Dyslexia IS a gift, It is NOT a disability

[Betty Blue]

So this method is the best way to teach non-dyslexic children to read and the benefits last beyond the first few years of school?

I don't know if it is the best, Purely because i don't know all methods/styles of teaching. It's certainly much more effective than the current school methods from the information i have gathered. It is effective to pretty much all people who use it/are taught it, but there will always be exceptions. I know it helps 97% of all children/adults with dyslexia with amazing results. The point of the study that i picked up on, is that all children achieved higher results and none were later identified as dyslexic. Given that around 10-15% of people are dyslexic i'd say that if this method is taught across the board we would pretty much not have any diagnosis of dyslexia but we would have a higher rate of giftedness.

 

[Ivy]

It's a nice approach but i do not agree it's a disibility i think it's a gift to be celebrated!

Can't it be both? I think it's both. Schools where I am do "dual identification" for many autistic and dyslexic children who need IEPS to help them with both their gifts and the things they may need extra help or allowances for.

 

[Snuggletron]

are dyslexic children sometimes exempt from doing homework? That is a gift IMO

 

[Betty Blue]

The most important factor to be considered to determine whether an innate trait (or, for that matter, a developed one) is a advantageous or not is the context.

Yes thats true. whats the use of being a rocket scientist if you can't swim and your ship has just sunk? But it is slightly different and i am not sure i understand your point. In a classroom that is teaching phonetics a child with dyslexia will not be flourishing, the other children probably will. In an art class or sport class it may be different. But in life we pretty much get to chose what we pursue.

I agree on focussing on your talents what ever they be.

I'd focus your energy on instilling this value in your child rather than fighting against the big bad school system. It's bigger than you. Your energy will drain eventually.

I already do this, my son is good at chess, he goes to chess club. The same would apply to many of his strengths. I also help by doing the program with him for literacy and it is having wonderus results. We have achieved more in two months (15 mins a day plus the initial week), than his previous school achieved in FOUR years.



PS
My mom has some form of dyslexia. Especially with numbers.

That would possibly be dyscalculia?
p.s appologies for all the underlining, i'm just trying to distinguish between texts. I'm still learning about how to post correctly.

 

[Betty Blue]

I'd focus your energy on instilling this value in your child rather than fighting against the big bad school system. It's bigger than you. Your energy will drain eventually.

Forgot to reply to this part.

I like fighting the big bad schooling system, it's necessary in order to progress! We need more fighters to fight. I am already making a difference, the EP at my sons new school will be meeting with me to discuss the program and she has a keen interest. Those that bring about positive change should be encouraged
And anyway i actually don't believe it's "bad" But it is horribly inadequate

 

[cafe]

I don't know if it is the best, Purely because i don't know all methods/styles of teaching. It's certainly much more effective than the current school methods from the information i have gathered. It is effective to pretty much all people who use it/are taught it, but there will always be exceptions. I know it helps 97% of all children/adults with dyslexia with amazing results. The point of the study that i picked up on, is that all children achieved higher results and none were later identified as dyslexic. Given that around 10-15% of people are dyslexic i'd say that if this method is taught across the board we would pretty much not have any diagnosis of dyslexia but we would have a higher rate of giftedness.

I think it's great that someone has developed a tool that helps dyslexics read better, but I'm wondering what the long-term effects of teaching non-dyslexic children to read via a non-phonetic method would be. Phonics don't work very well for spelling, but they are pretty helpful for reading/decoding previously unknown words.

 

[Magic Poriferan]

Hmmm... I understand that people with dyslexia are not any less intelligent, and may also have exceptional capacities in other areas. I still can't see how that makes dyslexia a gift, or even not a learning disability.

 

[Betty Blue]

Hmmm... I understand that people with dyslexia are not any less intelligent, and may also have exceptional capacities in other areas. I still can't see how that makes dyslexia a gift, or even not a learning disability.

Can you explain why you think it is a learning disibility?

 

[Snuggletron]

Pre-school age children

It is difficult to obtain a certain diagnosis of dyslexia before a child begins school, but many dyslexic individuals have a history of difficulties that began well before kindergarten. Children who exhibit these symptoms have a higher risk of being diagnosed as dyslexic than other children. Some of these symptoms are:

* Learns new words slowly
* Has difficulty rhyming words, as in nursery rhymes
* Low letter knowledge

Early primary school-age children

* Difficulty learning the alphabet
* Difficulty with associating sounds with the letters that represent them (sound-symbol correspondence)
* Difficulty identifying or generating rhyming words, or counting syllables in words (phonological awareness)
* Difficulty segmenting words into individual sounds, or blending sounds to make words (phonemic awareness)
* Difficulty with word retrieval or naming problems
* Difficulty learning to decode words
* Difficulty distinguishing between similar sounds in words; mixing up sounds in multisyllable words (auditory discrimination) (for example, "aminal" for animal, "bisghetti" for spaghetti)

Older primary school children

* Slow or inaccurate reading
* Very poor spelling
* Difficulty associating individual words with their correct meanings
* Difficulty with time keeping and concept of time
* Difficulty with organization skills
* Due to fear of speaking incorrectly, some children become withdrawn and shy or become bullies out of their inability to understand the social cues in their environment
* Difficulty comprehending rapid instructions, following more than one command at a time or remembering the sequence of things
* Children with dyslexia may fail to see (and occasionally to hear) similarities and differences in letters and words, may not recognize the spacing that organizes letters into separate words, and may be unable to sound out the pronunciation of an unfamiliar word.

sounds like a disability.

