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That reminds me of just about every single one of my dyslexic clients. Why would anybody want to have a standardized mind anyway? If creative, intelligent and brilliant are an alternative, I take them any day over average.
I have recently read a rant about the failings of the Davis Method to acknowledge the findings of modern research that clearly show a strong weakness of phonological awareness of dyslexic individuals. They complain that instead of addressing this obvious challenge and drilling them in correcting the shortcomings, mainly phonemic awareness and auditory processing, we at Davis would talk about gifts and talents (which according to them are more mythical than realistic) and hope that making clay figures will enable them to read better.
Being fully aware of modern research (even though rather uninspired by it), I merely draw different conclusions from it. I don’t believe brilliant minds need fixing and changing. What I do believe is that we can work with those visual, creative, beautiful minds and empower them to not only overcome the auditory shortcomings, but to master literacy and numeracy at a much higher level than those, who don’t have access to the mind’s expanded potential. We don’t have good or bad brains/minds but trained or untrained ones. Training the mind has to happen in accordance with the strength of the individual’s learning style.
I am sure if you have children you learnt very early on, that whatever you pay attention to, you will get more of. I had to learn to ignore the little fights, disagreements and shortcomings and encourage the different talents that they all possess. My job is to help them to shine and see them already achieving what they may not yet see themselves.
Then why would anybody rather focus on and pay attention to the mistakes, challenges, difficulties – in order to get more of that?
P.S. this is my rant, not a Davis perspective. Sorry! Barbara Hoi
