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bear momee I canot reed plees help. Davib.
David is not a dunce. In
fact, according to the evaluations of several professionals he is rather
intelligent. Yet he certainly has a problem, and shares his problem with
millions of other children and adults.
David, according to these
professionals, is dyslexic.
The word “dyslexia” comes
from the Greek, meaning “difficulty with words or language.” Perhaps the
simplest definition of dyslexia is that it is a difficulty in learning to
read and write ― particularly in learning to spell correctly and to
express thoughts on paper. Reversing words, writing back to front and not
being able to remember the sequence of letters in a word are common
symptoms.
In our age of verbal and
written communication, linguistic difficulties are not easy to cope with.
It is a problem that can leave one feeling like a dunce. Dyslexic children
are often ridiculed by their classmates.
Reading and learning go
hand in hand. One must learn to read in order to be able to read to learn.
A child who is a poor reader will usually also be a poor learner.
Literacy is also the key
to employment. Dyslexia can jeopardize a child’s entire future. It is
therefore imperative to deal with the cause of the problem and not to
simply alleviate the symptoms.
There is a labyrinth of
contradicting theories about dyslexia, what it is, its causes and its
possible correction. Some theorists say that dyslexia may be the result of
abnormal development of a baby’s brain during pregnancy. The resultant
abnormalities interfere with the brain’s ability to understand written
material.
The idea that dyslexia is
a certifiable biological disorder, a physical problem that can be
diagnosed and treated accordingly gained credence during the ‘60s and
‘70s, but this claim is increasingly being refuted by continued research.
While scientists continue
to argue on what it is and how to deal with it, the number of so-called
dyslexics is growing.
In the midst of a
plethora of theories and pronouncements (such as “dyslexia is like
alcoholism, it can never be cured”) one man has his own approach. It is a
theory that has shown unprecedented success in practice.
Jan Strydom, a doctor in
education, reacts strongly to the popular notion that dyslexia is a
learning disability caused by a biological deficit. “There is nothing
wrong with these children. I believe there is no physical, genetic or
biological reason why they have this problem.
“The cause of dyslexia is
that the foundational skills of reading and spelling have not been
automated. Learning is a stratified process, in which one skill needs to
be properly mastered before other subsequent skills can be learned,” he
explains.
“One has to learn to
count before it becomes possible to learn to add and subtract. In the same
way there are skills that form the foundation or basis of reading and
spelling.”
Basic skills like concentration,
visual discrimination, accurate observation and memorizing, skills of
association, visual memory and logical thinking form the foundation of
good reading, says Dr. Strydom. “All these skills are employed constantly
while a person is reading, but a good reader is unaware of these events
because they have been automated.
“These foundational skills are
functions that should be taught to children during their infant years. If
a child has not mastered these basics he or she will have reading and
writing problems as a result. The only solution is to retrace the steps to
the point where the child has missed out and go forward from there.”
The increase in dyslexia worldwide
is caused by our changing life circumstances, says Dr Strydom. “The
conditions in which children grow up today are drastically different to
what they were 50, 40, or even 30 years ago, and certain everyday
experiences that are vital to the correct interpretation of the written
word have been removed from their lives. It was, for example, a tradition
that parents drilled their children on the ability to distinguish left
from right. Today, few parents are aware that knowing left from right is
an important foundational skill of reading.
“Parents of previous generations
also spent much time teaching their babies to talk. In that way, they
acquired a good command of whatever language the parents spoke. Today much
time is spent in front of the television set. Although they hear language
while watching TV, there is not enough repetition to enhance their
language ability.”
Undoubtedly, language plays a vital
role in reading. According to Dr. Beve Hornsby, author of Overcoming
Dyslexia, about 60 percent of dyslexics were late talkers.
“Children should be adequately
equipped so that they will benefit from reading instruction. In this way
dyslexia can be prevented,” is the advice of Dr. Strydom.
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