Davis Dyslexia Correction
The Davis Dyslexia Correction program is suitable for children age 8 and over, and adults of any age. Licensed Davis providers have successfully worked with many individuals over age 70.
The program typically includes 30 hours of one-on-one work over a 5-day period. Before starting the program, the Davis provider performs a Perceptual Ability Assessment, an exercise that helps determine whether the student has innate visual conceptualization skills often tied to dyslexia.
The two major components of the Davis Dyslexia Correction program are Orientation Counseling and Symbol Mastery.
Davis Orientation Counseling® teaches dyslexic students how to recognize and control the mental state that leads to distorted and confused perceptions of letters, words and numerals. Through a simple mental technique, the students learn to turn off the thought processes that cause misperceptions. Instead, they are able to restore their minds to a relaxed and focused state, suitable for reading and other studies. Once Orientation is learned, the student is ready to build the conceptual skills that will allow them to overcome problems stemming from dyslexia.
Davis Symbol Mastery® gives dyslexic students the ability to think with symbols and words, so they can learn to read easily and with full comprehension. Using clay, students first work with the alphabet, numerals, and punctuation marks, to make sure that they have an accurate perception and understanding of these symbols. Students then use clay to model the trigger words–the short abstract words, frequently encountered in reading, such as and, the, to, or it. These words cause problems when dyslexic students cannot form a mental picture to go along with them. Through Symbol Mastery, the student makes a three-dimensional clay model of the meaning of each word, together with a model of the letters of the words. With this approach, learning is permanent.
When working with children and teenagers, the Davis provider also provides support training to parents, so that they can continue to work with the child at home. At the end of the basic program, students have a full understanding of all the Davis methods, and know how to continue to use these methods on their own. On completion, students are given a kit containing all materials needed to continue to practice Davis techniques and to continue with clay modeling until they have mastered all the common trigger words.
This program is currently available online from many Davis Facilitators. For more information, see Online Program Delivery (Pilot Program).
For a sense of program benefits, watch these videos from GiftedDyslexic (South Africa):
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Davis Dyslexia Correction: A Brief Explanation
The Evidence Base of Davis methods
The Theory Behind Davis Dyslexia Correction Methods
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How can a teacher become Davis certified? I would love to be able to better help my students in the classroom, but I know of no training offered in my area.
April, teachers do not need certification in order to implement Davis strategies in a classroom setting. We regularly offer 2 or 3-day workshops geared to primary level classroom teachers; many of these workshops are offered online. You can find out more about the Davis Learning Strategies program here: http://www.davislearn.com
Full training and licensing is required in order for a person to become qualified to offer the full, individualized programs described on this site at http://www.dyslexia.com/davis-difference/davis-programs/ This training begins with a 4 or 5-Day Gift of Dyslexia workshop, and also is sometimes offered online. Any adult is welcome to enroll in the first workshop, but facilitator licensing requires a series of workshops, practice meetings, and field assignments that usually take a year to complete. Information about these workshops is available at http://www.davistraining.info You can find a workshop schedule there, as well as a description of the licensing training sequence.
Hi. I did the Davis dyslexic correction course in my 30’s. It changed my life. Thank you.
Hi Janice . That’s so lovely to hear. I’ve also done mine and felt really great afterwards even though I hadn’t managed to complete the whole home program yet, by myself. Are you aware of any platform that allows for participants of the Davis program to speak and discuss the trigger words for better clarification. How did you go about yours and complete it.
There is a Davis Dyslexia Support Facebook group you can join. It is a private group, but anyone can join — and if you have questions about trigger words you will get feedback from Davis Facilitators as well as from others who have completed programs and are working on their own trigger words. Here is a link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/davisdyslexia
If you are not on Facebook, we do have a website with examples of trigger words that you might find helpful: https://www.symbolmastery.com/
Hi. My daughter is completing the Barton program. She’s diagnosed dyslexic, CAPD, visual tracking issues ( has vision therapy) and some sensory issues with food textures/clothes. Will your program help? Or does she needs to complete all the above programs first? I’m interested in the 5 day program. Any available in CA? Thanks
The Davis tools can address all the issues you describe. In addition to addressing reading problems, Davis programs include tools to build and reinforce visual tracking during reading and auditory orientation. However, it is generally not a good idea to do a Davis program at the same time as other forms of therapy, because of the potential for confusion. Also, it is important that the person is committed to prioritizing the at-home follow through for Davis, and that can be difficult when there is a full schedule of other types of therapy.