 

[Night]

Can you explain why you think it is a learning disibility?

Good thread, GemPOPGem. I find admirable your commitment to your child. I wish more parents had as powerful an approach to combating discrimination as do you.

Yet, on the topic of Dyslexia as a disability, I feel as though I must add a clarification:

For one, discrimination against Dyslexia is illegal under the Disability Discrimination Act in the UK. It is considered unlawful to harbor bias on the basis of Dyslexia, as it applies to occupational duties. It's clear that such legal precedent exists to protect those from unfair judgment as a result of their condition.

As a disorder unto itself, Dyslexia is appreciated as having a clinical basis for diagnosis. While I'm uncertain as to your offered pairing of superior intellect with those who suffer from Dyslexia, I can assure you that it retains a neurological contrast between those who suffer from it and those who do not.

I understand the motivation to provide as opportune and nurturing an atmosphere for your child as is ultimately possible. For this reason alone, I neglect to render judgment on the matter, GemPOPGem. Yet, from a legislative and clinical perspective, Dyslexia is clearly understood to be a disability.

 

[Betty Blue]

I think it's great that someone has developed a tool that helps dyslexics read better, but I'm wondering what the long-term effects of teaching non-dyslexic children to read via a non-phonetic method would be. Phonics don't work very well for spelling, but they are pretty helpful for reading/decoding previously unknown words.

Well i can not foresee any difficulty at all, can you?

Phonetically many words do not make sense anyway, the English language is pretty stupid when it comes to this. There are roughly 220 sight words that are imperitive to learn in order to begin reading fluently on a basic level. These need to be learnt mainly by sight. Words like you, what, which, know etc etc.
The program was founded in 1982 and i have never heard of anyone, dyslexic or non-dyslexic experience anything detremental to their learning.

How long term do you mean?

 

[Magic Poriferan]

Can you explain why you think it is a learning disibility?

Adoamros kind of illustrated it for me. It's a disability because it involves the inability to do something. In particular, it's something we take special note of because it's something a strong majority of people can do, and an ability that society has come to expect from people(for good reason, because reading and writing has been incredibly useful to society). It's a disability essentially by the definition of a disability, it's a disability relative to others, and it's a disability for practical purposes.

Again, it doesn't say anything about the person's capacities beyond the narrow subject of the disability itself, but I can't see how it isn't a disability.

 

[BerberElla]

sounds like a disability.

We could argue that the disability is the teaching methods used in this case, maybe?

If the way we taught children to read was different, recognising that one system is not the correct system, and that all other systems are used for "disabled" children only as being wrong, perhaps it would change.

 

[Snuggletron]

We could argue that the disability is the teaching methods used in this case, maybe?

If the way we taught children to read was different, recognising that one system is not the correct system, and that all other systems are used for "disabled" children only as being wrong, perhaps it would change.

Sure, but they're still a minority. Perhaps dyslexia is a diet-disability, like dwarfism. Dwarves can drive cars just as good as humans but they need leg extensions to reach a vehicle's pedals. Should we manufacture all vehicles to come with dwarf adapter kits? Does this make them special or set back in a human-dominated leg room society?

In this case, maybe we can meet in the middle and say dyslexia is a disability because it requires alt. methods to work around the majority of people who don't have it.

 

[Betty Blue]

We could argue that the disability is the teaching methods used in this case, maybe?

If the way we taught children to read was different, recognising that one system is not the correct system, and that all other systems are used for "disabled" children only as being wrong, perhaps it would change.

Why thank you, well said. You put it well Berbs.
The thing here is that there is a method that does work and pretty much makes children who exibit these difficulties in reading/writing.math etc, exempt for having any difficulties. I don't understand why so many seem against it.
Is there anyone in the FOR camp?

 

[Betty Blue]

Sure, but they're still a minority. Perhaps dyslexia is a diet-disability, like dwarfism. Dwarves can drive cars just as good as humans but they need leg extensions to reach a vehicle's pedals. Should we manufacture all vehicles to come with dwarf adapter kits? Does this make them special or set back in a human-dominated leg room society?

Well no because many display difficulties who do not have dyslexia. Also the teaching method i'm talking about improves literacy/math/co-ordination etc for everyone.
In reference to the analagy...
Well, it's not a very good one is it?
If there were areas of giftedness in driving and all drivers would improve their quality of driving and the quality of say their flying, and all Dwarves and 20% of all non dwarves would also impove in giftedness, then why not. But the analagy has many flaws you can not compare driving for dwarves to dyslexia in the world, it's ridiculous.

