The Dyslexic Label and Low Self-Esteem

Several years ago I ran a workshop in Birmingham that was aimed at assisting parents of dyslexic children to gain a deeper understanding of the issues surrounding dyslexia.

The workshop was well attended and some of the parents had brought along their children with them as they perhaps thought it would be of benefit for them to meet me – maybe to inspire them to persevere with their efforts to overcome dyslexia – you see, I was functionally illiterate as a child and it took me from the ages of 18 to 31 to learn to read and write to a good enough standard to get myself into university – I’m now finishing off my PhD in education on the subject of dyslexia.

Anyway, returning to the focus of this post, ‘The Dyslexic Label and Low Self-Esteem’, there were twin boys (8 year olds) attending the workshop – one that had been labelled as dyslexic the other who had not. Yet, both brothers showed very similar issues when it came to reading and writing.

However, I noticed a striking difference between the two of them – the twin that had been labelled as dyslexic had very little confidence when it came to his reading and writing abilities. His brother, on the other hand, was extremely confident and was at times – in typical sibling rivalry – mocking his brother for the ‘mistakes’ he was making whilst writing a short story about his dyslexia. This twin was also keen to show off his literacy skills whilst his brother shied away from writing and at times seemed to be somewhat embarrassed when asked to writing something.

Curiously, the father of the twins spoke to his son who had been labelled as dyslexic differently to how he spoke to his son that had not been labelled in this way. For example, I heard him telling the dyslexic twin that his brain was not normal like his brothers and that’s why he needed to have special treatment at school – a sure way to knock a child’s self-esteem! I also noticed how his attitude seemed different to the ‘dyslexic’ twin, it was almost as if had resided himself to the fact that this son would never achieve academically.

Both brothers produced written work on the day along with a couple of drawings that had speech bubbles coming from the characters they had created. At first glance, I couldn’t tell who had produced what – they both spelt words unconventionally, their handwriting was ‘messy’ and in places illegible, and they both appeared to have difficulties expressing themselves on paper to a level that matched, or came somewhere close to, their verbal abilities. The only differentiating factor between the two sets of work was that they had both taken the time to write their names on the top of each piece of paper. On looking at their work I was puzzled why one of the twins had been assessed as dyslexic and the other one had not.

On reflection, I remember thinking how the lives of the twins would most probably go off in quite different directions as a result of one being labelled as dyslexic – this happening despite there being (in my opinion) very little difference between the two of them in terms of their literacy skills.

I remember thinking at the time how the only real difference between the twins was the perception that they held of themselves in relation to their literacy skill. The ‘non-dyslexic’ brother appeared to have high levels of self-esteem and seemed to view himself as more than able to read and write – whist the other brother appeared to have low levels of self-esteem and clearly doubt his reading and writing ability. I speculated that the ‘non-dyslexic’ brother stood a far great chance of improving his literacy skills over the years as he would more than likely engage with written language to a far great extent than his ‘dyslexic’ brother would.

It was during this workshop that it really hit home just how damaging the label of dyslexia can be for some children.

Article by Antonio Farruggia, 11th January, 2010

Here’s to a Prosperous Dyslexic 2,000 & TEN!!!

We would like to wish you a Prosperous Dyslexic 2,000 & TEN – and that you have fun in the New Year overcoming your dyslexia!

We’ve got lots of exciting plans for 2010 that we hope will assist dyslexic people to overcome their dyslexic related difficulties. Here are a few things that are in the pipeline for 2010:

-    We will be delivering another batch of our ‘Parent as Dyslexic Support Coach’ workshops after the great feedback we got from the parents and special needs teachers.

-    We have designed a few competitions for school children that will hopefully help raise people’s awareness towards dyslexia.

-    We have lots of changes that we are going to make to the website such as adding our Famous Friends of Dyslexic Brian Section – we already have a few celebrates that have pledged their support so this section will be a great addition to the website.

-    Towards the end of 2010 we will be publishing Antonio’s PhD thesis online for those of you who are interested in reading Antonio’s research on the subject of dyslexia.

