Author:
 damefrank ()
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Date Posted: 12:17:07 08/26/09 Wed
Dyslexia. My daughter was diagnosed at 8 yrs old (1992) when Texas was broadly using hooked on phonics in the classrooms (didn't realize this is like a death sentence for dyslexics). This is now 2009 and I know sooooo much I wish I had known for my daughter then, whose self-esteem/confidence took a bashing and I didn't know how to deal with it at the time.
Some teachers were unusually harsh on her insisting she was lazy, perhaps mildly retarded because her reading/spelling performance was inconsistent. They had no idea the hours she and I spent reading and spelling every single night. That she would go to school and flunk a spelling test after she and I had covered this all week threw me for a loop also. Turns out, a very relaxed teacher discovered that Gabrielle could spell perfectly in oral exams but flunked miserably in writing the words with some spelling lists.
Now I know why. Dyslexics being taught reading phonetically is a death sentence. This will not work for any of them ever. But they will spell phonetically every single time. There are 51 "trigger" words and many text characters which send a child into a 'disorientation'. Once they slip into this disorientation, it requires skills (which must be shown to them) to come back and focus in a 2-D linear fashion on text.
Dyslexics are 3-D spatial thinkers. 75% of people have some facet of dyslexia in that they will not fully grasp some 2-D linear symbols in some capacity or another. Fact: dyslexics and autistics will look at a word as a symbol or picture. If there is no emotional/psychological attachment to that symbol, their brains will calculate over 200 pictures of that symbol within one second. Those pictures that flash before them will see that symbol inside and out, backwards, mirrored, rearranged, and see it in different environments. Their brains have no way to "connect" with that word, it is meaningless, therefore they are unable to make it be still and see it as a 2-D linear thinker would. As I mentioned, there are 51 trigger words, ex: "the, and, it, what, etc." Because they cannot place a picture with the word, such as 'elephant', they cannot master the word.
This is a juicy new fact for me. I did not know any of these supportive facts about dyslexia when I had an experience one night when my daughter was 13 years old.
My daughter cried crocodile tears that night as she sat doing her homework in her first month of high school. We both knew it was going to consist of a miserable few hours (while all her peers were getting their homework done throughout the years in 25% of the time it took her). I hear her ask me, as she's writing her paper, "Mom, how do you spell physical?" I retorted with the usual, "Look it up in the dictionary." And I patiently waited for what was going to come next as it always did. "Mom, what's it start with? I can't find it." I answered her, "P". A few minutes go by and I patiently wait for the next question that I know is coming, "P...then what letter?"
Suddenly she started absolutely bawling...and after a few moments I did too. We cried for what seemed 30 minutes not saying a word. And in that instant, we both knew something absolute. She wasn't going to survive high school. It had been such a long, hard road for her and I felt as if were the punishing angel by driving her like a mother hen. She was tired. School had never been her joy (although it was mine) and I knew she must pick another way to make it in the world because even special education had not found the trick to help my daughter.
At this juncture, she belted out a question which left me stunned. "Mom, why don't you write me a dictionary which spells the words the way I hear them?" As I'm wiping the tears from my face, I blubber out, "Okay, I will." And I started on it that night. I began writing a phonetic dictionary for her. I did not finish it in time to help her stay in school though, she did drop out the next year. But the darn thing ended up taking me 12 years. For I know that dyslexia doesn't go away, there is no cure and my daughter could always use it.
Now she's 25 and I've published the book. And as a result, I have become magnetized by dyslexic organizations all over the world who are attracted to the book (it now exists in 4 countries). That it has been fully endorsed by dyslexia.com thrills me because this is FINALLY an organization built by dyslexics for dyslexics. I love their program, have seen them work. It has helped my adult friends and my daughter.
Why I think this thing works is because it identifies then empowers the dyslexic to realize WHEN they are feeling disoriented and then provides them a set of skills they can use to turn this 'disorientation' on and off. I've seen kids whose eyes sparkled when they discovered this sensation and how they could control it in their first session. Very cool!
It has been a great challenge to get to teachers in the U.S. with this dictionary due to public administration linear 2-D thinkers who will never in their lifetime understand those thinkers at the other end of the spectrum who see 3-D (and could some help finding their words). For some of them to try to understand is a waste of time. But to step out of the way and allow other dyslexics to help those of their kind is the most humane approach. I am trying to make this dictionary available to teachers who have dyslexic students. I have hundreds of testimonials from youth and adults who dramatically state that this book has changed their lives.
Well, I didn't spend 12 years of my life creating something that I didn't think would significantly help others. The self-esteem and confidence levels rise when the playing field is leveled between those who are challenged with reading/writing and those it comes easy to. So my suggested remedy to teachers and parents of dyslexic children/adults is to read the book my daughter and friends read and love, "The Gift of Dyslexia" by Ron Davis. And, a little general information book which explains dyslexia to those of us who don't have the gift, is..."When Your Child has Dyslexia" by Abigail Marshall (who is a talented author and mother of a dyslexic).
I would stay away from International Dyslexia...not designed by the people who need help. Plus I've not seen their program 'stick'. There are facilitators out there who use music and physical techniques which help children. Because there are so many facets of dyslexia, they can't all be treated with a broad sweep of the hand and schools are way too understaffed to deal with all the facets of learning disabilities. So, to hear testimonials from other dyslexics who have grown into adults and who learned to correct their dyslexia and then become facilitators in the very program that changed their lives....that... I can sink my teeth into!
Why do I mention my book in line with dyslexia.com? My challenge to get past the principals to show this to teachers is as much as dyslexia.com's near 30 year struggle with 'medical authorities' and public administration in public schools. If the 2-D's would get out of the way and allow those who know how to work with their own kind have some input with the children... There are 90 million American dyslexics (according to a national study). So when is public education going to acknowledge this? So much bureaucracy (try finding that word in the dictionary if you don't know how to spell it!), so little time. We work on this one day at a time and one teacher at a time.
diane@gabbyswordspeller.com
Last edited by author: Wed August 26, 2009 12:23:40
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