Correction of dyslexia using the Davis method

Dyslexia is a fairly common phenomenon in which a person has difficulty reading. Such difficulties arise as a result of the special development and formation of mental functions of the brain. This feature most often begins to appear at early school age and can have various forms of expression. At the same time, any type of pathology can be corrected in various ways, one of the most effective of which is the Davis method.

Creator of a unique approach to the treatment of dyslexia

The author of the method, Ronald D. Davis, is a versatile personality. A sculptor, engineer and businessman, he founded the Reading Research Center in California, developing a revolutionary approach to treating dyslexia.

Despite all his talent and high level of intelligence, Davis experienced problems with reading since childhood, but this did not prevent him from achieving success in life. Moreover, by the age of 38, he was able to overcome his main vice, easily reading a book in just a few hours. Having seen the fruits of his labor, Ronald began to develop the author's approach and put it into practice when working with other people with similar pathologies. Today, his book “The Gift of Dyslexia” has been translated into many languages and is a real manual for the treatment of this disorder, the correct use of which brings a positive effect in almost 99% of cases.

Definition and types of dyslexia

Dyslexia is a disorder in the development of reading skills, caused by underdeveloped mental functions that take part in this process. A characteristic feature of dyslexia is repeated persistent deviations in the reading process:

mixing and replacing sounds;
letter-by-letter reading;
reversal of syllables;
difficulty composing or understanding complex sentences;
misunderstanding of the meaning of what is read.

Dyslexia is called the problem of geniuses. Winston Churchill, Hans Christian Andersen, Albert Einstein, Walt Disney, George Bush, Quentin Tarantino suffered from this disease

Dyslexia is often called the problem of geniuses. Celebrities such as Winston Churchill, Hans Christian Andersen, Albert Einstein, Walt Disney, George W. Bush, Quentin Tarantino and others suffered from this disease. But, of course, not everyone with dyslexia becomes a genius.

To diagnose dyslexia, it is necessary to assess the level of developed spoken language, grammatical skills, reading, attention, thinking and memory. Dyslexia can be overcome by developing all of the above skills. Therapy is aimed at:

correct pronunciation of sounds;
sentence construction;
development of coherent speech.

According to statistics, the number of students with developed intellectual thinking who have signs of dyslexia is 4.8%. Schoolchildren who have severe speech problems and who have mental retardation are susceptible to dyslexia in 20-50% of cases. In boys and girls, the disorder occurs in a ratio of 4.5 to 1.

Types of dyslexia

Based on the form of defective reading, speech therapy distinguishes two types of disorders:

Dyslexia - reading skill is partially impaired.
Alexia is the inability to master reading or complete loss of skills.

If dyslexia is not corrected in a timely manner, children may develop low self-esteem and depression.

These problems arise separately and precede the development of dysgraphia. If dyslexia is not corrected in a timely manner for children and primary schoolchildren, they may develop low self-esteem and depression, and they will also be characterized by bad behavior.

Based on external signs, the following types of dyslexia are distinguished:

Literal - characterized by partial assimilation of some letters.
Verbal - characterized by a problem reading words.

Taking into account impaired mental functions and mechanisms, the main types of dyslexia are distinguished:

Phonemic - characterized by unformed phonemic understanding, synthesis and analysis.
Semantic - characterized by underdevelopment of syllabic integrity, a poor vocabulary, and the inability to establish connections between words.
Agrammatic - appears due to underdeveloped written speech, lack of skills to conduct morphological and functional synthesis.
Mnestic - formed due to memory impairments associated with speech, difficulties in the relationship of letters and sounds.
Optical - occurs when optical concepts are underdeveloped.
Tactile - manifests itself along with unclear tactile perception in children with poor vision.

Examples:

saw - linden;
clear day,
sitting;
com - tom - house;
beautiful vase;
cow - carpet.

Based on the above list, underdeveloped speech functions provoke the appearance of phonemic, semantic and agrammatic dyslexia; and ZPR becomes the cause of mnestic, optical and tactile.

What is the essence of the Davis technique?

Corrective work using this approach cannot be compared or contrasted with the therapy offered by official medicine. Dyslexics in this case are not considered as diseases, but as people with a distinctive visual way of thinking. Of course, they have a rich imagination and vivid perception. At the same time, their way of understanding the world around them differs from the generally accepted one. When creating certain images in their imagination, dyslexics experience difficulties and become disoriented in space, as a result of which they cannot correctly complete the thought process.

The Davis method is designed to turn off disorientation and set up a fixed “point of orientation” to counter it. Thus, a person’s attention and imagination is focused on creating realistic images in accordance with the words written on paper.

This approach in most cases helps to control dyslexia, regardless of the age of the person with the pathology. The methodology includes a set of measures that can be divided into 8 stages. Let's take a closer look at each of them.

Causes and symptoms of dyslexia

There is still no general consensus about the causes of dyslexia in our time. Foreign speech therapists in their works describe the theory of genetic inheritance of reading and writing problems in people with a more active right hemisphere. Some scientists develop the idea that these problems appear in schoolchildren who write with their left hand.

