Professional Documents
Culture Documents
11
The
Pu t ion, . Se ting s onfu A.D.D pi lf in C ct on, s of ti ure the ta ptom rien Sym Diso the and Finding Order in an A.D.D. World
How Davis Orientation Counseling & Symbol Mastery can help children and adults take control of their lives
Dyslex ic Read er
Fall 1997
Plus:
Davis Research Foundation Funds Public School Programs First Graders Succeed with Symbol Mastery Book Report: Beating Dyslexia: A Natural Way
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Issue No. 11
am in New Zealand, and am completing my Masters of Sciences degree in Physics at Waikato University. My local library has the book The Gift of Dyslexia, and I have just finished reading it. I am working though the exercises with a tutor who helps me with my writing. I have found that this book has totally changed my view on my disability. I am severely to extremely dyslexic, with the major effect of lack of writing skills and difficulty spelling. I am encouraged and have set a goal to completely overcome any problems with my writing. Within the next five years, I hope to be able to help other dyslexics overcome their problems. David Whyte, New Zealand
In our Mail
ur web site continues to draw comments from all over the world. Many write us in frustration because of lack of local resources. However, many others are experiencing success, sometimes just from knowing that there are others who understand and care about their frustrations. -Abigail Marshall, Editor am a 44-year-old Swedish woman. Thank you for your very positive site about dyslexia it gives hope. I found your website today. I have recenly found out that I have dyslexia. I have been through tests twice the last two months. I am sure I will return to your site several times. I need all information and support I can get. Hi from Maria in Sweden Wesley AlexanderWesley Alexander t was a pleasure to read through all your texts about dyslexia. I am a speech pathologist, and your approach is completely new for me. Best regards, Ines Gali-Juli,prof, Croatia i folks, I am a junior high school English teacher over here in Japan, where dyslexia is seemingly all but unknown. I once stumbled across an article which contended that Japanese readers have less trouble with dyslexia because of the nature of their alphabet. The characters are apparently less easily confused, than the Western alphabet. I don't know if that is true or not. I feel I've got at a couple of kids with some kind of learning disabilities. I myself have no training in this field, just some vague awareness. (which seems to be more than any of my Japanese counterparts, at least at the moment). I would appreciate any help or tips, or anything you could pass along my way. Thank you. Paul Evans, Japan
I I
y brother Anibal is now 26 years old and he is dyslexic. When I read your book, I couldnt help crying, for everything that he had suffered all his life, was written there. None of your revolutionary ideas are known by our experts here, but a friend and I, have studied the topic for some time, and were very interested in communicating and exchanging our ideas and doubts with you. Adriana Acosta, Uruguay
Published quarterly by Davis Dyslexia Association International (DDAI). Our goal is to increase worldwide awareness about positive aspects of dyslexia and related learning styles; and to present methods for improving literacy. We believe all people have abilities and talents that should be cherished and valued, and that learning problems can be remedied. Letters to the editor, address changes, and article submissions should be sent to 1601 Old Bayshore Hwy. #245, Burlingame, CA 94010 or via e-mail to editor@dyslexia.com. For reprints or permission to republish an article, call (650) 692-7141 or fax (650) 692-7075.
Views expressed in letters and articles herein are not necessarily those of DDAI.
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Disorientation, Confusion, and the Symptoms Adapted and Excerpted from the Advanced Davis of A.D.D.
