Vision and Learning Difficulties

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Dyslexia has long been called a brain dysfunction, or at very least a brain wiring disruption and, despite the debate raging around it, I found a very interesting article which seems to fit nicely with the Learning @ Lightspeed program, and could explain the reason we are seeing such success with it!

Here’s an extract from Susan du Plessis…

The idea that dyslexia is a certifiable biological disorder, a physical problem that could be diagnosed and treated accordingly, gained credence during the 1960s and 1970s, giving rise to an armada of theories. One such a theory states that dyslexia is the result when the link between the language, hearing and comprehension centers of the brain is somehow misconfigured during fetal development. Another theory states that dyslexia is caused by “faulty wiring in the brain,” whereas another holds that a subtle impairment of vision may be responsible, while yet another believes that a cerebellar-vestibular dysfunction may be responsible for the learning disability. All these theories ? most of them blaming some difference in structure between the brain of the dyslexic and that of the so-called normal reader ? have lead to nothing at all. Despite all these theories and all the intervention efforts based on them, not to mention the vast amounts of money expended in the process, the numbers of dyslexics continue to escalate.

Except for the fact that proof of a neurological deficit still eludes the researchers, this theory leaves many questions unanswered. If dyslexia has a neurological basis, why is this supposedly non-contagious “ailment” on the increase?

PUTTING THE SHOE ON THE OTHER FOOT

When a person fails to learn something, there are at least two possible reasons why he failed. The first is that there may be something wrong with the person. The second is that there may be something wrong with the way in which he was taught. Unfortunately most people have so far jumped to the very hasty conclusion that, when the otherwise normal child fails to learn to read, it must be the first possibility that applies.

When teaching, it is imperative to take note of the fact that learning is a stratified process. One step needs to be mastered well enough before subsequent steps can be learned. This means that there is a sequence involved in learning. It is like climbing a ladder; if you miss one of the rungs of the ladder, you will fall off. If you miss out on one of the important steps in the learning process, you will not be able to master subsequent steps.

A simple and practical example of this is the fact that one has to learn to count before it becomes possible to learn to add and subtract. If one tried to teach a child to add and subtract before he had been taught to count, one would quickly discover that no amount of effort would ever succeed in teaching the child these skills. Conceivably people who abide by the learning disabilities idea would then conclude that the child suffered from a neurological dysfunction, or from “dyscalculia,” overlooking that the ability to count must be acquired FIRST, BEFORE it becomes possible to learn to add and subtract.

This principle is also of great importance on the sports field. If we go to a soccer field to watch a soccer coach at work, we shall soon find that he spends much time drilling his players on basic skills, like heading, passing, dribbling, kicking, etc. The players who are most proficient at these basic skills usually turn out to be the best players in the actual game situation.

In the same way, there are also certain skills and knowledge that a child must acquire FIRST, BEFORE it becomes possible for him to become a good reader. Basic skills like concentration, visual discrimination, accurate perception and memorizing, skills of association, auditory memory and lateral interpretation are all functions that form the foundation of good reading and spelling. Until a child has mastered these basic skills first, reading will remain a closed ? or at most half-open ? book to him.

Teaching these basic skills used to form part of the educational system for many centuries, but have since been removed from Western education by “innovative” educators such as John Dewey and his cohorts. In this way the epidemic that is now called “dyslexia” was created.

Already in 1974, in “Reading Teacher,” Bateman suggested that the term “learning disabilities” be replaced by “teaching disabilities.” The focus, he said, should be on the inadequate skills of the adults who are supposed to teach the children, instead of on blaming the children of mysterious brain dysfunctions. In 1987 Dr. Thomas Armstrong coined the word “dysteachia” to refer to children suffering from “pedagogical illness” or inappropriate teaching strategies.

Perhaps it is time that we investigate the possibility that Bateman and Armstrong may have been correct when they said that the shoe was on the wrong foot.

Click here to read the full article

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Children and learning difficulties are hot topics today. So many ideas, so many experts. As the writer of this blog, what right do I have to suggest that I can actually help?

Let me make a couple of observations:

Learning difficulties, learning disorders and dyslexia are common diagnoses today.

You can pay hundreds of dollars for tests that yield these diagnoses, but rarely do you ever get any clear guidance of what to do to help the situation.

If the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over expecting a different result, then most remedial help for children with learning difficulties is insanity!

Pretty heavy statements I know, but if you are the parent struggling with your child or children and learning difficulties, then the agony of homework and constantly plugging away at your child, trying to teach them reading, is enough to drive you insane! As another painful bout of homework looms this afternoon, I am sure that many of you are saying to yourself, “Surely there must be something more I can do that is actually going to work!”

The analogy that I use for tearting children and learning difficulties involves one of my favourite things in the world… football.

I know, I know, you ladies just don’t want to know anything about football, but please take a moment and bear with me as I explain. For all you soccer moms, you will relate to this:

If you want your child to play football, there are two ways that you can go:

Give him a soccer shirt and send him out on the field. You know what will happen? The other kids will play him off the pitch, and he will return to you depressed and feeling like a failure, or…

Take him to football practice and learn the skills of the game. Let the coach teach him to kick, pass, shoot, head and trap the ball, how to tackle and play his position. Then when he gets out on the field, he can hold his own in the game.

Funny thing is, when we keep forcing our children to do homework and remedial reading that they hate, it is just like giving them a jersey and sending them out to play. Just as frustrating, just as discouraging, and just as pointless.

