Excerpts from The Gift of Dyslexia.

© 1994, 1997 by Ronald D. Davis.

Preface:

(A scene from my life in 1949)

The clock on the classroom wall ticks slower and slower. Tick. . . tick. . . . . . tick. . . . .

"Please hurry! Please hurry! Please... please... please hurry!" The words are whispered barely aloud by the young boy. Every muscle in his body is tense. His fingers twitch and tremble. His knees, pressed tightly together, quiver and touch the walls of the corner. He rocks slowly back and forth, but is careful not to dislodge the folded white handkerchief, his label of unworthiness, draped like a flag across the top of his head.

"Please... please!" he whispers again. Then he sucks in his breath and winces. But it doesn't help, nothing can. Within minutes it starts, a trickle at first, then all of it. He silently hopes there isn't so much that it makes a puddle on the floor.

He hunches over, pressing his face tight into the corner. His wrists cross into an X in his lap, hoping to hide the wet spot. Now he is glad he won't be leaving the school when the other kids do. Maybe they'll all be gone when he leaves and nobody will see; nobody will tease him. He has hoped this hope at least a hundred times before, but maybe this time he won't hear those awful words:

"Retard!"
"Retard!"
"Look at the retard."
"Retard pissed his pants again."

He is startled by the bell that signals school is out for the day. In the corner, amidst the clatter and clamor of the kids leaving, the boy sits motionless, hoping nobody looks in his direction. If he could be invisible he would be. Not until the room is quiet does he dare move, does he dare make a sound.

As the noise fades, the ticking of the clock accelerates. Tick. . . tick, tick!

Barely aloud, the boy whispers something that only he should hear.

"What did you say?" The loud voice booms right behind him.

If he hadn't already done it, he would be wetting his pants now. He presses into the corner as tightly as he can and tries to be as small as he can be.

One of the hands that put him in the corner grabs his shoulder and pulls him around. "What did you say?" the voice demands.

"I asked God not to make me sit in the corner any more."

That child's prayer is the sole reason for this book.

The Davis approach is not based on tutoring or drill, but actually resolves the root causes of problems experienced by individuals with language-based learning difficulties.

This book has been translated into these languages: American English | British English | Croatian | Dansk | Deutsch | Español | Français | Greek | Hebrew | Icelandic | Japanese | Italiano | Nederlands | Polski | Portuguese | Russian | Svensk

Chapter One.

Usually when people hear the word dyslexia they think only of reading, writing, spelling, and math problems a child is having in school. Some associate it only with word and letter reversals, some only with slow learners. Almost everyone considers it some form of a learning disability, but the learning disability is only one face of dyslexia.

Once as a guest on a television show, I was asked about the "positive" side of dyslexia. As part of my answer, I listed a dozen or so famous dyslexics. The hostess of the show then commented, "Isn't it amazing that all those people could be geniuses in spite of having dyslexia."

She missed the point. Their genius didn't occur in spite of their dyslexia, but because of it!

Having dyslexia won't make every dyslexic a genius, but it is good for the self-esteem of all dyslexics to know their minds work in exactly the same way as the minds of great geniuses. It is also important for them to know that having a problem with reading, writing, spelling, or math doesn't mean they are dumb or stupid. The same mental function that produces a genius can also produce those problems.

The mental function that causes dyslexia is a gift in the truest sense of the word: a natural ability, a talent. It is something special that enhances the individual.

Dyslexics don't all develop the same gifts, but they do have certain mental functions in common. Here are the basic abilities all dyslexics share:

1. They can utilize the brain's ability to alter and create perceptions (the primary ability).
2. They are highly aware of the environment.
3. They are more curious than average.
4. They think mainly in pictures instead of words.
5. They are highly intuitive and insightful.
6. They think and perceive multi-dimensionally (using all the senses).
7. They can experience thought as reality.
8. They have vivid imaginations.

These eight basic abilities, if not suppressed, invalidated or destroyed by parents or the educational process, will result in two characteristics: higher than normal intelligence, and extraordinary creative abilities. From these the true gift of dyslexia can emerge -- the gift of mastery.

The gift of mastery develops in many ways and in many areas. For Albert Einstein it was physics; for Walt Disney, it was art; for Greg Louganis, it was athletic prowess.

A Paradigm Shift

To change our perspective of dyslexia from disability to gift, we must start with a clear, accurate understanding of what dyslexia really is, and what causes it. Doing this will bring out the positive as well as the negative aspects of the situation and allow us to see how dyslexia develops. Then the idea of correcting it won't seem far-fetched. Going a step beyond correcting the problem, we can also recognize and explore this condition as the gift it truly is.

Before a dyslexic person can fully realize and appreciate the positive side of dyslexia, the negative side should be addressed. That doesn't mean the positive side will not surface until the problems are solved. The gift is always there, even if it isn't recognized for what it is. In fact, many adult dyslexics use the positive side of dyslexia in their life work without realizing it. They just think they have a knack for doing something, without realizing their special talent comes from the same mental functions that prevent them from being able to read, write or spell very well.

The most common disabilities of dyslexia occur in reading, writing, spelling, or math; but there are many others. Each case of dyslexia is different, because dyslexia is a self-created condition. No two dyslexics have created it exactly the same.

In order to understand the gift of dyslexia, we need to view the learning disability known as dyslexia from a different angle.

Dyslexia is the result of a perceptual talent. In some situations, the talent becomes a liability. The individual doesn't realize this is happening because use of the talent has become compulsive. It began very early in life and by now seems as natural as breathing.