Procedures Workshop Manual
he same procedures used in Davis they can sense the passge of five minutes. But the Dyslexia Correction can also help the disorienting child doesnt experience the passage of A.D.D. child (or adult) achieve selftime uniformly, and so does not develop an control and overcome problems with inherent sense of the passage of time at all, even as focusing attention and staying on task. a teenager or adult. To do this, Orientation Counseling is With an inherent sense of time, we will also supplemented with a technique called Dialdevelop an inherent sense of sequence. That is, Setting. Davis Symbol Mastery is then used not we understand the way things follow each other merely as an aid to reading comprehension, but as one after another. a means for students to master basic concepts If we have time and sequence, we will also needed to achieve self-awareness and self-control. develop an inherent sense of order as opposed to Disorientation and distorted perceptions do disorder. But without the sense of time, we can much more than merely create symptoms of never progress to understanding sequence or order. dyslexia. The dyslexic or A.D.D. child uses disorientation for entertainment; Why Disorientation Leads to he may be disoriented for hours Socially Unacceptable on end creating the imaginary Behavior world he plays in. A child who is disoriented What we accept as reality is experiences the following what we experience. The way problems: we realize an experience is that distortions in visual and we perceive it. Reality, then, is auditory perceptions what we perceive it to be. When a shift in time sense, and disorientation occurs, perception a reversal of balance and becomes distorted. A person movement senses. who is disoriented experiences Time is the measurement of As we look at each experience a reality that is not being change in relation to a standard. in turn, we see how disorientation experienced by othersa false, leads to behaviors associated with or alternate, reality. The longer, A.D.D., inattention, impulsivity and hyperactivity. in duration, disorientation, the more alternate reality that is experienced.
A child who is experiencing distortions in sound either does not hear what people say to him, or hears hears their words inaccurately. So of course he responds inappropriately. He thinks he is doing what was asked, but others see him as exhibiting opposition, or acting without thinking. Since his vision is also distorted, the child does not see the task at hand correctly or consistently, so he makes mistakes. Often, the child can stop the perceptual distortions and regain a sense of control by shifting his attention to something else. He got disoriented, could no longer see or hear the task, shifted his attention to something else in order to reorient, and never got back to finishing the task.
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When a persons perception of time shifts or changes, his physical strength and stamina change. The child whose internal clock chronically moves faster lives two or three minutes while others are living only one. Not only does he have more time; he has greater strength and stamina. The world goes too slow for him and he goes too fast for everyone else.
and wait your turn. Perplexed and angry at being chastised, he just pushes his way to the top of the steps to reach his goal. His behavior is socially unacceptable because without the concepts of time, sequence, and order, he cannot even be aware that the other children are waiting to go. With no sense of time, there can be no such thing as waiting.
Impulsivity
Impulsivity is described as acting before thinking. A child who thinks using nonverbal conceptualization skillspicture thinkingis thinking many times faster than the child using verbal conceptualization. When the child seems to act on impulse, its not that he didnt think things through. Rather, his mind raced so fast that it looked like he didnt have time to think.
Through clay, the student models the concepts that are the key to regulating his actions.
Unfortunately, because of the childs habitually distorted perceptions, he does not grasp notions of consequence or orderliness. So his thoughts do not include awareness of socially acceptable constraints, such as waiting ones turn in line.
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n a conversation with a counseling trainee I was being told about how she was working with a problem ADD student. After she had the student do Symbol Mastery on the concept of consequence, the student could recite the definition back to her verbatim, but there was no change in his offensive behavior. So she had him redo the concept by having him model each of his offensive behaviors. This time she had him include both a model of himself and the offended party as well as the activity that caused the offense. In doing this he made the connection between what he was doing and the offense the other person took. That connection allowed him to realize he was causing the problem himself, and like magic, the offensive behavior stopped. After hearing this I reflected back to the time when I was a child. I grew up in a severely hostile environment. My father beat me almost every day. Around the same time I was learning the alphabet, I began to make models of my father from red dirt and water. I made these models just so I could smash them and grind them back to dirt. I made models of the beatings, too, so I could smash them and grind them back to dirt. I made models of what would happen after the beatings, and I would smash them. Eventually, I made models of what would happen before the beatings.
by Ronald D. Davis
At that point, a curious thing happened. The beatings stopped! Without realizing what I was doing, I had stumbled onto the concept of consequence. Before, things had just happenedwithout warning, reason or cause. I had no idea of cause and effect until I created the concept for myself. Without trying or intending to, I simply stopped doing what I had been doing that brought about the beatings. I now realize that in every one of my models there was a figure of me. I had included the idea of self in every one of the basic concepts. There is an important lesson here for all of us to learn. Whenever a basic concept is being mastered, the clay model must include the concept of self in relation to that basic concept. This is what makes the difference between something that is learned and a concept that is now a part of the identity of the person. If the model doesnt include self the person may or may not make that connection. There is the possibility that the person hasnt truly mastered the concept. This doesnt mean that all Symbol Mastery models must include self. What I am saying is that the basic concepts like consequence, responsibility, time, etc. must include self to be certain that the concept is truly mastered.
