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Overcoming Dyslexia

Reversing words, writing letters back to front, not

being able to remember the sequence of letters ina word or sometimes reading from right to left

dyslexia is a frustrating and often embarrassingproblem in our world of high-tech communications.

But in the midst of differing theories of what it is,what causes it and how to overcome it, one man

has a different opinion.

One nigth ther saw a firer in a builing one man saw very

injure he was rushed to hositipal and theree day he diad for interle njres.*

(One night there was a fire in a building. One man was very (badly) injured. He was

rushed to hospital and (after) three days, he died from internal injuries.

* Example taken from Overcoming Dyslexiaby Dr. Beve Hornsby.

The above transcript is not a misprint. You are reading a sentence as written by a

severely dyslexic person complete with the more common characteristics like lack

of punctuation, misspelling, reversal of words and letters, mixed up sentencestructure and poor grammatical construction. The sentence is practically unintelligible

to the average reader, and the partially corrected and punctuated translation below isnecessary for interpretation.

In our age of verbal and written communication, linguistic difficulties are not easy to

cope with. It's a problem, predominantly among children, that can leave one in aterribly lonely world, feeling unconfident, insecure and like a dunce.

The term dyslexiawas introduced in 1884 by the German ophthalmologist, R. Berlin.He coined it from the Greek words dysmeaning ill or difficult and lexismeaning word,

and used it to describe a specific disturbance o f reading in the absence of pathologicalconditions in the visual organs. In a later publication, in 1887, Berlin stated that

dyslexia, "presuming right handedness," is caused by a left-sided cerebral lesion. He

spoke of "word-blindness" and detailed his observations with six patients with brainlesions who had full command over verbal communications but had lost the ability to

read.

In the century to follow the narrow definition Berlin attached to the term dyslexia

would broaden. By the mid-1970s it was describing a condition of epidemic

proportions, and although it had no universally accepted symptoms, it wascommanding the attention of an armada of professionals, including paediatricians,

neurologists and educational psychologists.

There is a labyrinth of differing, opposing and o ften contradictory theories about

dyslexia, what it is, its causes and its possible correction. Some theorists say that

dyslexia is the result when the link between the language, hearing and comprehensioncentres of the brain is somehow misconfigured during fetal development. Another

theory states that dyslexia is caused by "faulty wiring in the brain," whereas anotherholds that a subtle impairment o f vision may be responsible, while yet another

believes that a cerebellar-vestibular dysfunction may be responsible.

There are other hypotheses that claim that dyslexia doesn't really exist, but is actually

a conglomeration of reasons causing poor reading, including psychological problems

with language. If there is such a problem, they say, it should be specifically identifiedand the individual trained accordingly.

What most seem to agree on though is that other possible causes for poor readingshould be ruled out before dyslexia is diagnosed as the possible problem. Factors like

poor eyesight or hearing, genuinely limited intelligence or psychological immaturity,

inappropriate teaching methods or an unstable home environment could all be relatedproblems.

However, while scientists argue on what it is and how to deal with it, the number ofso-called d slexics is risin . Described as "learnin disabled" latest American fi ures

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show a shocking increase in cases of dyslexia since 1976.

An Alternative Theory

There is one educationalist, however, who has his own approach. It is a theory that

has shown unprecedented success.

"Dyslexia is not a so-called learning disability," says Dr. Jan Strydom. "These childrenare not disabled. They are just lacking in certain basic skills that have inhibited their

ability to learn to read and write."

This was the conclusion reached by Dr. Strydom when he was working on his

program called Audiblox, a system that, despite some sideline criticism, has shownreal recordable results since its inception in 1979.

"Audiblox started life as a schoo l readiness program for my own children. I spent a lot

of time preparing them for formal school learning, as I'd always had the idea thatthose formative years were very important. It was developed primarily for them and

not for any other purpose. But later, when I was busy with my Master's Degree inEducation, I began to develop the program further. I started consulting as an

educationalist, as I'd always been interested in children with learning problems.

"One couple came to see me very late in the year. Their child was in a Grade 3 aidclass at that time, and doing very badly indeed. The child had already been referred to

a special school for the next year.

"It occurred to me to try the program on him. I gave the parents a copy, they went

home and did it with their son, and the results were quite astonishing. Before the endof that year, it had become clear to them, to me and to the teacher of the child that itwould be ridiculous to send him to a special school.

