Tag Archives: DyslexiaAwarenessMonth

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From Drug Addiction to Academy Award-Winning Actress – A Dyslexia Success Story

Only a few people have won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and a Tony Award (EGOT). Caryn Elaine Johnson is one of them.

She was born on November 13, 1955 in Chelsea, New York and grew up in a housing project with her brother and mother, who was a nurse and later became a Head Start teacher.

In school, she was called “slow,” “dumb,” “lazy,” or “retarded.” She wasn’t diagnosed with dyslexia until she was an adult, so when school kept getting harder and harder, she eventually dropped out at 17. With her self-esteem low, she traveled a turbulent road in life, which included poverty, drug addiction, single motherhood, welfare, and a series of wide ranging jobs.

In his interview for the Child Mind Institute, the founder, Dr. Harold Koplewicz, called her a woman of grit and resilience.

Today, we know her as Whoopi Goldberg, actress, comedian, radio host, television personality, author and UNICEF International Goodwill Ambassador. Listen to her recall some of her challenges and her mom’s support in her interview with Quinn Bradlee:

She counsels parents to be supportive of their dyslexic children –  “Stop trying to find a reason why it happened… It’s not your fault… Pay attention to how your child is doing stuff.”  

Then, listen to her speak at the Goodwin College 2018 Commencement where she counsels the graduates, after receiving an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters.

How can you build your child’s self-esteem at home to combat the negative labels in school?

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Unlocking the Dyslexic Potential

When you consider the vast advancements that have been made in science and technology, and the multiple methods for accessing information, it is fair to say that schools and institutes of learning insist on using, as Dean Bragonier puts it, “the most archaic form of educational media.”

If dyslexia is considered a different way of thinking rather than a disadvantage; if the different patterns of strengths and challenges are kept in mind; if as much importance is placed on those strengths as their difficulties; then early intervention and continued support would be made a priority.

Imagine a world where the thinking skills that dyslexics excel at are used to prepare them to contribute to their communities and the world. What would be the possibilities?

You may be wondering what those skills are. Here are they:

  • Visualizing
    • 75% of dyslexics are above average.
  • Imagining
    • 84% are above average.
  • Communicating
    • 71% are above average.
  • Reasoning
    • 84% are above average.
  • Connecting
    • 80% are above average.
  • Exploring
    • 84% are above average.

After many years of struggle, usually, with very little significant support, many dyslexics gravitate to career paths that cater to their preferred way of thinking.

In my previous article, I cited some data from Dr. Gershen Kaufman. Here’s some more:

  • 35% of all entrepreneurs are dyslexic.
  • 40% of self-made millionaires are dyslexic.
  • Over 50% of NASA engineers are dyslexic.

In his autobiography, Nicholas Negroponte, founder of the MIT Media Lab and the One Laptop per Child Association, called dyslexia the MIT disease because of how common it is among students on the campus of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

If you’re not already familiar with the world of dyslexia, it’s time to educate yourself about it and encourage every teacher and educator to do the same. After all, if one in five children are dyslexic, there is at least one child in every class who can be identified with dyslexia.

What are you willing to do to support the movement to reshape the teaching industry in the area of dyslexia?

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The Skinny On Hearing… Listening… And Dyslexia – Part 1

When asked what does our ears do, many people will say that they hear.

Did you know that hearing is not the ear’s only function?

Most of the sensory energy transferred to the brain goes through the ears. They:

  • Regulate balance
  • Direct movement and coordination
  • Permit language
  • Cause us to speak eloquently
  • Make us sing in tune
  • Adjust our eyes when we read
  • Control our arm, hand, and finger movements when we write
  • Protect us from sounds we do not want to hear, e.g. sounds of our own body

In addition to all of that good stuff, the ears are interconnected with several levels of the brain and act as a double antenna through which it receives messages from the body and the environment.

So, you can see, your ears are your link to your inner world and the outside world.

What is listening?

Merriam-Webster defines it as paying attention; hearing something with thoughtful attention.

This definition denotes that listening is an active process through which we make sense of, evaluate and respond to what we hear.

On the other hand, hearing is passive – once the hearing mechanism is physically intact, sound enters the ears and travels along the auditory pathway to the brain, where the sound waves are changed to electrical signals and given meaning.

