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Comment by JayneC on October 24, 2011 at 5:47am

In the Documentary, Journey Into Dyslexia,  Jonathon Mooney says he is proud to be Dyslexic and that he has not overcome it. What he over came was "dysteachia!"  - I think that is really what our kids are dealing with.

Comment by Axel Gudmundsson on October 23, 2011 at 12:49pm

Hi Noelle,

Let me first mention that there is a definite genetic link in dyslexic thinking. However, I do not see it as a disability and not a learning difficulty. It is a teaching difficulty! We know this because we have developed a four-day training module for teachers, which have been shown to result in "special needs referrals" falling from 15% to not a single one. In the same classes, "gifted referrals" went from 5% to 20%. Common logic tells me that if there is a problem in the classroom, and we go in and tinker with the teachers - and the problem goes away as a result; that problem then has to have been in the teachers. Have a look at this link:

http://www.gifteddyslexic.com/davis-training/teaching-made-easy

Comment by Noelle Gibson on October 22, 2011 at 6:41am

This is a very interesting discussion - I have to do more follow-up reading on some of the research mentioned regarding the link between multiple ultra-sounds and dyslexia.  My eldest is classified as dyslexic and I could see there was a disconnect even before she entered school.  She could appropriately use words like "adjudicate" at three purely from contextual verbal cues but couldn't re-sequence letters into alphabetical order on her pre-school computer game.  The only reason her school finally saw there was a problem was when they tested her at my insistence at the end of 2nd grade and saw that her IQ scores indicated she should be one of their top performing students but wasn't.  As the woman who did the testing told me, "Can you imagine what her score would be if she could actually READ the test?"

From the research I've done, I do think there was a link between her being a pre-mature baby (I initally went into labor at 32 weeks and managed to hold on to her with LOTS of medical interventions until 36 weeks; she was also born with the cord around her neck and they lost her heartbeat at one point during labor) and the severity of her disability but never thought that the interventions - such as multiple ultra-sounds per week - could have played a part.  I mean, at that point in time all I knew was keeping her inside gave her the best chance to have a healthy heart and lungs along with a heftier birth-weight as well as less or no time in NICU.  I didn't make any connection between pre-maturity and learning difficulties until much, much later so it's like it layers of issues which brought us to this point. 

And it also helps to explain why her younger sister's "learning differences" have been much slower to detect - I think there is a genetic component to their difficulties but my youngest was born at 39 weeks after a very short, easy labor (still with more intensive pre-natal monitoring because of my history with my eldest but not nearly as much as my first).  She has not had the intensity of the disconnect between interest level and skill level that her sister had at that age.

 

Would there be any connection with this and the recent research showing that adolescents can gain up to 20 IQ points - directly contradicting the notion that intellectual and brain development cease in much earlier stages of childhood?  Haven't read up on that as much - just some recent articles in the British papers which discussed it superficially.  It gives hope that as her executive function continues to develop she'll be able to find new strategies to cope with her disability.

 

 

Comment by Axel Gudmundsson on October 16, 2011 at 11:21pm

Thanks Fernette and Brock. Do you have a phone number where I can get a hold of you? You may want to email me directly on axel@gifteddyslexic.com.

Comment by Drs. Fernette and Brock Eide on October 16, 2011 at 6:17pm

Very cool, Axel.  Let us know how we can help!  : )

Comment by Dr. S on October 16, 2011 at 8:54am

Hello Axel, thank you very much for your response and direction. It seems that those who share an interest in this--are  passionate,tenacious and willing to share their ideas. I am very thankful. I had heard of Ronald Davis--have not read as much as I want--have read a lot, but more scientific articles. I did however join Thomas West site a while a go and have  been in contact with him. I have also been in contact with Dr. Casanova--particularly because I find a study he did last year--not a lot of press on it as far as I can tell-- about Multiple Ultrasounds and the Increase in Autism/Dyslexia.  He is researching both--because of the similarities. It is interesting that Autism is more common in white, affluent,civilized--so to speak countries where more ultrasounds are done. The first picture in everyone's baby book is an ultrasound of junior. Dr. Casanova did not suggest a direct causal relationship, but that this is a risk factor that needs to be ruled out. Dr. Casanova referenced  a study in handedness from Sweden--showed that boys who received multiple prenatal ultrasound demostrated an increase in  left handedness--statistically above average. Quite  controversial , and revolutionary even--to suggest that ultrasounds that are considered innocous--nearly unanimously by medical professionals--may not be entirely safe-- in the undifferentiated/progenitor cells of the prenatal nervous system. Gets the wheels turning in my head. Anyway--sincerely thank you for your guidance. Will definitely get my own copy of Ronald Davis's book--have to write my thoughts in the margins! Will definitley use this to help my patients and their parents. When I can--will push it forward to the Palm Beach County School District( where I live).

I called the Dept of Education in Tallahassee, Florida a few weeks ago. The person/liason I spoke to --said we do not test for dyslexia. From personal experience-- mentioning the word dyslexia--pretty much ends the discussion at IEP meetings etc.

