The Gift of Dyslexia - The Davis Dyslexia Correction Program

When my son was six the 'expert' said that he had mild ADHD and needed Ritalin, although he was not hyper (yea, I know, you don't have to be hyper to have ADHD/ADD). So I relayed the report to the pediatrician who quickly wrote the prescription and told me to call the nurse in a couple of weeks with an update. That was it. No discussion about the pros, cons, alternatives or dangers.

When I went to fill the prescription our long time pharmacist took one look and said "I know it's not my place... and I could lose my job over this... but I would NEVER put my child on this medicine without careful consideration. Please go home and do some research on this issue before giving him this medicine..."

So I did all the research... and decided to not medicate. I also decided that it may indeed be the answer for some kids... when the pros outweigh the cons... and when you are sure about a diagnosis. I was not sure. Something just didn't feel right. And ALL parents considering medication should do their homework first, get a second opinion -- the stats on how many kids are being medicated and possibly misdiagnosed every day are astounding! It is estimated that many kids that actually have a learning disorder are misdiagnosed with ADD/ ADHD -- to be fair, it is sometimes hard to diagnose a learning disorder until a child is older.

So...
at age 8 we sought a second opinion from a neuro-psychologist at Scottish Rite Children's hospital. It was then when she gave us the diagnosis that did make sense -- receptive/expressive language disorder and dyslexia.

I read every book/ article on Dyslexia and my son’s "receptive/expressive language processing disorder". It really is unbelievable/incredibly sad/ incredibly infuriating how little some doctors and educators know ... and also how ridiculously territorial and egotistical some “experts” can be.

I'm up late working while away for a week for some special therapy for Coleman. It's mind-blowing really. Wouldn't have believed it if I had not experienced first-hand.

What happened is this: I read the book "Dyslexia: The Gift" and the whole first part hit the nail on the head - as if describing Coleman exactly. (see http://www.dyslexia.com/ ) The second part (the therapy) sounded a little silly - too good to be true really. I spent months researching Davis' and others' methods/ research on the parents' discussion boards on Schwablearning.org, etc. I found that about 2/3 of the people who tried the Davisapproach swore by it and the other 1/3 said it was a waste of money. But - the thing is - EVERY approach no matter how research-based or not had the same 2/3 to 1/3 split. So we gambled and gave it a try. Now here we are. And I can tell you that just the transformation in Coleman's attitude and self-esteem has already been worth every penny. This "Davis Facilitator" guy named Scott - it's like he speaks Coleman's language. For the first time Coleman is with someone who "truly gets him" and that in itself has been priceless.

Scott tells us that he gave up a lucrative career to start over at 40 as a Davis Facilitator because he suffered so much himself as a dyslexic and was overwhelmed by the positive impact this program made on his own life. And there are stories just like his from all over the world. In fact, it's taking off much bigger outside the US. It's almost like a cult ;-) It's very kinesthetic - very Montessori-like. The most important thing of all is that - at least for my son - it really works. In just 3 days the difference in Coleman is amazing.

On a related note, Thomas West has some compelling theories related to dylexics/ visual
thinkers - see the description and reviews of his book -
http://www.amazon.com/Minds-Eye-Thinkers-Difficulties-Creativity/dp/1573921556

I don't have the patience to be a Davis facilitator myself - but the whole thing (so many kids being misdiagnosed as ADD/ADHD, the state of the education system, insurance not covering these types of treatments, etc) gets my blood boiling just enough to consider doing SOMETHING to help. But what?