-    We will also be releasing an e-Book towards the end of 2010 that will give the key points from Antonio’s research – and will hopefully be useful for people who are struggling to overcome their dyslexia.

-    And from November 2010 we will be planning our 2012 Dyslexic Brian Backward Walk from John O’Groats to Lands End to raise people’s awareness of dyslexia and also to raise money for Comic Relief.

As you can see we have a busy 2010 ahead of us and we are excited about the new work we will be doing to raise people’s awareness of dyslexia. But, more importantly we are really looking forward to supporting even more people in 2010 than we did during 2009 to overcome their dyslexic related difficulties.

Once again we would like to wish you a Prosperous Dyslexic 2,000 & TEN!!!

Confidence Building in Dyslexic Children

The majority of dyslexic children have come to the conclusion that hey are stupid!

Build Confidence in Dyslexic Children

The Basics

In any school in any week of the year a dyslexic child experiences a huge amount of failure. With sequencing difficulties, any form of writing or math/s is going to present severe problems, and the dyslexic child cannot fail to notice that almost all of the other children are able to do the work which he or she finds so hard. Why can’t he read and spell? He must be dumb, thick, stupid. It’s the conclusion that anyone would reach in similar circumstances, and it badly needs changing before any corrective teaching is going to be effective.

However good our methods with phoneme awareness, finding interesting books and word games are, this basic foundation for each child of a secure self-confidence has got to be addressed before any real progress can be hoped for

The difficulty with dyslexia is that it is not visible. If the child had a broken arm, everyone would be rushing around giving extra consideration. ‘Of course he can’t write – his arm is broken! There’s nothing wrong with his intelligence.’ But no-one ever says ‘Of course he can’t spell – he has inherited a different pattern of brain circuits! There’s nothing wrong with his intelligence.’

Teachers, parents and the dyslexic child himself come to the clear conclusion that he must be slow-witted.

What I am suggesting is a little cognitive therapy by the teacher, if possible in conjunction with the parent! Not as hard as it seems. The assumption in the child’s mind – that he is stupid – is inaccurate, and it needs correcting if he is to re-establish the self-confidence he needs to learn. This is not going to be achieved simply by telling him that he’s as intelligent as the next person. Well-intentioned people have been telling him that for years to no effect. He needs evidence, and he needs to re-construct the picture he has of himself in his own mind. Only in this way can he see his difficulties as a dyslexic learner in the proper context of a person – like anyone else – who has both strengths and weaknesses. Most dyslexic people have great strengths in the areas of physical co-ordination and/or creativity and/or empathy with other people. His strengths may lie in some of these areas, and he will know that lots of other children are weak in exactly these same areas.

The following exercise has a great effect on children, and can be carried out by a parent, or a teacher, or, if at all possible, both together with the child, who needs to be on his own (not in a group situation). Take a sheet of paper and make two columns: in one column put ‘Things I am good at’ and in the other ‘Things that I am not so good at’

• Things that I am good at
• Things that I am not so good at

Take about five or ten minutes of discussion with the child for you to write a list of things that the child is – from an objective point of view – successful at. These will include such skills as swimming, sports, caring for pets, making a collection, dancing, drama, singing, art, painting, drawing, and so on. In the ‘Not so good’ column let the child tell you the things like spelling and writing that he really finds hard. The list will look something like this, depending of course on each child’s interests:

• Things that I am good at
  • swimming
  • diving
  • basketball
  • looking after my rabbits
  • drawing
  • painting
  • collecting stamps
  • getting on well with other children
  • clearing the table
  • making people laugh
  • softball
  • being friendly to grandpa
  • knowing about space and the planets
  • etc.
• Things that I am not so good at
  • spelling
  • reading
  • writing
  • math/s

The evidence is staring the child in the face: there are far more things that he is good at than things he has difficulties with. He can’t possibly be stupid. He is clearly a successful person.

But he may well say that the things he is weak at are the things that matter in life. If you can’t spell, how can you pass exams and get a job? This is the stage at which you have to argue – not tell – and say such things as ‘What do you value people for – because they are good at spelling? Of course not. You value people for all sorts of qualities, especially their ability to be friendly, get on with you, consider your needs, think of other people before themselves and so on. It’s up to you to keep the argument going until the child can really begin to see himself in a new light – as a successful person who just happens to have been born with a small handicap. Like being color-blind. It’s not his fault. It’s not because he doesn’t try hard enough (as, unfortunately, many teachers will have told him).