The vision therapy would be compatible with Davis, but Barton emphasizes strategies that would tend to undermine the Davis program. Davis facilitators often work with clients who have had the Barton program before starting with Davis program, but that program would need to be discontinued before starting Davis. The problem is that any program that emphasizes phonetic decoding will tend to slow down the reading process, and so it becomes very difficult to develop automatic word recognition skills, reading fluency, and comprehension.
It’s best to consult directly with a Davis facilitator to discuss your daughter’s needs and your expectations for a program. All Davis Facilitators are listed at http://www.davismethod.org — you can use this page to find facilitators in California: http://www.davismethod.org/loc/california
Could you advise where you source the clay from? We would like to order some.
This is the clay we currently sell and include in our kits:
Sargent Art Modeling Clay: https://shop.dyslexia.com/index.php?l=product_detail&p=49
My 8.5 year old son has (pending official diagnosis) Auditory processing disorder. (Also possible ADHD and a few sensory things going on). Would the Davis program be appropriate for him?
Yes — APD is often just a different manifestation of symptoms which stem from the same underlying issues. A Davis program can address those issues. The combination of the APD with possible ADHD and sensory issues does suggest that disorientation may be a significant factor. So it would definitely be worthwhile for you to arrange an assessment with a Davis provider to discuss the range of symptoms and difficulties in the context of a possible program.
Can this program also help with Dyscalculia?
Yes, it can — but there is also a separate program specifically geared to math, which you can read about here: https://www.dyslexia.com/davis-difference/davis-programs/davis-math-mastery/
A consultation with a Davis Facilitator can help determine whether it is best to start with the Dyslexia Correction program, or to do the Davis Math Mastery program only. It would depend on specific areas of difficulty.
The more I read about this approach to helping students with dyslexia, the more I like it! I work with several young children who show dyslexic tendencies and in order to help them achieve more and make better progress, I would like to train to become a fully trained facilitator in the Davis methods. I have two questions:
How much would it cost me
How long would it take for me to qualify
I find it so frustrating that there are so many children out there who would benefit from these methods of learning and I want to be able to give them that knowledge to enable them to reach their full potential. I feel very inspired by all that I have read today and I can’t wait to get started on my learning journey.
Christine, you will find information about training to become a Davis Facilitator at our training site, http://www.davistraining.info
It generally takes about a year to complete all phases of training. The costs are somewhat dependent on where you do the training, so you want to be working through the Davis training agency for your country or region.
You’ll find more information on these pages:
> Licensing Course Sequence — https://www.davistraining.info/davis-facilitator-licensing-overview/
> Licensing Questions — https://www.davistraining.info/licensing-questions/
I have a 6yr of son who is in 1sr grade and struggles with reading. He also has a speech articulation issue only when using the letter l blended with another consonant. He is bilingual (English and Spanish) and and was taking classes in Chinese mandarin, till I was informed of his struggles. He was assessed and was recently diagnosed with dyslexia.
My questions are:
1) how can I know whether he is dyslexic or he is simply younger (he’s bday is at the end of March) and slower at developing his maturity?
2) when would it be a good age to re- assess?
3) can/should I start him on Davis program?
Karina, the Davis Dyslexia Correction program is given only to chidren age 8 and over. For children age 5-8, we instead would offer a Davis Reading Program for Young Learners. This is a foundational program that introduces the Davis tools to a child as will as providing training to the parent to continue working with a child. No assessment is required because it is meant to help any child to acquire beginning reading skills. This is also because of the question you have – it is very hard to know at age 5 or 6 if a child is dyslexic – but the child does not need to be dyslexic to benefit from extra support.
How can I find a licensed Davis provider near me?
There is a complete online directory of licensed Davis provider at https://www.davismethod.org/
There is an interactive map on the home page that you can use to find a facilitator, or you can scroll down to browse through the site by geographic location. Here is a direct link you can also use to browse by location: https://www.davismethod.org/davis-facilitators/locations/