I'm making a presentation on dyslexia this evening and have 10 minutes at the beginning of the meeting. This is really tough. What are the most important things for a group of preschool parents to know about dyslexia? I decided to begin with a true/false list and address them with a power point presentation.

True or False?

1. Dyslexia means seeing words backwards. (Not really, although it appears that way due to directional confusion.)

2. People with dyslexia are very intelligent. (True, in fact the traditional way to test for dyslexia has been to measure the gap between intelligence and academic achievement.)

3. Dyslexia is caused by birth trauma. (False, it is caused by different brain wiring.)

4. Children grow out of dyslexia. (False, it persists into adulthood.)

5. All children catch up by 3rd grade. (False, the gap between efficient and slow readers persists without intervention.)

Why can writing be so difficult?

There are many factors affecting writing ability, but an important factor may be how directly a preferred learning modality is connected up to the language center of the brain. I don't know which modality I prefer to use while learning: visual, auditory, or kinesthetic. My left eye is dominant, my left ear is dominant, so it seems the information I hear and see is directly connected to the right side of my brain. I also can learn without moving. I can understand information using my hearing and sight, but I generally won't remember what I learn until I tell it to someone else - I am a verbal learner. I suspect this is why I love teaching and making presentations; I think best while talking. Perhaps, in order to blog, I will have to read out loud as I write.

What is your dominant eye and ear? Are you a whole-to-part processor, or a part-to-whole processor? To find out more check out Carla Hannaford's book .

beginnings

I am very excited to embark on this new journey of blogging!

Nate Lewis created a marvelous logo and website for me, and has encouraged me to share my thoughts about my work and dyslexia. So here I am - blogging.

Thanks, Nate - You are an artist! Thanks for the inspiration.  

Nate's website

Welcome!

"Trying to understand what dyslexia is all about while overlooking the talents that mature individuals with dyslexia characteristically display is like trying to understand what it's like to be a caterpillar while ignoring the fact that caterpillars grow up to be butterflies." - from the book The Dyslexia Advantage by Brock and Fernette Eide