Copyright 1997 by Ronald D. Davis. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Dyslexic Design
he famous Danish architect Jrn Utzon, whose designed the Sydney Opera House, is dyslexic. In the magazine Living Architecture no 14, 1996, he is quoted: I didnt become an engineer because I am both dyslexic and lack mathematical insight. One must have a mathematicians clear brain, which I admire, if one is to be a good engineer. Remember, geometry is something else. In compensation for these great deficiencies, my subnormalities, I have a strange, innate sense for space. I dream a house and then I have it in my head. This was something I could use as an architect. Posted by Bo Jrgensen of Sweden on Dyslexia, the Gift web site user forum. http://www.dyslexia.com
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n 1989, I discovered that I was an adult with A.D.D. This conclusion was not a diagnosis given by an M.D. or even a Ph.D. but by a M.O.M. trying to uncover why my 3-year-old was more active, inquisitive, and adventuresome than any other child in our neighborhood. While reading a book on A.D.D., I came to the realisation that what I was reading was more about me than my child!! As an adult, I am still very impulsive, impatient, fluctuating between hyperactivity and hypoactivity, rarely finish projects, and have absolutely no organisational skills whatsoever!!! To compensate, (unbeknownst to myself 17 years ago) I married an obsessively detailed, compulsively organised, perfectionist engineer. We complement each other perfectly! I start tasks and he finishes them. I put things in the place where I want them to be and he straightens and neatens them. I have learned organisational skills and he has learned how to let loose and have fun! In my never-ending quest for the solution to my childs learning If I could disabilities, I stumbled across The my mind, Gift of Dyslexia. Because, you see, my 3-year-old A.D.D. was now a 9year-old dyslexic. The book thrilled me and scared me. It was everything I had ever seen in my child but no professional could address or explain. I was scared, though, because I too could move my minds eye about and visualise a slice of homemade cake with fresh coconut layered over the white icing. In fact, I found myself drooling (as I am now) as I imagined myself standing in my Grannys
kitchen savouring each and every bite. My olfactory nerves were tingling as I became aware of the aroma of the freshly baked cake and of my granddaddy breaking open the coconut and pouring the chalky coconut milk into a glass and shaving the dark brown skin from the white nut for my granny to grate h! No! Does that meanno, I cant be dyslexic!! No, no, not me! I was reading before I even started school! I have a degree in Math, for heavens sake! I was the spelling-bee champion of my class. Not me!! So I grabbed the nearest left-brained, analretentive, obsessive-compulsive organizer I could find my engineer husbandand tried this out on him. While he was washing the cars, vacuuming the inside, and polishing the hubcaps, I read to him the section about visualising the cake. He, too, could see the cake from all angles. Whew!! I know that hes not dyslexic so then, I must not be either!! I was still coming to grips with the fact that I was an adult with A.D.D.; I rotate the cake in wasnt about to accept be was I dyslexic too? that I might well. dyslexic, as On the other hand, there was no doubt about my son. We took Joshua to the Reading Research Council in April 1996. After a wonderful week, we returned home with video tapes and a Symbol Mastery Kit. I was ready to spread the word. I was also ready for the changes I saw in Josh, some gradual and some momentous. What I was not ready for were the changes in myself. I stopped anyone who would listen and told them about this wonderful program and even began to spend time working with a few dyslexics. I didnt recognise how this could help me, though. Then I began to train to become a Davis Facilitator. In March of this year, while working as the giver of a Davis Dyslexia Program during my
Monti Bullock lives in South Australia with her husband and son. In addition to training to become a Davis Facilitator, Monti is now enrolled at the University of Adelaide, where she is pursuing a Masters Degree in Cognitive Science.
