| Dyslexics are geniuses in disguise |
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Dyslexia is the most common cause of reading, writing and spelling difficulties, affecting 10-15 percent of school going kids, yet only five out of 100 dyslexic kids are recognized and given attention. In Africa especially, parents do not pay attention to their dyslexia kids, some out of ignorance, and others out of denial, not accepting the kids are dyslexic because of fear of ‘stigma.’ The Kenyan education system also do not recognize dyslexic kids, with most schools taking them as ‘slow learners’ except in some private schools including Braeburn and Peponi where kids get extra help.But dyslexia is not a disease, neither is it the result of a brain damage. According to Manisha Shah a facilitator of the Davis Correction, dyslexic people just ‘think differently’ and are usually ‘geniuses in disguise.’ Dyslexic people think in pictures rather than internal monologue used by verbal thinkers. Their memories are stored in images and pictures; capturing the whole image rather than working through a process step by step. It is therefore difficult for them to capture something that is ‘two dimensional’ and cannot therefore grasp phonetics or numerals; hence the problems with alphabets and algebra. 'When you mention a ‘dog,’ the picture comes to mind, but if you ask them the meaning of ‘The,’ they do not know,’ said Manisha. Being ‘picture thinkers’ makes it hard for dyslexic people to sometimes understand letters, numbers, symbols, and written words. Dyslexia can therefore be defined an ‘unexpected’ difficulty with text –‘unexpected’ because people notice that ‘an otherwise normal and bright child experiences great difficulty with spelling, writing, reading or math & concentration problems.’ People with dyslexia become confused and stressed if the ’picture thinking process’ does not work. Too much concentration makes them tense and this may cause disorientation, making the senses ‘disoriented’ and the brain not able to receive accurate messages. This then manifests itself in substitutions, reversals and omissions in reading or writing, letters, words and numerals. This may develop life-long learning blocks that hamper their progress. 37 common characteristics of dyslexia have been listed, and a person is said to be dyslexic if about ten of these traits and behaviors are exhibited. Dyslexic people will not only have problems with reading and spelling and find comprehension difficult, but also find it difficult to transfer thought to paper. A dyslexic person can do arithmetic but fails words problems and cannot grasp algebra and can write ‘five different ways of one page,’ They are often labeled ‘lazy’ or ‘not trying hard enough, as they usually have a high IQ, but may not test well academically, often doing well in oral tests but not written. They also tend to put letters and figures the wrong way e.g. b’s for d’s and 15 for 51, or confuse letters that look similar in shape such as o,c and e or p, d and q. The problem however is in the way the mind interprets what the eyes see, but not because their eyes have a problem. Dyslexic kids lose track of time, have difficulty sustaining attention, daydream a lot, and often find school boring because they do not understand. Trying too hard may also make them lose their self esteem and they may compensate for their weaknesses by becoming class clowns, trouble makers, or too quiet. In fact, research has shown that most kids in juvenile jails are usually dyslexic. Research by a team of the Learning Disabilities-Juvenile Delinquency Project conducted by the National Center for State Courts in USA, showed that adolescents with learning disabilities had significantly higher rates of general delinquent behavior and engaged in more violence, substance abuse, and school disruption than non-learning-disabled adolescents. Most dyslexics also suffer from poor handwriting skills; characterized by illegible writing, letter inconsistencies, mixture of lower case and upper case and irregular letter sizes and shapes. These characteristics however vary from day to day and from person to person as they are a combination of an underlying talent, environmental influences and unsuccessful learning experiences. The learning disability is however one ‘face’ of dyslexia. Dyslexia is also a ‘gift. Dyslexics’ special mode of thought produces the gift of ‘mastery’ in that, once they have learnt something experientially, they understand it on such a deep level that they know how to do things intuitively without thinking about how. Dyslexics share basic abilities that if not suppressed or destroyed by parents or the education process, result into people with higher than normal intelligence and extraordinary creative abilities that bring out this gift of dyslexia-mastery. These shared abilities include the ability to utilize the brain's ability to alter and create perceptions, being highly aware of the environment, being more curious than average, highly intuitive and insightful, thinking in pictures rather than words, they have vivid imaginations and can perceive thoughts as reality. Dyslexics are usually talented in art, drama, music, mechanics, story-telling, sales, business, building and designing. Some of the famous talented dyslexics include Albert Einstein, Leonardo da Vinci, Winston Churchill, Whoopi Goldberg, Tom Cruise and Richard Branson. The problems that prevent learning can however be corrected, not through drilling, but by establishing a mental focusing tool that helps ‘to bring their minds back on track when disorientation occurs.’ According to Manisha, parents can be able to recognize if the child is dyslexic at age 7-8, but some do not realize until the kids are in high school. 8-9years is the ideal age for dyslexics to seeks help, to help ‘remove all the blockages,’ but Manisha says she has helped people as olds as 25 years. The Davis counseling approach is one way of correction that helps dyslexics become better in reading, writing and articulating their thoughts. The approach, introduced by Ron Davis who was dyslexic himself, is based on the principle that dyslexic strengths and difficulties share the same root-the dyslexic thinking style. It relies on using the ‘mental talents’ that dyslexic people share, to overcome the learning problems, and has two components namely orientation counseling and symbol mastery.His book-The Gift of Dyslexia-explains the Davis program in detail. The dyslexic students are taught how to recognize and control the mental state that leads to distorted and confused perceptions of letters, words and numerals through a simple mental technique that helps them ‘turn off’ the thought processes that causes misperceptions. This way they are able to ‘restore’ their minds to a relaxed and focused state, suitable for reading and other studies. Symbol mastery dyslexic helps students to think with symbols and words, so they can learn to read easily and with full comprehension. Using clay and plasticine, students first work with the alphabet, numerals, and punctuation marks, to make sure that they have an accurate perception and understanding of these symbols. Manisha, whose son is dyslexic, says she discovered about the Davis method because she was ‘desperate like other mothers,’ She trained as a dyslexic facilitator and has been helping both adults and kids for the last four years. The Davis approach has been used since the 1980’s and has registered 97 per cent success, but its results depend on ‘the level of motivation of the child and the helper,’ said Manisha. In Kenya, however, and Africa in general , many parents are still not aware of dyslexia, most taking their kids as ‘slow learners’ and often offering extra tuition rather than seeking professional help. This does not help, and can see kids get bullied at school and they may even get depressed. But ‘awareness has helped’ and Manisha says she is now seeing one child in a month. The correction does not employ repetition and drill as these are ‘a waste of time for them and only increases their frustration because they will not retain information unless they understand where it fits into the "big picture"” Manisha, who has an office at her home off General Mathenge Drive, offers a six days program that is tailor made for each person and within six months the person will be a ‘changed person.’ After assessment to determine the person’s needs, goals, and whether he needs the program, the program is tailor-made to help the child overcome his problems .The program’s tools include making models of 217 high frequency words using clay and plasticine to help him master them. On the last day of the program, a caretaker is also trained to assist in the follow-up exercises to ensure post-program success. Manisha also does unlimited consultation and regular follow up on her clients. Charges for the program depend on the needs of an individual and include all the materials needed to work the program, including the plasticine for making the models and koosh balls to help them focus. Assessment is however charged at Sh5000.Manisha can be contacted on 0721 492 217, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . Written by Rose Muragu for African Laughter
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was also desperate to help my son who had problem reading and spelling. I
learnt through a newspaper magazine that his problem was dyslexia. I started
looking for help and thats how i realized Davis Dyslexia. Manisha took my son
through the Davis method and I can see a lot of progress.
To create awareness to parents, teachers and stakeholders parents of dyslexic
children have founded an organisation, Dyslexia Organisation, Kenya where people
interested can get more information about dyslexia.
There has been a lot of stigmatization for children with specific learning
difficulties. It is true that many people in our jails are dyslexic. They were
stigmatized and treated as social misfit and kind of ostracized by society which
made them become aggressive and had to survive in any way.
It is my desire that this subject can be understood by all parents.
Thanks Manisha and Kenyakidz