Seeing himself in a new light can be a turning point for the child – whatever his or her age – and this new-born self-confidence can lay the foundation for the special kind of learning he needs to build up the spelling and writing skills that his fellow pupils find so much easier to acquire.

But it’s not an over-night change, and it needs carefully nurturing over the coming month. The list should be carefully preserved and pinned up at home in the kitchen for all to see. He needs praise, gold stars, credits, and certificates over the coming weeks for things he does in school – of a non-cademic nature – which are commendable: helping a new pupil to settle in, co-operating well in a games session, coming up with a fresh creative idea for art, and so on. The certificates he receives for these valuable activities may be the first he has ever received in his entire school career.

John Bradford
June 2001

Confidence Building in Practice

I began this activity by talking about a new session my learners would be having with me, which is Positive thinking. I modelled on the board my list and the children called out ideas. At the beginning of this activity this particular learner said, ‘I’m not good at anything’.

My reply was ‘Yes you are. You are good at football’. This made him realise that – yes – he can do things. With some discussion he managed to make a list.

Things that I am good at:

• Football
• Running
• Drawing
• Helping my friends

Things that I am not so good at:

• Reading
• Writing stories

At the end of the session he felt quite confident about the things he isn’t so good because I was able to bring to his attention that he can read just not as well as he is wanting to at the moment. We talked about books he had read and group reading activities where he sometimes helps other children with words like they help him.

The following day it was group reading. He put his hand straight up to be the first to read and he read steadily and more readily accepted help from the other children. (S. B-W., Somerset, UK)

Recognizing low self-esteem

A J is the typical 14-year-old boy—great athlete, “cool” with the girls, and loves to clown around when the pressure is on. I believe that underneath that façade what he projects is fear of failure in the eyes of his peers. During class he appears to pay attention but, when he is called upon to answer something that he is unsure of, he pretends not to have heard anything in the past five minutes.

This elicits a classroom response of giggles, especially in English or history. Science is a totally different matter, where he is truly interested, and is the first to answer or ask questions about an experiment. History and English are difficult, so he is frequently forgetting to complete assignments on schedule without constant reminders. He wants his peers to believe that he is just as carefree as everyone else and that school doesn’t offer any extreme challenges. (Lisa Landers, Texas)

Praise for non-academic achievements

Dyslexic children rarely receive certificates, merit points or stars for academic achievements. To compensate for this, non-academic achievements can easily be recognised and rewarded. Examples of such instances include:-

• Helping in class by handing out/collecting in work;
• Demonstrating to rest of class in P.E.;
• Showing good effort (regardless of outcome);
• Keeping desk tidy;
• Being organised with own equipment for lessons;
• Showing kindness to others;
• Willingness to participate in discussions;
• Sitting quietly and attentively;
• Good table manners at lunchtime;
• Helping to put out equipment or tidy up;
• Being polite;
• Setting a good example to younger pupils;
• Willingness to become involved in all aspects of school life (productions, clubs, trips, fundraising activities, etc).

Source: BeingDyslexic

New Brain Findings On Dyslexic Children | by Wendy Leopold

The vast majority of school-aged children can focus on the voice of a teacher amid the cacophony of the typical classroom thanks to a brain that automatically focuses on relevant, predictable and repeating auditory information, according to new research from Northwestern University.

But for children with developmental dyslexia, the teacher’s voice may get lost in the background noise of banging lockers, whispering children, playground screams and scraping chairs, the researchers say. Their study appears in the Nov. 12 issue of Neuron.

Recent scientific studies suggest that children with developmental dyslexia – a neurological disorder affecting reading and spelling skills in 5 to 10 percent of school aged children – have difficulties separating relevant auditory information from competing noise.