"The little boy was re-tested and promoted to Grade 4 in a normal class. He becamea top achiever with marks in excess of 80 and 90%. I remember distinctly the year

when he was in Grade 7, his father phoned me late one evening early in December.

They had just returned from the schoo l where their son had been given the prize forthe best achiever. This was a child who had been so-called 'learning disabled.'"

The Audiblox program is based on learning principles. "No human being can doanything he has not learnt to do," says Dr. Strydom. "Learning is a stratified process,

in which one skill needs to be properly mastered before o ther subsequent skills can be

learned." Consequently, the learning aid teaches the fundamentals of knowing andunderstanding.

Basic skills like concentration, visual discrimination, accurate observation andmemorising, skills of association, auditory memory (hence the name Audiblox) and

lateral interpretation are all dealt with in the form of simple exercises. These arefunctions, says Dr. Strydom, that should be taught at pre-schoo l level to form the

foundation of good reading, spelling and communication. Unfortunately, so many

children have not mastered these basics and suffer reading and writing problems as aresult.

"If you confront a child who has never learnt to count with a mathematical problem,"he says, "he won't know what to do with it, because he cannot interpret it. This is not

because there is anything wrong with him, but because he doesn't possess the

necessary numerical background knowledge to make it possible for him tounderstand it. If you try to teach this child to so lve the problem without

understanding it, there is no way he will succeed."

As a result of the effectiveness of the Audiblox program, Dr. Strydom decided to

publish it. "It was quite by accident that it became more than a school readiness

program. I started using it more and more for children of school going age andalways with incredible success. From there, I moved into full-blown research to

develop and expand it even further."

Today, Dr. Strydom's Audiblox has a list of success stories. Many individual children

have successfully been through the program, using it as a kit in their homes, whileschoo ls have initiated it in their classrooms. The teaching materials for both

environments are adapted accordingly.

Over recent years, Dr. Strydom has been involved in intensive theoretical research toback up the success of Audiblox. He continually re-works, develops and improves the

original concept.

"The two aspects of the program complement each other the theory and thepractical and the more we learn about theoretical considerations, the more it

becomes possible to further improve the program."

His approach is not altogether new, but his methods are quite revolutionary. "There

are so many syndromes doing the rounds these days," he says. "Symptoms are

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clustered together and called an abnormality and suddenly people are being diagnosed

with a so-called syndrome." Dr. Strydom reacts strongly to the popular notion thatdyslexia is a disability. "It is incomprehensible to me that the idea of a learning

disability still exists. It is so obviously a myth," he says.

"If a person is blind, we don't try and teach him to see because that's a real disability.We teach him skills to compensate for his disability. If these children had really been

disabled, they would have been taught compensatory skills instead of being forcedthrough remedial schooling. But there is nothing wrong with them. I believe there is

no physical, genetic or biological reason why they have this problem. What we haveto do is teach them to compensate for experiences and skills which have been lost

due to drastic changes in our modern lifestyle.

"The surroundings in which children grow up today are drastically different from whatthey were 60, 50 or even 40 years ago, and certain everyday experiences that are

vital to the correct interpretation of the written word have been removed from theirlives. Audiblox works intensively to compensate for the gaps that have been left in

the knowledge of certain children.

"Today, we also have to cope with gross inadequaciesin the entire schooling system and the whole approach

to learning. Many valuable things that were once partand parcel of the education system have been chucked

out through the window like drilling. Children don'tlearn their tables this way any more. And they love

drilling. Repetition creates confidence and builds a basis,

a kind of springboard for them to conquer highercognitive skills. You have to build that first and then

branch out into creative thinking and other approaches. You need a base for thehigher functions."

To achieve success with Audiblox requires time, patience and perseverance. In the

case of one-to-one working at home, it's important that a parent takes the time towork through the kit with her child. "Parents have to be just as committed to

maintaining the intensity and time with the program," says Dr. Strydom.

The program is also run in groups. I sat in on a class doing the Audiblox program. I

was surprised at the children's constant and unfailing concentration, at theirsharpened attention and their ability to remember long and complicated sequences,

initially o f coloured blocks, and then of letters. Slowly the system branched out and

competent reading and correct comprehension followed. But what struck me most

about the half-hour class, was the delight and enjoyment in the faces of thosechildren. They did not have the expression of frustrated, "learning-disabled" pupils, butof confident and cheerful children, eager to read, encouraged to learn and determined

to conquer their problem.