 

[Usehername]

Well no because many display difficulties who do not have dyslexia. Also the teaching method i'm talking about improves literacy/math/co-ordination etc for everyone.
In reference to the analagy...
Well, it's not a very good one is it?
If there were areas of giftedness in driving and all drivers would improve their quality of driving and the quality of say their flying, and all Dwarves and 20% of all non dwarves would also impove in giftedness, then why not. But the analagy has many flaws you can not compare driving for dwarves to dyslexia in the world, it's ridiculous.

IDK, perhaps his analogy wasn't fully complete, but the idea behind it is still true--reading is very important, and those who can't read are less able than those who can. Some dyslexics have fantastic spatial abilities that go alongside with their dyslexia but that doesn't negate the trump card of being able to read in our society. Reading is so important to our culture because it adds a multilayered worldview that cannot be replicated by extemporaneous talking.

People who can't read fluently are labouring away at the exercise of reading rather than performing an automatic activity that lets them think about the message within the words themselves. It's a disability because their brain is working to decode rather than analyze the thoughts behind the words.

If you can get him to read fluently in another way, awesome, but I'm with Elaur that it might be harmful to tell him he's "gifted" without adding the "disabled" in other areas part.

Just stress the fact that we all have weaknesses and strengths and we all need to address our weaknesses... I don't see what the big deal is with telling your son he has a weakness. It seems like a recipe for a harsh encounter with reality when he's older and he needs to have reading nailed down firmly in order to succeed (which would require working harder for it than other students).

 

[Snuggletron]

But the analagy has many flaws you can not compare driving for dwarves to dyslexia in the world, it's ridiculous.

I'm sorry it was the only race I could think of that would have issues operating a normal vehicle.

 

[tinkerbell]

As something i feel very passionately about, i have the need to start a thread about Dyslexia and the fact that it is a gift.
I am not dyslexic although i sometimes wish i were, i feel this way because of the journey i have taken in understanding what dyslexia is and means.
I have a ten year old son who is (severley) dyslexic. He scores above average in iq tests despite the fact that (until recently) his reading age was 6 and writing age was approx 5 (or ungraded). In all his visual/spatial tests he has consistantly scored in the "gifted" range. I don't need a test to see that my son is gifted. At the age of three the nursery staff brough in 100 piece jigsaw puzzles for him to do as the 12 piece ones did not challange him, infact the 100 piece ones were still not very challanging. At the age of 6 he still could not write his name, until just recently he still reversed and mixed the letters in his name.
He is incredibly creative and at the age of 5 could independantly do complex lego sets for 12+ year olds using the visual instructions.
He also has amazing abilities in many other areas, he is a total whizz at chess amoungst other things.
The school he was in (i took him out) humiliated him and it got to the point that he would cry and get stomach aches every morning befor we even set out.

Ok, so thats my personal experience regarding my son, i also know many other dyslexics (including other family relations) and have since done some research on the topic.

My gripe is this, in the majority (not all) of schools

School education systems are archaic in their teaching styles, they are consistantly letting down up to 10% of the population in their inability to educate dyslexic children in literacy and they inadvertantly discriminate against them.
It is not just schools but work places too.
The reason this grates my very being so much is that by doing this fail to see the giftedness of dyslexic individuals.
Non dyslexics have a lot to learn.

I know people are starting to understand but many people still see dyslexia as a learning dissability instead of learning difference.
Infact the style suited to teaching a dyslexic child is also suited to all children and actually achieves higher literacy/numeracy results in ALL children. It is not the children themselves that have the problem but merely an outdated schooling system failing to keep up with giftedness.

YouTube - dysTalk Talks Dyslexia Disability Or Gift


[YOUTUBE="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hAlO0nEZfIA"][/YOUTUBE]

I am dyslexic diagnosed at 4.5 when it wasn't trendy. I have spent a lot of time around dyslexics and there are a variety of outcomes, a lot of negative outcomes, or failure to meet their intellectual abilities and aptitudes.

Dyslexia provide you with a full range of disabilities, including a stakc of secondary handicaps and social stigmas amoung your class mates.

Real dyslexics can be scard for life from the social factors about their inabilities.

So gift it is most certainly not. You don't need to be dyslexic to be either intelelgent or creative... so please DON't wish it on anyone

 

[Laurie]

My daughter needs extra help in math, she has the ability to understand it, she just needs extra help. That doesn't mean that math class should be changed to make it easier for her - I also have a talented math student that would suffer from such changes.

I just don't see how trying to relabel something as a gift is any help to anyone. I understand the parallel to ADD, I know that school doesn't help with that way of dealing with the world. (I was diagnosed with it, not sure I actually ever had it). I do like to think that my distractability isn't really a hindrance, but I definitely have had to learn to deal with it. If I don't I can end up with some negative repercussions.

Isn't it almost more of a put down to say someone doesn't *have* a disability rather than just acknowledging it and working from there?