The research from Northwestern University’s Auditory Neuroscience Laboratory not only confirms those findings but presents biological evidence that children who report problems hearing speech in noise also suffer from a measurable neural impairment that adversely affects their ability to make use of regularities in the sound environment.

“The ability to sharpen or fine-tune repeating elements is crucial to hearing speech in noise because it allows for superior ‘tagging’ of voice pitch, an important cue in picking out a particular voice within background noise,” said Nina Kraus, Hugh Knowles Professor of Communication Sciences and Neurobiology and director of the Auditory Neuroscience Laboratory.

In the article “Context-dependent encoding in the human auditory brainstem relates to hearing speech-in-noise: Implications for developmental dyslexia,” Kraus and co-investigators Bharath Chandrasekaran, Jane Hornickel, Erika Skoe and Trent Nicol demonstrate that the remarkable ability of the brain to tune into relevant aspects in the soundscape is carried out by an adaptive auditory system that continuously changes its activity based on the demands of context.

Good and poor readers were asked to watch a video while the speech sound “da” was presented to them through an earphone in two different sessions during which the brain’s response to these sounds was continuously measured.

In the first session, “da” was repeated over and over and over again (in what the researchers call a repetitive context). In the second, “da” was presented randomly amid other speech sounds (in what the researchers call a variable context). In an additional session, the researchers performed behavioral tests in which the children were asked to repeat sentences that were presented to them amid increasing degrees of noise.

“Even though the children’s attention was focused on a movie, the auditory system of the good readers ‘tuned in’ to the repeatedly presented speech sound context and sharpened the sound’s encoding. In contrast, poor readers did not show an improvement in encoding with repetition,” said Chandrasekaran, lead author of the study. “We also found that children who had an adaptive auditory system performed better on the behavioral tests that required them to perceive speech in noisy backgrounds.”

The study suggests that in addition to conventional reading and spelling based interventions, poor readers who have difficulties processing information in noisy backgrounds could benefit from the employment of relatively simple strategies, such as placing the child in front of the teacher or using wireless technologies to enhance the sound of a teacher’s voice for an individual student.

Interestingly, the researchers found that dyslexic children showed enhanced brain activity in the variable condition. This may enable dyslexic children to represent their sensory environment in a broader and arguably more creative manner, although at the cost of the ability to exclude irrelevant signals (e.g. noise).

“The study brings us closer to understanding sensory processing in children who experience difficulty excluding irrelevant noise. It provides an objective index that can help in the assessment of children with reading problems,” Kraus says.

For nearly two decades, Kraus has been trying to determine why some children with good hearing have difficulties learning to read and spell while others do not. Early in her work, because the deficits she was exploring related to the complex processes of reading and writing, Kraus studied how the cortex — the part of the brain responsible for thinking –encoded sounds. She and her colleagues now understand that problems associated with the encoding of sound also can occur in lower perceptual structures.

Source: Medical News Today

Reading and Writing – Why Dyslexics Love or Loath it!

Over the years I (Antonio Farruggia) have come across dozens of dyslexic people who seem to have a real passion for reading and writing. For many, there appears to be a love affair going on between them and their books and/or story writing.      

This can often shocks people who have little awareness of dyslexia as they assume that reading and writing would be the last things that someone with dyslexia would gain pleasure from doing. And yet, as mentioned, I have come across dozens of dyslexic people who seem to have a real passion for reading and writing.

Equally, over the years I have come across dozens, if not hundreds, of dyslexic people who seem to have a real hatred for reading and writing.

So, why is it that some dyslexic people love written language whilst others seem to really loath it?

Perhaps one of the reasons that many dyslexic people love to read and write might have something to do with the fact that reading and writing are brilliant inventions. For instance, reading can be a great way to stimulate our inner selves whilst writing can be an excellent way to help us express our thinking. So, once a dyslexic person gets to grips with using these inventions it is little wonder that they may fall in love with using them.  

Unfortunately for some dyslexic people they find it hard to overcome the difficulties that they experience with written language and therefore never really get the hang of using it. For these people (and I was once one of them) nothing can be worst that the thought of having to do some reading and writing especially if their literacy skills do not match their level of intelligence. For example, it can be extremely frustrating trying to gain information from a book when your reading age is several years behind your own. And, it can be so humiliating when trying to write something in front of someone when your handwriting is completely unreadable.     

