This newsletter has been created to inform and educate people about current
findings that can help a struggling reader. We also hope that the content of
the newsletter will inspire those who struggle, that there is hope.
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The Reading Corner
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Being Grateful for Your Gifts
We often talk about the reading and spelling/writing struggles associated with processing
disorders, such as dyslexia. As with any darkness, there is the promise of light, the rainbow
after and sometimes even during the storm. With all of the challenges that reading can bring,
there are also an even-greater number of gifts and talents. This being the month to show our
gratitude for everything in our lives, we would like to focus on these amazing gifts.
Those with dyslexia or other processing disorders have been known to be some of the greatest
artists and inventors of all time. They are very visual and often see things in 3D and have the
ability to look at things from all perspectives. They do not do well with rotememorization, so
they need to get to the meaning of things for understanding and retention, because these learners
tend to go deeper than most.
Ron Davis believes that all dyslexics have certain talents that are shared by many famous
dyslexics who are considered to be geniuses:
- They can utilize the brain's ability to alter and create perceptions (the primary ability).
- They are highly aware of the environment.
- They are more curious than average.
- They think mainly in pictures instead of words.
- They are highly intuitive and insightful.
- They think and perceive multi-dimensionally (using all of the senses).
- They can experience thought as reality.
- They have vivid imaginations.
This month, please celebrate this gift either in yourself or in someone you know. We all
accomplish so much more if we focus on our strengths rather than on our weaknesses. We all
have the potential to be amazing and live a life full of gratitude and joy if we make the
conscious choice to do so.
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Famous Dyslexic Spotlight
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This section contains names of famous or recognized people who have been reported in the media,
on the Web, and in books as having some form of dyslexia or struggling in school.
Baruj Benacerraf
- Winner of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, 1980
- Winner of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, 1980
An example of a dyslexic person with very high talents is Dr. Baruj Benacerraf. Dr. Benacerraf
is the former head of New York’s Dana Farber Cancer Institute and is a Nobel Prize winner in
immunology. He has expressed great interest in the investigation of dyslexia and talent and
has asserted that it is an important area of study that should be treated in a serious fashion.
Indeed, he made several statements along these lines during a telephone conversation (March 2003)
with this author. He said (in paraphrase): "Yes, there is definitely a positive side to dyslexia,
and this should be studied. One can deal with the problems with special techniques and lots of
hard work." However, he asserted that there are definite advantages - seemingly often having to
do with distinctive ways of perceiving three-dimensional space and visual material.
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Inspiration
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"Steven, age 56, could not read. He was dyslexic and had never learned to read. We went through the
Intensive Phonics method, and he learned the skills that helped him to read. It worked immediately."
- Doraine Bingham, Bloomington, Minnesota
View more success stories.
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Product Highlight
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Mastery, Drill, and Practice sessions, including 2,800 words, follow each lesson to
help students internalize the skills learned in the lesson. Students phonetically decode
each word and have the option of recording it and playing it back to compare their pronunciation
with the narrator's. This feature of the software is great for additional practice and reinforcement
to ensure that the skills learned become automatic.