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Passing the Davis Perceptual Ability Assessment does not mean that you are dyslexic. Many people are potentially dyslexic, but do not develop learning problems. Others have problems so mild or infrequent that they are not aware of them, or do not consider them to be significant enough to seek help. Davis Facilitators use the Perceptual Ability Assessment to find out whether a person who has experienced perceptual or learning difficulties is a candidate for Orientation Counseling. Anyone who has this mental talent can learn and benefit from Davis methods.
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his 70 page booklet provides simple and easy-to-understand descriptions of basic neuro-linguistic and educational kinesiology approaches for improving learning states. Its focus is on the importance of relaxation, examining and revising self-defeating beliefs, and developing visual memory. The authors, however, do not address several key factors for many dyslexics: difficulty reading or reading with comprehension; inability to focus attention, poor handwriting, and the need for meaning or definition of words. In my opinion, based on fifteen years of meeting and working with thousands of dyslexics, dyslexia is much more than frustration, low self-esteem, poor spelling, and a portion of the visual area of [the] brain which is not being activated effectively in relation to words. Beating Dyslexia provides some very positive suggestions, examples of real cases, and specific exercises for opening new neural pathways, relieving stress, and improving spelling ability. Some of the exercises could be especially helpful for people who have trouble seeing their imagination or feel they have no visual memory. I recommend this book for people wishng to: hear a positive message about dyslexia improve visual memory for themselves or others understand more about how observation and use of eye movements during thinking can enhance learning and improve memory prepare for and get through spelling tests with good grades. However, the promise of the book to beat dyslexia in a natural way falls short of the mark. Reviewed by Alice Davis Davis Dyslexia Specialist and Trainer Internet Users can find out more about this book at the authors web site at http://www.saqnet.co.uk/users/life/
ince January 1996, the Davis Research Foundation (DRF) has quietly provided almost $35,000 of grant money to California public schools. Established as a nonprofit 501(c)(3) corporation in 1988, DRF has raised funds for school programs, largely through its private vehicle donation program. The grants provided by DRF have been used for parent education, teacher training, consultations, and purchase of educational materials to pilot, test and implement dyslexia prevention and correction programs. Grant recipients, in turn, provide reports of their data and experience, supporting the development of future school programs to effectively assist students of all ages and grade levels who have reading difficulties. More than $13,000 has been provided to the Grimmer Elementary School, in Fremont, California, to pilot a dyslexia remediation program in selected Grade 3-5 classes. Now entering its second year, this program is staffed by a core group of four teachers working with the strong support of their principal. Brisbane Unified School District (near San Francisco) has also received more than $13,000 in grants which has been used to train special education teachers. Grants ranging from $400 to $2,500 have gone to six other elementary schools. All DRF grants go to public school programs. At present, DRF will consider new grant applications from California school teachers, schools, and school districts that are willing to pilot study and/ or implement Davis Dyslexia Correction and provide statistical research data for 1998-99. DRF does not fund scholarships or individual grants. Donations to DRF can be tax-deductible. DRF accepts donations of appraised artwork and collectibles, as well as cash. Vehicles may be donated within California. For information about how to help expand the reach of school programs by donating to DRF, call:
1-888-504-READ [1-888-504-7323]
http://www.help-kids-read.org
