Living With Dyslexia.

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BENIDORM
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Living With Dyslexia.

Postby BENIDORM » Tue Aug 18, 2009 9:48 am

I've mentioned that I am dyslexic, and have had numerous people contact me , asking me what are the symptoms etc., and would I write a little about it.
Well, I'm not an expert on the subject,and there are far more qualified members of this forum who could probably give more help..ie Can I say ..Marina..
I was over 40 years of age before someone said to me..'You're dyslexic'...I was quite taken aback, almost like someone saying 'you're a leper'...But then they went on to explain more about it, and that they had noticed that I seemed to struggle a bit with a variety of things.
I now know that there are many forms of dyslexia, and some people are more affected than others.

When I was a child I was called slow, day-dreamer, dim-witted etc, and that was by the teachers, ...certainly didn't help my confidence.
I did become somewhat withdrawn, quiet and reserved, of course I didn't realise that at the time, it's only on reflection that I can recall this.
I spent a lot of time with my pets,.. dog, cat, guinea pigs , tortoise, etc, I had quite a menagerie, and much to my mother's dismay I would take them to my bedroom and 'talk 'to them, they were my 'best' friends.
I did struggle with reading , but found that I could read and take in non-fiction- factual books, I read them very slowly and I found that I was actually almost top of the class with history and geography.Although I often knew the answers to questions asked by teachers, by the time I could 'summon' up the answer, someone had beaten me to it, but fortunately not many of the other pupils were interested in Geography and History, so I did get a chance of proving that I wasn't a complete 'dummy'.
And that is the problem if you have any learning disability..people treat you as if you are stupid,not true....the brain works in strange ways, and I now know and understand that.
I didn't receive any help with my problems, I don't think that anyone really understood what I was going through.
However I'm not complaining, it actually made me stronger in many other ways, and gave me much more determination to succeed in life.
I left school when I was 15, and started self-teaching myself..at my own pace.
I joined the Royal Navy, which was probably the best thing I ever did,it helped me build self confidence and gave me the chance to visit places and and experience real life..not always pleasant...
Anyway , I know that parents now are much more informed and will spot any irregularities with their childs learning abilities, and all I can say, is please be patient, and try to give as much one-to-one help, to your child. I have no problem with saying don't worry, your child will do well in the future, but do let them make their own decisions about what they want to do, I think that you will find they become very independant and individual people, who cope with whatever is thrown at them..
A good friend of my family, a Swedish lady..said to me many years ago...

Don't look at Dyslexia as a disability...look at it as a Gift...That helped me a lot ...

I hope that my thoughts and information , are of use to someone...
Regards,
Gordon..

Marina
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Re: Living With Dyslexia.

Postby Marina » Tue Aug 18, 2009 1:04 pm

Your right Gordon, dyslexia is in no way as sign of low intelligence. Many people with dyslexia have high IQs and are often very creative. Many very successful people have dyslexia.
The actual brain activity in people with dyslexia differs from that in a person without it and this can be seen in brain scans taken when people are reading.
Unfortunately, it isn't always recognised and can lead to a low self esteem. It is very difficult to try very hard and still not be able to do what other people can do easily, and this does make people feel they are "Thick" and if others perceive them as thick as well it can lead to a serious lack of confidence.
These days though, there is much more understanding of the types of problems it can cause and how it can be dealt with. It is not something that can be cured or "grown out of" but many of the difficulties can be overcome.
There are different degrees of dyslexia and not everyone will have the same difficulties.Some people with dyslexia also have dyscalculia which is a similar difficulty, but with numbers. Unfortunately this isn't yet as widely recognised as dyslexia.
It is generally accepted that a multi sensory approach to teaching is the most successful and I would urge anyone who suspects a child to be dyslexic to get help as soon as possible. The earlier it is recognised the more success there will be in overcoming it.
It is thought that dyslexia affects 10% of the population!
I'm always happy to give advice if anyone needs help, just send me a pm.

bunty
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Re: Living With Dyslexia.

Postby bunty » Tue Aug 18, 2009 6:09 pm

What an interesting forum Andalucia.com Forum is. Reading all the things posted I have learnt many things.Today I have heard about discalculia and read about it... never heard about this before!
Have discovered in the last few years I have a problem with writing numbers.Too many times when someone has given me a telephone number I have written it in the wrong order etc.I was never aware of this before, but now have to take great care especially when giving my bank details to book online with Ryanair.This problem is probably more due to old-age than anything else though!

katy
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Re: Living With Dyslexia.

Postby katy » Tue Aug 18, 2009 6:21 pm

It is good that they have nicer new names for things these days. Much better than being called "Backward" "one bun short of a dozen" etc.

Marina
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Re: Living With Dyslexia.

Postby Marina » Tue Aug 18, 2009 9:03 pm

Katy! Hopefully that was a "tongue in cheek" comment, if not, check out the research on dyslexia and you will see that it's not a fancy name for being backward, it is something that is identifiable on brain scans. If a person is just a little low on the intelligence scale, their brain activity when they are reading would show as normal. The brain activity in someone with dyslexia shows differently.

With dyscalculia, one of the first signs is often that the ability to understand numbers and mathematical concepts lags way behind the person's ability in all other areas!

Many people with these difficulties are actually so bright that they manage to spend their lives compensating and keeping their problems very well hidden. Not easy!

BENIDORM
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Re: Living With Dyslexia.

Postby BENIDORM » Thu Aug 20, 2009 1:51 pm

Marina,
Thank you for going to the trouble of explaining, I knew you would be able to give a much clearer and informed explanation than me.

The 'Discalculia', information really is interesting, and I'm sure that it affects more people than realised.

Thanks again, and I'm sure that you would help anyone who cared to pm you with any concerns regarding their children.
Regards,
Gordon.....

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Retro P
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Re: Living With Dyslexia.

Postby Retro P » Mon Aug 24, 2009 7:04 pm

bunty wrote:What an interesting forum Andalucia.com Forum is. Reading all the things posted I have learnt many things.Today I have heard about discalculia and read about it... never heard about this before!
Have discovered in the last few years I have a problem with writing numbers.Too many times when someone has given me a telephone number I have written it in the wrong order etc.I was never aware of this before, but now have to take great care especially when giving my bank details to book online with Ryanair.This problem is probably more due to old-age than anything else though!
Be careful when tipping :lol:
Ah! the full english!!

Pauly
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Re: Living With Dyslexia.

Postby Pauly » Tue Aug 25, 2009 6:04 pm

Hear about the insomniac dyslexic agnostic:?:

He lay awake alnight wondering about the existence of dog :lol: :lol:
dos cervezas por favor

BENIDORM
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Re: Living With Dyslexia.

Postby BENIDORM » Wed Aug 26, 2009 7:12 am

Pauly...Very funny...not heard that one....recently .. :)

R.P...'Be careful when tipping'..you suggested, and yes that can be very true , for anyone with discalculia, actually handling money/ numbers can be a nightmare, and it is more common than you think, probably many more people affected than is realised.
My own personal nightmare is filling in forms..never seem to get things in the right boxes..and I've never been able to remember telephone numbers, I still have to ask my wife what my mobile number is...and I've had the same number for about 10 years ! :oops:
Regards,
Gordon...


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