 

So I have some work to do---thank you so much. Sandra (Pediatrician--and mother of 4 dyslexics---most likely the daughter of one and my mother-in law-- I think she has it as well---my kids got more than a double dose)

I thought it was just my eldest who is 10. My 7 year old daughter who is my profile pic on this site-- is quite brilliant--and has the most horrendous handwriting---dysgraphia/stealh dyslexia --I know it now-- and am already into it with her teacher. She gets 100% or more ( if there are bonus questions)  on tests where she can read and then circle the answer. On written tests-- because he marks her down for spelling and handwriting--she will sometimes/ not always get D's and F's. Her teacher also publically berated--yelling--two weeks ago--so am RoboMom again.

 

Be well Axel--look forward to seeing your work and have every expectation that it will be a great success!!! Kudos to you!

 

Comment by Axel Gudmundsson on October 15, 2011 at 9:49pm

Dear Sandra,

20 years ago, two revolutionary visionaries came forward with a new message. One was Thomas G. West, who wrote the book "In the Mind's Eye" and actually happens to be a subscriber to this website forum - here is his blog page: http://inthemindseyedyslexicrenaissance.blogspot.com/ - and the other one is my dear friend and mentor Ronald D Davis, who wrote the book "The Gift of Dyslexia" - here is his international web page: http://www.dyslexia.com/.

 

If you are working with dyslexics, his is the simplest and cheapest way to get results. It may sound expensive to go to a professional qualified Davis facilitator like myself, but remember that Ron initially wrote his book for someone like yourself. His vision was that anybody who is looking to help someone struggling with dyslexia, could simply buy the book and get stuck in. The first half is full of inspirational stories and explanations of his new viewpoint of dyslexia as a gift; the second half is literally a manual outlining how to fix the problem in 30 hours. All it costs is your time and the cost of the book. You do not even need to buy the book - you could borrow it from the local library. So by using the Davis methods outlined in the book, you can eliminate the downside of dyslexia, while at the same time equip the dyslexic thinker with the tools to survive in an education system which is not designed for dyslexic thinkers.

 

We have now developed a training model for teachers, where we train them to use the Davis methods in the classroom. The results are simply astonishing! In a study published in the millennium year of 2000, involving almost 100 children in 6 classrooms, the Davis methods produced classrooms where instead of the US national average of 15% special needs referrals, there were NONE! Now - we do not know if this is because the Davis methods cater so well for the dyslexic thinker in the classroom that they do not develop "learning difficulties" or if it is because the teachers felt so well equipped to cater for their needs that they did not see a reason to refer them. Either way, we are seeing exactly the transformation needed in the classroom - but there is more!

In the US, there are two "filtering channels" in most classrooms. The first one is "special needs referrals" where the struggling ones are filtered out for special intervention, but the other filtering is "gifted referrals". In the US the national average of gifted referrals is 5%, and 15% for "special needs referrals" - and in the study from 2000, the "control" classrooms (the ones where traditional teaching methods were used for comparison) this was exactly the case.

In the Davis classrooms this was very different. Instead of 15% special needs, there were none - and instead of 5% gifted referrals there were 10-40% gifted referrals (an average of 20%). That is a minimum increase of 100%, and a maximum increase of 700% - or an average of quadrupling of gifted referrals (change from 5% to 20%). Now, these are the learners who will go on and do great things, and it may not be a coincidence that the difference between 5% gifted referrals and 20% gifted referrals is exactly the same percentage as the 15% "special needs" that no longer were identified as special needs.

 

But the study from 2000 throws up another question: If there is a problem in a classroom, and you go into that classroom and train the teachers - and the problem goes away; where was the problem in the first place? Is it time to change our thinking from labelling this problem "learning difficulties" to labelling them "teaching difficulties"? Would we then start to see more return on our investment into this problem?

Comment by Dr. S on October 15, 2011 at 2:34pm

Hello Mr. Gudmundsson,

Your documentary and book sound wonderful. I am a general Pediatrician. My son had signs of Dyslexia- specifically Dyslexia, Dyscalculia and Auditory and Visual Processing Disorders. I battled with my local school district and had to do most of my research on my own. I started to read everything  I could get my hands on-- from Scientific Journals in all fields, to documentaries and personal narratives. I have spent the last 6 months educating myself-- as the general population, our teachers-- and the vast majority of medical professionals and paraprofessionals have no idea what Dyslexia really is.  Since I have began asking a few basic questions--have now found about 30  children and adolescents with some type of " Dyslexia". Your book will be useful to me,as Drs. Eide's book has been. I am trying to help my patients and their parents navigate through all the bureaucracy--and help them get whatever accomodations they need to succeed. Mostly  I love it , when I tell them-- that they are smart, that they are different--but that is good and that I am going to help them. I tell them that most people--even their teachers don't know what gifts they might have.  In a way am on the frontlines so to speak-- and it is very rewarding.

Thank you very much and I look forward to reading and seeing your work, and passing what I learn on to these young children who are being told they are LAZY, INATTENTIVE and NOT UP TO PAR--- because they problem solve in a different way. Very Sincerely, Dr. Sandra Alvarez MD

 

Comment by Brittony T. on October 14, 2011 at 6:39am

The more information that is out there that Dyslexia is not a disability but an advantage, sounds good to me!  Good luck!