Also, the thought of having to do some reading or writing might, for some dyslexic people, conjure up negative childhood memories. For example, they may have been picked on or made to feel inferior by their peers and/or teachers for having poor literacy skills. So, it’s no surprise then that for these people they may end up loathing reading and writing.  

The question that we are now faced with is why are some dyslexic people able to overcome their difficulties and love reading and writing whilst others find dyslexia an insurmountable obstacle and end up hating reading and writing?    

I hope to throw some light on this question within my PhD thesis. I am currently writing up my findings after spending the past 10 years researching the subject of dyslexia. I will be submitting my thesis to the University of Birmingham in July 2010 and as soon as I have I will publish several posts on the Dyslexic Brian website in order to share my theory of dyslexia and hopefully answer questions about dyslexia like the one mentioned above.

Subscribe to our FREE Dyslexic Brian Newsletter and be first to read posts about Antonio’s research that will explain how to overcome dyslexia. 

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Dyslexia Awareness Week 2009 – Dyslexic Brian Supporting the Cause!!!

FREE Places on Dyslexia Workshops

To help celebrate this year’s Dyslexia Awareness Week we are running three FREE dyslexia workshops aimed at parents of dyslexic children.

Benefit from:

• A deeper understanding of the dyslexia related issues your child may be experiencing

• Knowing how different theories of dyslexia may be ‘helping’ or ‘hindering’ your child’s progress at school

• Learning several techniques that you can use to assist your child to improve their reading and writing ability

• Finding out the potential benefits of you becoming your child’s own Dyslexia Support Coach

• Evaluating your ability to become a Dyslexia Support Coach to your child

1. Saturday 7th November 2009    2pm – 4pm
2. Saturday 14th November 2009   2pm – 4pm
3. Saturday 21st November 2009   2pm – 4pm

In addition to the workshops we have also been Spreading the WORD about Dyslexia Awareness Week via LIVE Radio Shows, Dyslexia Workshops, and Guest Speaking Events.

Don’t forget to do your bit too – tell the world about dyslexia!!!

To book your FREE place on workshop or for more information please contact Antonio Farruggia on +447969789893 or email him at info@DyslexicBrian.com

National Dyslexia Awareness Week | November 2009

Next week is National Dyslexia Awareness Week, and the question posed by Frewen College, the area’s only specialist a school for dyslexics, is “Just how aware are you of dyslexia?”

Most people think of dyslexia as a problem with reading, spelling, and perhaps comprehension, so assume it cannot be diagnosed until a child is already behind at school. But there are many other symptoms that can alert parents to the possibility in plenty of time to intervene at a much earlier stage.
A spokesman for the school said: “Dyslexia has nothing to do with intelligence, and it can be found across all social and economic strata. Many dyslexics have considerable gifts, but if their difficulties are not identified and addressed early enough these strengths can be swamped by failure and self doubt.”

Here are Frewen’s top ten tell-tale signs of dyslexia that are not reading related. If you can ‘tick’ three or more, you need to start digging more deeply.

1. There is a strong genetic element to dyslexia, so if there is any family history of dyslexia or reading difficulties, be particularly alert to other warning signs.
2. Being slow to start talking, and then having trouble pronouncing some letters, especially M’s and N’s, R’s and L’s.
3. Reversing or mixing up sounds in multi-syllable words (favourites include aminal for animal, hekalopter for helicopter, bisgetti for spaghetti, or even nucular for nuclear!).
4. Trouble with tying shoe laces and getting dressed.
5. Co-ordination problems (excessive tripping, falling over, bumping into things, difficulty with catching or kicking a ball, or clapping a simple rhythm).
6. Difficulty undertaking any task that involves a sequence of actions, such as ‘do this, then do that.’
7. Difficulty learning abstract facts, such as days of the week or months of the year.
8. Very slow to learn the names of letters or sounds, or learning the alphabet.
9. May have walked quite early but did not crawl.
10. An unusually high number of ear infections.