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ince 1993, DDAI Curriculum Director Sharon Pfeiffer has spearheaded and supervised a pilot K-3 Symbol Mastery program, conducted at Mission San Jose Elementary School in Fremont, California. This program is aimed at preventing school problems by providing age-appropriate Davis Symbol Mastery methods to all children in selected classrooms. Kindergartners have made their alphabet and numerals in clay. First graders have worked on a selected word list, and on learning punctuation symbols. A formal report of the findings of this study will be available at the end of the 1998 school year. Preliminary data is very promising, showing that children in the pilot program classrooms mastered the skills they were being taught. For example, first graders in the program were tested on word recognition skills in September, at the beginning of the year, and again in June, after completing their words in clay during the year. In 1995-1996, students were tested on a list of 35 words. At the beginning of the school year, the class average for the 28 students on the pre-test was 58.4%. Individual scores ranged from 0 to 100%. At the end of the 95-96 year, the class average word recognition score was 98.5%, with most of the children (21 out of 28) scoring 100%. The next year, 1996-1997, due to the California class size reduction initiative, there were only 19 first graders. These children averaged 28.8% recognition of a list of 46 words at the beginning of the year. At the end of the year, they were
tested on recognition of an expanded list of 56 words. All but one child scored 100%, resulting in a class average of 98.9%! These test results show that Davis Symbol Mastery has been a positive addition to these classrooms. Of course, the children also received other classroom instruction, and had teachers committed to helping them learn. The forthcoming report will address the need for comparison studies and data, so as to better assess the degree to which Davis methods have prevented problems typically associated with dyslexia. However, year-end tests in these two classrooms showed that even the lowest scoring students were able to recognize 80% or more of their words. In short, no students fell through the cracks in the Symbol Mastery classrooms. The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development has reported that one in five elementary school children suffer from reading disabilities. Thus, the success of these first graders clearly exceeds statistical expectations.
fACTS: fACTS:
A At least 10 million children in the United States are poor readers. A Reading problems occur with equal frequency in boys and girls, but boys are identified by schools four times as often. On June 22, 1997, Ron A Three-fourths of Davis was inducted into the children who are poor African-American Multi-Cultural readers in the third grade Hall of Fame, along with fourteen other prominent educators, in a remain poor readers in ceremony in Sacramento, the ninth grade. California. Ron is shown here Source: National Institute of Child with Youth-on-the-Move founder Health and Human Development Dr. Patricia Adelekan.
(NICHD)
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SM
California
Ronald Dell Davis, Trainer Alice Davis, Trainer Dr. Fatima Ali, Ph.D., Specialist Brian Grimes, Specialist Sharon Pfeiffer, Specialist Reading Research Council Dyslexia Correction Center 1601 Old Bayshore Hwy, Ste. 260 Burlingame, CA 94010 Telephone: 1-800-729-8990/ (650)692-8990 Fax: (650) 692-8997 E-mail: RRCDCC@aol.com Richard A. Harmel, Specialist Languages: English & French Solutions for Dyslexia Solutions Pour La Dyslexie
Mira S. Halpert, Facilitator Pathways to Success 3121 N.W. 108th Drive Coral Springs, FL 33065 Telephone/Fax: (954) 341-2578 E-mail: halpert@gate.net Charlotte Foster, Specialist Multivariant Learning Systems P.O. Box 224 Basking Ridge, NJ 07920 Telephone: (908) 766-5399 Fax: (908) 766-6010 E-mail: mlscal@aol.com
Florida
New Jersey
Patricia Zambrano, Facilitator La Puerta de las Letras S.C. Languages: English & Spanish Rio Missouri #118 ote Col. del Valle Garza Garcia, Monterrey Nuevo Len 66220, Mexico Telephone: +52 (8) 378 09 87 E-Mail: ozambran@giga.com
6MEXICO6
4720 Lincoln Blvd., Suite 250 Marina Del Rey, CA 90292 Telephone/Fax: (310) 823-8900 E-mail: RAHarmel@aol.com
Kimberley A. Bennett, Facilitator Lake County Learning Center 12966 Lakeshore Drive Clearlake, CA 95422 Telephone: (707) 995-2117 Vickie J. Bockenkamp, Facilitator Power Tools for Learning P.O. Box 398 Alameda, CA 94501 Telephone/Fax: (510) 330-6470 E-mail: habo@ix.netcom.com Dwight E. Underhill, Facilitator P.O. Box 1424 El Cerrito, CA Telephone: (510)561-1256
Fax: (510)559-7869
E-mail: dwight@dnai.com
DDAI-Certified Providers Can be Reached via the Internet through the DDAI World Wide Web site at http://www.dyslexia.com
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EUROPE
6GERMANY6
Ioannis Tzivanakis, Specialist Sonja Heinrich, Facilitator
Languages: English, German & Greek Davis Legasthenie Institut Coventstr. 14 22089 Hamburg, Germany Telephone: 040/ 25 17 86 22 Fax: 040/ 25 17 86 24 E-mail: DDAD1996@aol.com Dr. Albrecht Giese, Specialist Languages: English & German bei Dong, Birnauerstr. 11 D-80809 Mnchen, Germany Telephone/Fax: +49 (089) 308 61 48
6HOLLAND6
Robin Temple, Specialist Drs. Siegerdina Mandema, Specialist Languages: English & Dutch ZieZei Counselling Institute for Dyslexia Kerkweg 38a NL-6105 CG Maria Hoop, Holland Telephone: +31 475 302 203 Fax: +31 (0475) 301 381 Email: DDANED@compuserve.com
For more information or to enroll in training programs, contact the DDA branch in the country where the workshop is scheduled.