My way is simple, and it’s different. Take a pause from the game, and TEACH THEN THE SKILLS THEY NEED TO PLAY THE GAME OF READING! That’s what my special vision therapy for children and learning difficulties does: It teaches then the skills they need to read. It is quick, fun, interesting and, above all, very effective in improving a child’s visual skills and hence reading, writing and spelling ability.

If you’re sick of struggling with your child and want a proactive, proven way to improve their school ability, please check out Learning @ Lightspeed, a powerful and effective tool to help children and learning difficulties.

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Discover a way to help your child. New information about children and learning difficulties.

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One of the common misconception I have found in my many years of dealing with children and learning difficulties is that the term “dyslexia” is often thrown around with seeming gay abandon.

Dyslexia is often used almost interchangably with learning difficulties or learning disorders, and it seems that it is a label easily attached to any child struggling with learning. Symptoms such as, “reading behind age norms,” “words apparently moving on the page,” and “writing letters backwards” are sited as key reasons for the diagnosis, and I believe that many a many a struggling child has been “given up on” by well meaning professionals because he or she is bearing that most provocative of labels.

Now, please don’t get me wrong: I am not saying that dyslexia does not exist. I have heard Professor John Stein speak on the neural basis for dyslexia, and agree with him on many, but not all points he makes. But I am not a research scientist. I am not running double blind studies. I, folks, work in the trenches, slogging away on a day to day basis with children and learning difficulties. In practice, in real life and on a daily basis.

And I get results. In my area, you would simply never survive in practice if you produced dubious results! Word of mouth from parents and teachers who have seen their children’s lives transformed, and their learning difficulties relieved is the best advertising there is. I don’t have the cure for true dyslexia, but in my experience I hold the key for many a misdiagnosed dyslexic!

Recently one lovely young girl, aged 9 years, had been diagnosed as dyslexic and, as usual, offered little or no help other than remedial reading (which was a massive struggle). Coloured overlays had helped, but only slightly, as she had very few sight words and thus could not read.

In 6 months of therapy (and one set of reading glasses), she exploded the dyslexic diagnosis in her own life. The glasses increased concentration. The therapy trained within her the valuable visual skills necessary for reading, writing and spelling. By the time we encountered my special spelling technique, she was able to learn 155 words in 4 weeks, AND THEY STUCK!

So, if you’re dealing with children and learning difficulties, don’t be hasty to find a convenient diagnosis. For the full run down on how we can transform your child’s learning experience visit children with learning difficulties soon.

Visit http://childrenlearningdisabilities.com/learninglightspeed/ and discover positive, holistic and effective solutions you can start using right now to help answer the question of children and learning difficulties.

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Bright children and learning difficulties are frequently seen together, despite the common misconception that truly bright children always do well in school. Yet history is littered with examples of bright individuals, some geniuses, who had trouble at school concentrating and achieving good grades. Names like Churchill and Einstein spring to mind, but I’m sure that in almost every classroom across our nations the same phenomenon will be seen… bright children and learning difficulties.

The real question is, “Why?” Why does a bright child have trouble reading? Why does a child who is articulate, intellectual and creative suddenly grind to a complete halt when faced with reading? It might suprise you, but I believe I know the reason why!

Vision!

Please understand, I am not talking about whether a child can see or not. Obviously the vast majority of children with learning difficulties can see, so the issue of sight is not in question. However, vision is not simply sight, it involves interpreting, understanding and applying the information coming in through the visual system. If your child does not process the information correctly, there is every chance that you will see a bright child with learning difficulties.

But here’s the good news: You can teach your child how to correctly process visual information. You can train them in the skills they need to overcome the reading barrier.

You can break the link between bright children and learning difficulties, and what’s more you can do this in the comfort of your own home, for a fraction of the cost of standard therapies or tutoring.

If you want to explore this amazing breakthrough for children and learning difficulties, click the link and out this proven, effective and simple-to-apply therapy, which is guaranteed to see improvement in your child’s reading, writing and spelling ability.

Visit http://childrenlearningdisabilities.com/learninglightspeed/ and discover positive, holistic and effective solutions you can start using right now to help answer the question of children and learning difficulties.

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It has been estimated that 30-50% of children in our schools have learning difficulties.  Exactly what form this takes can vary, and so estimates also vary accordingly, but the fact remains: A large proportion of time and energy is spent with children and learning diffculties.

Now, as a parent I know that you don’t really care about statistics.  If your child is one of the thousands who struggle with learning difficulties, the statistics are of very little use to you, are they?  The most important thing to you is finding a solution to your child’s learning difficulties, not categorizing them into neat columns for some distant academics thesis!

And that’s where this blog can help.  I have been working in the area of children’s vision and learning difficulties for over 20 years, and have seen countless numbers of children improve their reading, writing and spelling as a result of the right techniques applied correctly.  With around 70-80% of children with learning difficulties showing measurable vision problems (which is to be expected, given that 80% of all information received in the classroom comes to a child via their visual system), I believe practitioners like myself are in the box seat when it comes to effective, proactive solutions to the problem of children and learning difficulties.

For many years I have had phenomenal success treating children and learning problems in my practice, and now for the first time I am able to offer effective, easy to follow therapy on the internet.  There’s no magic and no huge price tag, just targeted vision therapy that actually works in helping your child’s learning difficulties…guaranteed!

So, if your child is struggling in school, don’t let them become another “children and learning difficulties” statistic.

Visit http://childrenlearningdisabilities.com/learninglightspeed/ and discover positive, holistic and effective solutions you can start using right now to help answer the question of children and learning difficulties.

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