Listening, therefore, brings harmony within us, as well as in our relationships with others. When listening does not develop in a satisfactory manner, the harmony is broken and good communication is sabotaged.

Although some generate good results with sustained effort on the part of the child, many of the programs promoted as interventions for the reading difficulties experienced by dyslexics are minimally effective.

While there is efficacy in practice, considering Herman Ebbinghaus’ work on memory (without context, about 50% of what is heard is forgotten within 1 hour), most remediation programs include multiple repetitions of instruction with lots of drill and practice, without any work to eliminate underlying issues with foundational skills, like listening.

I have not read any scientific or academic research studies, which looked at improving listening as an avenue for alleviating reading difficulties, but I have my own anecdotal experience. As mentioned in my previous post, when my dyslexic daughter completed The Listening Program, her singing voice improved (the voice can only produce what the ear can hear). In addition to that, she demonstrated better attending skills. This led to increased success in learning and communication.

Have you or any of your children experienced any form of auditory stimulation?

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Dyslexia and the “Sound” of Learning

Knowledge…learning…education, fueled by literacy, are keys to success.

Traditionally, literacy is defined as the ability to read and write.

A more complete definition, however, encompasses listening, speaking, reading and writing and today, using electronic media.

The major goal of every educator and parent should be to instill in children a solid foundation of transferable skills and a life-long love of reading and learning. To stay relevant, our children must constantly update their knowledge base. Hence, the prioritizing of literacy.

Dr.Carol Flexer, professor of audiology at the University of Akron, explains the importance of literacy this way,

“Literacy is inextricably entwined with sound. Immature listening abilities and underdeveloped auditory feedback loops have a substantial impact on how children learn to read.”

Literacy is all about sound. All its components incorporate sound in some way. Children learn to speak from listening. They learn to read from speaking and to write from reading.

Although our ears are the conduits for sound, we hear with our brains. Human development studies tell us that the human auditory brain structure does not fully mature until around age 15.

When brains do not receive intact sound, it is usually due to any one or a combination of factors, which include a noisy environment, ear infection, lack of auditory experience or immature brain development. Dyslexics have trouble connecting the sounds that make up words with the letters that represent those sounds. For them, the problem is often immature brain development.

Brain development studies show that sensory stimulation can influence growth and organization of auditory brain pathways.

That is why a number of currently available programs are helping dyslexic children develop their language and literacy skills. They are able to stimulate the auditory centers of the brain with precise sound. Music listening therapy helped my daughter tremendously.

This is good news for the dyslexic community.

Does this mean that every dyslexic person who receives this type of stimulation will learn to read at the same level as his non-dyslexic peers?

No.

Just as there is a continuum in the severity of characteristics in dyslexics, there is variety in their response to various sound development programs.

As technology takes over more and more, the skills that dyslexics find challenging are on the decline, while the thinking skills needed in today’s workplace are an integral component of their strengths.

Does interpretation of sound still matter? Yes.

But let us keep things in perspective. The goal is to learn concepts and generate ideas that will serve humanity and improve society.

There’s eye-reading – print books; ear-reading – audiobooks; and finger reading – braille. Whichever method one uses to accomplish this goal, is what’s best for him.

Which method of reading do you and your children prefer?

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Perseverance: Another Letter to My Dyslexic Daughter

Letters can be very personal and are often treasured by the receiver, so I’ve penned another letter to my daughter.

My dearest K,

You have hated every minute in school and never thought you would have made it this far. But, here you are at the end of the eighth grade. Congratulations, my child!

Struggles

My heart ached every time I saw how difficult it was for you to read out loud. We would practice your scripts and Bible verses for church, until you had them memorized. But those times when you were called on suddenly, because the church leaders perceived you to be such a brilliant young lady, I was embarrassed for you, as you labored to get through the readings.

Then there was the dreaded school. Every day. I made you go even when you complained of feeling sick, because I thought you were trying to escape. Unlike your third grade teacher, you middle school teachers did not understand the challenges of dyslexia, neither did they seem to want to.

I cringe every time I think of the public humiliation you endured, dying a thousand deaths every day. My heart aches when you recall how a teacher would unmercifully keep embarrassing you for reading aloud haltingly. Or making derogatory statements when you didn’t quite process and understand her question, preferring to think you hadn’t prepared at home, when you had spent many hours doing so, and fell into bed exhausted, every night.

