Understanding Dyslexia

Dyslexia Support

Understanding Dyslexia

According to Ronald D. Davis, the creator of the Davis™ Mastery for Dyslexia Program, “dyslexia is not a complexity. It is a compound of simple factors that can be dealt with step-by-step”. Ron sees dyslexia as a gift. He says that dyslexics are intelligent, imaginative and creative. They are predominately picture thinkers and have the ability to view things three-dimensionally when they try to problem solve. However, they may not make the automatic sound symbol connection. A phonetic approach to reading or spelling does not suit the dyslexic thinking style.

However, the gift works well with real objects and becomes an obstruction when dyslexics encounter symbols such as letters, punctuation marks, common sight words ('to', 'if', 'by', 'for', 'of', 'the') and numerals, because they have no visual images. And these symbols form 75% of the text on a page. Whenever a dyslexic encounters these symbols, they get confused (because they produce blank pictures) and when they reached the threshold for confusion, they get disoriented and their perceptions become distorted. Then symptoms of dyslexia begin to appear – some letters may reverse (b and d, p and q), some letters or words may start moving, some words may disappear, or the letters and words may be reassembled into a different sequence.

This led Ron to conclude that the symptoms of dyslexia are actually symptoms of disorientation. To get rid of the symptoms, you get rid of the disorientation. Ron then developed a process to guide a dyslexic to establish orientation, or a stable point of reference, so that a dyslexic’s perceptions (not just sight and sound, but also balance/movement and sense of time) are accurate and they can see a text two-dimensionally. This became what is now known in his program as Orientation Counselling.

Once disorientation is tackled, there is a need to resolve the cause of disorientation. Ron discovered that certain symbols are causing the disorientation and this varies from one dyslexic to another. Working with an Educational Psychologist, they came up with an exercise called Symbol Mastery where a dyslexic is taught how to master learning by tapping on their strength. Once a symbol is mastered, it no longer triggered disorientation and the cause is eliminated!

It is highly recommended to read both of Ron's books, The Gift of Dyslexia and The Gift of Learning to understand more about dyslexia and other co-existing issues to get a glimpse of your child's world. The books are available on Amazon and Open Trolley.

Dyslexia Support Services Singapore

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