Success Story

"I never thought I would be writing this statement, but my dyslexic son doesn't seem

to be dyslexic anymore! The symptoms have all disappeared," wrote a mother fromfrom Quebec in Canada. "After all I've read on the subject of learning difficulties, this

was not supposed to happen!"

"When Jeremie was near the end of Grade 2, he was diagnosed as being dyslexic. Hehad been struggling in school since kindergarten. His tests showed an average

intelligence but he couldn't learn to read and write like all his friends. This took a big

toll on his self-esteem and I watched my little boy go from a happy, secure child to adepressed, insecure one.

"I began my search for something to help him there and then. I swore to him andmyself that I wouldn't give up until I had found a way to help him learn easier. I just

couldn't believe that there was no hope, that he would always struggle with anythingrelated to words on paper. That is what my research told me over and over for 2

years.

"We tried the special ed. teachers in school using various methods, Orton-Gillinghamamong others. Nothing. The school kept telling me they wanted to hold him back,

have him repeat his year in Grade 2 and 3. I figured if he didn't get it the first timearound, what did they think was going to happen the second time? They needed to

change the way they taught him, not the other way around. I was very dissatisfiedwith the results. They agreed to let him pass with a promise from me to work with

him through the summers. We tried The Davis method as laid out in Ron Davis's book

The Gift of Dyslexiafor 7 months, we tried visual therapy for 8 months. With eachmethod we lost precious time as Jeremie still struggled in school, getting 40 or 45 in

reading and writing. He was spiralling downward and thought he was very stupidindeed.

"Then, when I was getting pretty much fed up with methods promising results but not

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Jeremie

delivering them, I was told about Audiblox. I call it... destiny. I was sent a video that

showed children benefiting from this method. I was to ld how it was discovered. I wasstill sceptical until I was shown The Right to Readin its manuscript form. I was

amazed at how well researched this book was and that it discussed everything I'vebeen reading for the past 2 years while researching. It answered many questions and

just made so much sense! I decided to give Audiblox a try.

"The staff supported me every step of the way. Something I was not used to , gettingpersonal attention made us feel that we were important, not just another 'customer'.

"We began near the end of Grade 4. After only 3 weeks, Jeremie began to show

progress. His concentration improved and he became organised. As we went along,doing Audiblox every day for half an hour, he went through various changes. Changes

in his thought pattern. The base for learning had never been prepared and that waswhat was missing, why he wasn't learning anything new, since he never grasped the

basics in the first place. After a few months he began internalising his thoughts, nolonger needing to repeat everything out loud in order to remember. His sense of

direction improved dramatically. He used to get lost just walking to a friend's house a

few blocks away. Now he became aware of East, West, North and South. Hisdrawings improved. He was adding detail, no longer just drawing stick men with no

faces! And of course, his reading and reading comprehension improved over the nextfew months.

"It has been 10 months since we first began Audiblox. Jeremie is 11 years old nowand nearing the end of Grade 5. I just received his report card where he got a 75 in

reading and a 72 in writing. This is phenomenal for a so-called dyslexic who used to

average in the 40's! He recently told me that he no longer gets a stomach ache whenhe reads. He can now read for an unlimited time period whereas before he could only

go for 5 minutes or so. He is improving all the time and his self-confidence is back upwhere it should be, he feels great!

"I have spoken to a few parents who have gone through what I

have, decided to try Audiblox also and they are beginning to seeresults too. There are 2 in Canada who have been doing Audiblox

for a few months now seeing the same improvements inconcentration as we did. There are a few in the US, one in

particular has been doing the program for about 4 months andhas had astounding results, their daughter has improved

dramatically in all areas.

"I promised myself that if I ever found something that worked I

would tell every person I could about it, so that they won't haveto waste years and years searching for a way. The peopleinvolved with Jeremie's education are beginning to sit up and take

notice, they are as astounded as I am with the results.

"Jeremie and I thank you from the bottom of our hearts for all your hard work inputting this method together; without it we would still be shedding tears and

Jeremie's future would be less promising."

Edublox offers multisensory cognitive enhancementprograms aimed at developing and automatizing the

foundational skills of reading and spelling. Our programsare effective for a variety of learning difficulties, including

dyslexia. Click herefor more information.

Stock photo used.

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