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Dyslexia & Disorientation

Sue:
You seem to say that dyslexia as a learning disability, is really an ability for a person to use her/his "disorientation" part of their brain. Can you tell us more about this idea and how it affects the work you do?

Ron:
All of the symptoms of dyslexia, the learning disability, are symptoms of disorientation. How could you expect a person to read a paragraph of text if they were disoriented? Their brain would not be seeing what their eyes were seeing. The disorientation would be preventing it. You can try this out yourself, take any book or magazine, hold it at arms length above your head, look up at it and spin around ten times real fast. This will cause you to become disoriented. Then sit down and try to read the text. First of all, you are more likely to fall down than sit down. Sitting down in the chair is the first problem you must solve. If you fail you must try it again. Spin around and sit down. Keep trying until you get it. Now consider criticizing the dyslexic child for not sitting still in the chair. At least he/she is in the chair. Once you are in the chair, try reading the text. The words really aren't moving around. You're crazy if you think they are, you're just not paying attention. Concentrate! You're not concentrating. If the words stop moving get up and spin around again, ten times real fast. You know what your problem is? You're just stupid.

Same experiment, only this time instead of reading when you are finally in the chair write the words pterodactyl, esophagus, and Mississippi. Sit up straight, sit still, hold your pencil properly, this is a spelling test. Voila! Not only do you have a spelling problem, you can't even write. Obviously this kind of scribble must be the result of brain damage. I think I've made the point.

In our work the first thing we must give the dyslexic is the ability to simply turn off the disorientation. It is actually quite easy for the dyslexic to learn. Usually in less than an hour the dyslexic can intentionally, and very easily turn disorientation on and off. However this does not solve the real problem. There is a reason why the dyslexic was disorienting, they weren't doing it on purpose. There is some stimuli (confusion) that causes it to happen. When the dyslexic eliminates the stimulus that causes the disorientation to happen the learning disability aspect of dyslexia is corrected.

Sue:
When a person in a family is struggling with a learning disability it not only affects the individual but the rest of the family. How can family members not get frustrated and angry with a child who has dyslexia but effectively help him/her and as a result, the rest of the family?

Ron:
The answer here is two fold. First the family members should understand exactly what dyslexic is and why it happens. Second the dyslexia can be corrected, which eliminates the problem all together. A parent or other family member could help the dyslexic get through the correction steps in section four of the book. Many are doing so and consulting each other via the Parent Support Group at our website: If it is too much to ask of a family member to do, professional help and programs are available.

Sue:
Lastly, we are becoming more and more aware of problems like dyslexia, Add/Adhd etc... Are we in danger of "blaming" or attributing all negative attributes ( behaviors) that a child may possess on a "disability" when at times it's roots are in a socialization or behavioral problem (acting out strictly for attention, anger for other reasons than a learning disability)?

Ron:
An interesting question that has both a 'yes' and 'no' answer. We are becoming more aware of problems like dyslexia. Every year there are more problems like dyslexia, more names and types of problems. At the same time there are new names for behavioral problems that are not recognized as having their root in the frustration of dyslexia. In this regard the trend is moving in the wrong direction. There is a real lack of understanding of why people have unwanted behaviors in the first place. It is not a child, struggling for whatever reason, that is the problem, it is that we're looking to the wrong place for a definition or an answer. We are looking to the academic community, and we get a lot "new rhetoric" from them, none of which can or will solve anything. I believe that is a real problem.

Consider for a moment the structure of education in America. At one end we have kindergarten through third grade. At the other end we have the doctorate degree. At the K-3 level is where most diagnosing of problems like dyslexia, ADD, and behavior abnormality occurs. At the other level, the doctorate, is where these problems are defined, diagnostic procedures evolved, and treatment programs developed. It is the reality of this system that insures the future will be more complicated and at the same time less effective than the past.

The rhetoric and ritual of earning a doctorate degree requires the graduate student to have a new idea about the subject matter of their study. At the same time the new idea must conform to and agree with all the old ideas on the same subject. In other words it cannot really be a new idea. It cannot even be a "real" new perspective on the old idea because there would not be a bibliography of agreement to support it. So the graduate student is faced with a languaging problem, they must repackage an old idea in new language. This is why instead of having one name for the learning disability, dyslexia, we have about eighty. Also this is why there are few if any effective treatment program for a learning disability or a behavior problem. It's the same old stuff just repackaged. So as the system continues, every new doctor will give us a new problem, a new diagnostic procedure, or new treatment program, that is actually the same old stuff.

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