The theory

Dyslexia is based on an ability to distort perception: to modify incoming signals and mix them with brain-generated data. This can be useful when studying 3D objects--it helps tie the pieces together, and can give a better understanding of the thing. But dyslexics learn very early to turn on this ability ("disorient") automatically whenever they are confronted with a confusing sight.

If letters or words are confusing, then a person with the ability to disorient will do so to try to figure them out. With 2D objects, this doesn't help--it distorts the shapes and increases the confusion. Learning becomes impossible, and a learning disability develops.

The methods

It is possible to teach a dyslexic person how to consciously control whether they are munging their perceptions or not (whether they are oriented or disoriented). When they are oriented, they can see letters and words accurately, and they can learn them. The control over orientation is a visualization which can be taught in less than half an hour.

Simply teaching a dyslexic how to orient doesn't solve the problem. If they don't learn the things that have been confusing them, they may simply get confused, disoriented, drag themselves back to an oriented state, keep trying to read... eventually this will stop working. So they need to recognize when something is confusing and causes disorientation, and learn it so that it will not cause confusion anymore. There are several ways that a sight can be confusing. One is if they've never learned to recognize it. Another is if it has an emotion attached to it. A third is if it has an incorrect meaning, or no meaning at all. Making a clay model of the confusing symbol and its meaning (if any) can clear up all these confusions; when a dyslexic is oriented, they usually only have to do this once per symbol. When there is nothing confusing on the paper, a dyslexic can get oriented at the start and read a whole book without slipping into "dyslexic mode". At this point the learning disability is gone.

The program and results

There are several possible program formats. The one we use at the Reading Research Council involves a one-on-one 30-hour week. On Monday morning, the clients (age 7 to adult) are taught how to control their orientation. Then we make sure there are no triggers of confusion in the alphabet, the punctuation marks, or in saying or hearing the sounds of speech. The second half of the week involves practicing reading exercises, learning to find confusion triggers among written words, and optionally working on handwriting, math, and coordination problems. If they have an inconsistent internal clock (one of the things that disorientation can affect, which can cause ADD-like symptoms), we teach them how to control their mind's speed.

By the end of the week, the client will have experienced a major improvement in their academic skills. The improvement continues as they learn the rest of the words that have been confusing them. One eight-year-old boy I worked with a year ago has improved three grade levels in both reading and math. A ten-year-old girl has gone from hardly reading to eighth-grade level in a year and a half. This Christmas I got in touch with thirteen clients from the past year and a half. Twelve had improved significantly; eleven of those attributed it directly to the program.

BACK HOME