Switzerland, Continued: Veronika Beeler, Facilitator Lern- und Wahrenehmungsfrderung Davis Dyslexie Institut Waisenhausstrausse 15 9000 St. Gallen, Switzerland Telephone: +41 (071) 222 07 79 Fax: +41 (071) 277 64 88
DDA-CH Basel, Switzerland Phone +41 (061) 272-24 00 Fax +41 (061) 272-4241 switzerland@dyslexia.com DDA-DEUTSCHLAND Hamburg, Germany Tel +49 (040) 25-17-86-22 Fax +49 (040) 25-17-86-24 germany@dyslexia.com DDA-MEXICO Monterrey, Mexico Tel/Fax: +52 (08) 378 0987 mexico@dyslexia.com DDA-NEDERLAND Maria Hoop, Holland Tel +31 (0475) 302-203 Fax +31 (0475) 301-381 holland@dyslexia.com DDA-UK Winchester, England Tel +44 (01962) 881-987 Fax +44 (01962) 886-997 england@dyslexia.com
6UNITED KINGDOM6
Hilary Farmer, Facilitator 2a Bridge View Centre Bridge Street, Abingdon Oxon OX14 3HN, England Telephone/Fax: +44 (01235) 536 111 E-mail: farmer@ndirect.co.uk Lin Seward, Facilitator P.O. Box 40 Winchester SO22 6ZH, UK Telephone: +44 (01962) 881 987 Fax: +44 (01962) 886 997 E-mail: DDA_UK@compuserve.com
6SWITZERLAND6
Bonny Beuret, Specialist Languages: English, French & German Syntonics Educationals Freie Strasse 81 4001 Basel, Switzerland Telephone: +41 (061) 272 24 00 Fax: +41 (061) 272 42 41 E-mail: syntonics@compuserve.com
1601 Old Bayshore Highway, Suite 245 Burlingame, CA 94010 FORWARD & ADDRESS CORRECTION
membership & Symbol Mastery Kit. $150 discount for prepaid 60-day advance enrollment; Group Discounts Available.
Continuous Enrollment.
$400 / Basic Practicum $200/ Advanced Practicum
Students work in small groups under the guidance of a Davis Specialist to practice and critique basic dyslexia correction procedures, including Orientation Counseling and Symbol Mastery.
March 10-13 June 9-12 August 24-27 Hours: 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Prerequisite: Basic Practicum Fees: $800
A 2-day, hands-on workshop taught by Ron Davis, which explores specific techniques and approaches developed for students with problems with math, handwriting, and attention deficits.
March 14-15 June 13-14 August 28-29 Hours: 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Prerequisite: Basic Practicum Fees: $475
For Information or to Enroll, Call 1-888-999-3324 (Toll Free) or Call 650-692-7141 or Fax 650-692-7075
Enrollment Limited Classes fill Early 20% Deposit Required