No wonder you preferred hanging out with the boys. Unlike the girls who sat around talking about the books they were reading, they ran and jumped and played games you could identify with and feel accomplished.

Spelling continued to haunt you. Now, even more than before considering the difficulty of the assigned textbook.

Do you recall your difficulty reading social cues and showing appropriate behavior for different places? There was that time when you were playing with classmates instead of lining up and you were punished by having the class treasurer job – the one thing you exceled at and cherished, taken away. That was very poor judgment and downright mean of the teacher.

I can only imagine the way your experiences eroded your trust in adults who glossed over the tasks you accomplished, but humiliated you for the ones you did not do because you did not know how.

Successes  

On the other hand, do you remember how you learned to find your orientation point so you stopped your mind’s eye from roaming and getting you disoriented? And the clock technique that helped you go to sleep at night and wake up in the mornings?

Then, I got you that music listening therapy program to tune up your ears and your brain and you learned that your brain is musical. As your listening improved, so did your singing voice.

When we started to travel to other countries, your eyes were opened and your mind exploded when you realized that there was more to life than the struggle at school, and more ways of expressing yourself and viewing intelligence. You were permanently changed.

Traveling gave you an opportunity to see what you learned in books come to life. You observed firsthand, different cultures, food, governments and ways of life. Theory was now real.

Added to that, our extended family dynamics allowed you to ask any question and get an answer, without making you feel stupid.  

You have worked so hard and so diligently.

I continue to be very proud of you.

In spite of the challenges you encountered because of dyslexia, you courageously plowed ahead and conquered them.

You are getting better, every day.

Today, you graduate with high honors.

You deserve every moment of your celebration!

Now, on to High School. I’m in your corner and you will succeed!

Love,

Mom

What positive experiences can you reinforce in your child to counter the struggles they experience, every day?

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Perspective: A Letter to My Dyslexic Daughter

Looking back…

My dearest K,

You have come to the end of the second grade, and today, we were both surprised that your teacher wants to retain you.

She said:

  • Your handwriting is poor.
  • Your spelling is terrible and you cannot sound out words.
  • You can’t read simple “sight” words and come up with distractions to get away from reading when your turn comes around.
  • You don’t know your times tables.

I say:

  • You see things in a different way from your classmates and that helps you use your imagination in special ways to figure out problems.
  • You find patterns quickly and can arrange things so they fit into any space.
  • You tell stories in such a creative way, using simple things around that, both children and adults are amazed.
  • You won the science fair because you were the only child who could explain your project in detail.

It’s almost time to go back to school. After working with Ms. Lynn this summer, we now know why you have been having trouble with some things at school.

I want you to know that you are not stupid.

You are dyslexic.

Dyslexia is not a disease.

It is not a curse.

It is your superpower.

I will help you be the best that you can be.

Oh the places you will go because of your dyslexic brain!

Love,

Mom

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From Struggling Student to Business Magnate – A Dyslexia Success Story

Today we know him as one of the “Sharks” on the ABC hit television show, “Shark Tank.” Life wasn’t always so rosy for Daymond John, but an insightful mother made a huge difference.

Although he excelled in mathematics and science, he struggled with selling and anything requiring extensive reading and writing. When his parents took him to a professional for evaluation, they were told he had a behavioral issue. Fortunately, his mother did not believe that to be true.

He admitted that his father would often angrily yell at him to stop slacking. Getting tired of the struggle, Daymond signed up for the co-op program at his high school. This program allowed him to work full-time for one week in a business field and attend school full-time the next. He knew that he couldn’t rely on his report card, so he focused on showcasing his strengths in the co-op program.

Today, he’s on a mission to bring awareness to people that there’s nothing to be ashamed of if you are dyslexic. Listen to him and his mother discuss dyslexia as a strength.

He always thought he was a genius, and his drive and determination to channel his insights into entrepreneurial, marketing and branding success, have led him to become an in-demand motivational speaker, and the Ernst & Young’s New York Entrepreneur of the Year as well as Crain’s Business of New York Under Forty Award.

In this video as he continues chatting with his mom, he discusses the beginnings of his business venture.

If you take the time to chat with them, most dyslexics will tell you about their strengths, be it entrepreneurial, artsy, or athletic. They know where their strengths lie.

What entrepreneurial interests have you seen in your child?