Have you ever thought about how big our world is, yet still so small? The same ideas that are talked about in one country, are the same that are discussed across miles of water.
Reading is a complex process. Yet, once we have mastered it, it becomes so automatic and natural that we do not stop to think about all of the skills we must possess in order to understand the text. I remember when I started driving, it was the most difficult and stressful thing imaginable. I am not sure if, it was because I learned how to drive from my mother or that we lived in Southern California and practiced in the midst of traffic. My driver's ed. coach, also did not have much faith in me, and surprisingly I passed my driver's test on my 16th birthday. (Thank goodness, that when I was asked to parallel park there was not a car in front or behind me). Today, I do not stop and think about all the visual information that I have to process and act upon while handling my car. Reading is the same way.
As we read the text, we have to process the print. According to Ronald Davis, the author of The Gift of Dyslexia, the reader who is dyslexic does not process the information the same way, thus the text becomes confusing. Many dyslexic readers say that they see images when reading, and not the words. For instance, instead of seeing the word RED, the reader my just see the image of the color red. While I look at the letters that are combined, and automatically think about the sounds, blend them together to create the word the color red, and then associate with the color. Same thing with the word cat, I blend it together to create the word cat, and then associate it to the image. While the dyslexic readers looks at the whole of the word, not the letters, visually imaging a cat. Sometimes the reader, can not visualize or it may be difficult to associate an image with the words found within a sentence causing confusion when reading.
How does this relate to my initial question? My mother-in-law returned from a visit to Ireland after visiting a friend and mentioned that one of the Sisters in the church parish tutors pupils who are Dyslexic. She uses the methods discussed in the book that I had just finished. Wow, can you imagine that. Her work is very interesting, she does a lot of visual therapy and has her students create images out of clay to associate them with words. It goes back to how we perceive the world.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
After just a brief visit overseas, the world does seem like a much smaller place. Most people around the world have much more in common than we realize. It only makes sense that we share the same struggles as well. This is an interesting observation about dyslexic students from another country. We should be open to looking for solutions to students' academic struggles in many unexpected places.
ReplyDelete