As easy as ABC

Why could that be? How did it feel? A dyslexic person might be confronted by this confusion each time they open a book, look at a newspaper headline or try to decipher a menu and, some of those can be pretty confusing for most of us! Confusion is the result of the dyslexic thinking style - but by understanding that style and making it work for you, can mean the dyslexia is no longer a problem.

So why and for whom is the alphabet ‘easy'? Do you know, with confidence, (without ‘thinking' or working it out) which letter comes before or after another? Do you easily find words in the dictionary? Do you even use a dictionary? What happens if you come across a word you aren't familiar with? Do you read on - ignoring it leaving a ‘blank' in your understanding? How about that double-take to try and make sense of it? This is what dyslexia can be like with the bulk of a text rather than the odd word which might challenge you.

If you happen to be one of the 10 - 15% of the population that are dyslexic then you may have found your talent and put it to good use but for many life with dyslexia can be frustrating and very disheartening. By approaching dyslexia differently, fear of failure and low self-esteem are replaced by an increase in confidence and a better quality of life.

There are many programmes and courses to help those gain confidence and understanding, one of which is a system called The Davis® Dyslexia Correction Programme. Developed by Ronald Davis to overcome his own learning difficulties; he sees dyslexia as the ability to think multi-dimensionally, to shift or alter mental and physical perceptions. This explains why so many dyslexics are creative, offer unusual solutions to problems, are very intuitive or have vivid imaginations. This creates their own need for a specific approach to learning; they often develop complex coping strategies to ‘hide' their dyslexia. Labelling dyslexia a ‘lifelong learning disability' is deeply damaging to a person's self-esteem and sets dyslexics up for failure that could so easily be avoided.

A Davis® Programme is a holistic approach which helps the individual to discover their innate gift, and to apply it to their learning difficulty. Clients are shown how to clear up confusions regarding letters, numbers, words and language symbols and are aided in the process by the use of clay.

Programmes can also specifically target ADHD, dyspraxia, maths and handwriting issues.
www.davis-facilitators.co.uk

Symptoms of dyslexia in young children

• a delay or difficulty in developing clear speech
• mixing up certain words and phrases - for example, saying ‘by mall' instead of ‘my ball'
• being unusually clumsy and uncoordinated
• a difficulty in being able to appreciate rhymes e.g. they cannot understand the connection between the words ‘hat' and ‘cat'
• having persistent problems with dressing or tying their shoe laces.

Common symptoms of dyslexia in children aged between 5-7 years of age include:

• difficulty in learning the alphabet,
• inability to read, except for a few simple words,
• having problems writing properly,
• difficulty telling left from right,
• problems remembering simple sequences, such as the days of the week
• low attention span and problems concentrating.

Common symptoms of dyslexia in children aged between 7-12 years of age include:

• poor progress at school compared to their classmates
• become frustrated at school, which can either lead to behavioural problems, or to them becoming quiet and withdrawn
• inability to learn multiplication tables.
• problems following instructions, or remembering more than one thing at a time.

Common symptoms of dyslexia in teenagers

• difficulty in organising work.
• problems copying, or writing down, instructions,
• difficulty revising for, and coping with, exams,
• taking much longer than average to do school work due to reading difficulties.
• persistent problems with spelling and writing, and
• severe difficulties in learning a foreign language.

Dyslexia in adults

• trying to avoid reading and writing whenever possible
• trying to conceal any difficulties that you have with reading and writing from other people
• poor spelling
• poor time management and organisational skills, and relying on memory and verbal skills rather than reading or writing.