects of disorientation occur during early childhood development, long before a child is old enough to go to school.

During childhood development, both the person's natural state of orientation and the mental function of disorientation, working together, distort some children's perception of their environment to the degree that they develop an alternate reality or concept of essential life lessons, such as change, consequence, cause and effect, time and so on.

The establishment of these alternative realities can lead to the development of ADD, and to some extent, problems with math and handwriting."

Here is a mother's experience in dealing with her son's ADHD.

​In the world of learning disabilities, such as dyslexia, disorientation causes perceptual distortion which explains many of the symptoms of dyslexia.

When I was first shown this comic strip, I could see how it aptly illustrated what disorientation is like for someone with learning disabilities; experiencing an alternate reality.

You and I have also experienced disorientation. A classic example is when you are sitting in a stationary vehicle and another vehicle next to you moves, creating the false perception that you are moving.

The difference is that our disorientation does not so much as affect our day-to-day functioning. But to a dyslexic, they encounter disorientation so frequently that it impacts their learning.

What is Oppositional Defiant Disorder or ODD? I have come across a number of children who are not only ODD, but also ADHD and dyslexic. Quite a handful to handle is an understatement. Parents are often overwhelmed by what they have to deal with and can upset the family dynamics significantly. There are some useful approaches recommended in this article. Hope you find it helpful.