Source: Bexhill Observer

What is it like to have dyslexia? Animations & Illustrations

Struggling to Understand Your Dyslexia

Are you struggling to understand dyslexia?

If you are finding it hard to understand ‘dyslexia’, don’t worry, you’re not alone! For over a hundred years, countless numbers of professionals, from a range of backgrounds, have tried to make sense of this somewhat awkward condition, and so far, despite all of their very best efforts, have not been able to fully understand the ‘mystery’ of dyslexia.

Similarly, over this period of time, millions of parents have experienced considerable confusion whilst trying to understand the condition causing their child’s difficulties with words.

And finally, of course, for over a hundred years, millions of dyslexics have grappled to understand the very condition that they themselves are experiencing. So, as you can see, you really are not alone!

One reason why ‘dyslexia’ has been little understood

When lots of professionals, from different backgrounds, look for answers to explain something ‘tricky’ like dyslexia they generally come up with explanations that are influenced by their own profession.

For instance, an optician trying to understand the cause of dyslexia would most probably argue that it has something to do with the dyslexic person’s eyes. A neurologist would probably say that it has something to do with the dyslexic person’s brain. Whereas someone from an educational background, perhaps a teacher, might suggest that it has something to do with the dyslexic person’s lack of ability to differentiate between certain sounds. It’s understandable that professionals do this, looking at things from their professional standpoint is what they do best.

Now there isn’t anything wrong with there being so many professionals, from different backgrounds, looking for answers to dyslexia. In fact it’s a good thing, as the more people searching for answers, the more chance there is of finding some. However, the downside to this is, that whilst the search is going on, some confusion is caused as there are lots of theories flying about, with not one of them having been proven to be correct. This obviously leads to there being a lack of general understanding as many people don’t know what to believe.

Another reason why ‘dyslexia’ has been little understood

Another reason why there is very little understanding about dyslexia is that it is a condition that shows itself in many different ways. For example, some dyslexic people may find that they experience difficulties with reading and writing, whilst other dyslexics might find that their ok with reading and that their main difficulties lie with writing. Others might be experiencing difficulties with remembering what they have just read; whilst others find that they have no difficulties at all with remembering what they set their minds to remember. So, as can be seen not all dyslexics experience the same difficulties. This has made it a ‘hard’ and ‘confusing’ condition to understand not just for many professionals but for lots of dyslexics too.

Adding to the confusion is that many dyslexics experience lots of other difficulties that are not just to do with reading and writing. For instance, there are dyslexics who find that they have difficulties with coordination, balance, sense of direction, putting things in sequence, structuring ideas, expressing ‘thoughts’ using spoken language, or difficulties with keeping a sense of time, or difficulties remembering dates, names, and faces. There are lots and lots of other things too, however, the point that is being made here is that with there being such a range of difficulties being experienced by some dyslexics and not others makes it harder to understand ‘exactly’ what dyslexia is.

Yet another reason why ‘dyslexia’ has been little understood

Adding even more confusion to the situation is that some dyslexics, under the weight of the difficulties that they are experiencing, end up with low self-esteem, low levels of confidence, a poor sense of worth or become depressed, etc. As a result of such negative states of mind many dyslexics withdraw from trying to overcome their difficulties with reading and writing (and the other difficulties mentioned above) or give up completely. This leads to many dyslexics not developing their skills in reading and writing or the other areas mentioned earlier. This results in a mixture of dyslexic difficulties and poor skills ability being jumbled up together.

Summary

Dyslexia is not that easy to understand because there are so many angles to it. We described a few of them here. First we looked at why there are so many different perspectives of dyslexia which if you remember has to do with professionals from different backgrounds creating theories that are influenced by their way of looking at things. Also, we touched briefly on how dyslexia shows itself in different ways, with some people having difficulties with reading and writing whilst others may find that they experience difficulties in only one of these areas. Adding to this, we explained that some dyslexics experience other difficulties such as poor coordination, difficulties structuring ideas etc. And, finally to make things harder to understand there’s the issue of dyslexic difficulties and poor skills ability being jumbled up together in some cases. All of these things have made dyslexia a difficult condition to understand.