Many researchers who carefully study dyslexia in primary schoolchildren point to the effects of pathological disorders that lead to minor brain dysfunction:

brain deformation during childbirth;
heart disease and maternal anemia during pregnancy;
congenital heart defect of the newborn;
placental insufficiency;
impaired development of the umbilical cord;
early placental abruption;
difficult childbirth;
suffocation of a newborn entwined in the umbilical cord.

In the process of child development, psychospeech development delay (PSRD) may occur, which leads to dyslexia with such damage:

infectious diseases of the central nervous system;
head injury;
childhood diseases: chickenpox, polio, rubella;
debilitating infections.

With alalia, dysarthria and aphasia, dyslexia is provoked by damage to certain brain areas. Children with mental retardation, serious speech defects, cerebral palsy, and mental retardation are susceptible to dyslexia.

The main social causes of dyslexia:

lack of communication;
child's privacy;
neglect on the part of teachers and educators;
negative communication environment;
bilingualism (bilingualism);
early education;
fast pace of learning.

The beginning of dyslexia in schoolchildren is unformed spoken speech.

Symptoms

Let us describe the symptoms by type of dyslexia:

Spoken speech dyslexia. Children make mistakes when pronouncing phonemes, misunderstand the meaning and use of words, and have a small vocabulary. They cannot correctly compose a sentence and connect words in it.
Phonemic dyslexia. Characterized by the substitution and mixing of phonemes that are similar in articulation or acoustics. In other circumstances, words are replaced by changing, adding, or omitting phonemes and syllables.
Semantic dyslexia. It is characterized by impaired comprehension of an accurately read text or word. A problematic change occurs during syllable and cursor reading.
Agrammatic dyslexia. Incorrect reading of endings in words of all parts of speech, confusion in the correct construction of words in the required number and gender. Agrammatisms are present in spoken and written speech.
Mnestic dyslexia. It manifests itself as impaired optical perception and pronunciation of letters. It is difficult for the student to remember the letters, so he replaces and mixes them up. A study of auditory and speech memory in schoolchildren with this problem showed that children cannot repeat a series of 4 sounds or words or analyze them.
Optical dyslexia. It manifests itself in the fact that the student confuses and changes letters that are similar in appearance. This anomaly occurs if, when reading a text, a child jumps from one line to the second. Sometimes this can manifest itself as mirror type reading - the student reads from right to left.
Tactile dyslexia. Blind people often make mistakes and replace letters when reading Braille. Students with these problems, while reading, move from one row to the next, miss letters and phrases, distort the semantic meaning of what they read, and are prone to chaotic hand waving.

Mechanism of manifestation of the disorder

The reading process is characterized by the involvement of optical, auditory and motor speech analyzers.

Reading stages:

Optical perception, recognition and differentiation of letters.
Correlation of letters with phonemes.
Addition of phonemes into syllables.
Combining syllables into a whole word.
Grouping words into a sentence.
Comprehension of the material read.

If these processes are disrupted, then, according to psycholinguistics, these are signs of dyslexia.

Psychologists consider dyslexia as a consequence of a delay in the development of functions in the fetus that ensure the reading process.

Dyslexic disorders are accompanied by underdevelopment of optical vision, poor orientation in space, poor perception of sound, altered construction of correct speech, improper visual and auditory coordination, poor concentration, weak will, and lack of control of emotions.

Assessing Perceptual Ability

The first step is to identify the most vulnerable area of dyslexia. For example, children often worry about ridicule from peers or low self-esteem. It is extremely important to identify the psychological consequences of pathology and carry out competent corrective work with them. Only after this the specialist reveals the degree of difficulties with perception.

Exercise. The child is asked to imagine a certain object on his own palm. To help a dyslexic person create a holistic image, the specialist asks leading questions: “What color is the object? What is its shape? Size? Weight?”, and also offers to change the parameters of an imaginary thing, increase or decrease it, transfer it to the other hand, etc.

The practice is aimed at using the so-called “mental eye”, which allows you to build a realistic model of the surrounding world in your imagination. When a dyslexic can easily perform this exercise, you can move on to the next stage of correction.

How can you help at home?

Home correction consists of several important points.

Development of phonemic awareness

This is the ability to perceive the sound composition of a word. You need to purchase (or make yourself) cards with all the letters and play “words” with your child as often as possible. The mother pronounces the word, and the child tries to form it out of letters. The game needs to be immediate and lively. For example, collect the name of an animal that was seen at the zoo, or a cartoon character. It is advisable to master words gradually, 1 or 2 per day. If you do this constantly, your baby's vocabulary and ability to read will improve over and over again.

The concept of grammar and semantics

Grammar is the change of words in a sentence, their consistency (yellow leaf, orange carrot).

Semantics - recognizing the semantic meaning of a word (it is raining, although the natural phenomenon has no legs).

The best exercises are listening to fairy tales at a slow pace, when all words and expressions are pronounced clearly, legibly, and emphasized by intonation. The child will inevitably imitate what he hears. Any word that causes confusion or misunderstanding should be explained in detail.

Increasing vocabulary

A child’s thinking is always concrete. He cannot talk about what he has not seen and “tested.” Therefore, you need to increase your vocabulary by showing objects and concepts and talking about them. You need to tell in as much detail as possible. So, using the example of a simple pan, you can talk about metal, circle, pattern, volume.

Articulation exercises

There are many tutorials on the Internet and bookstores on the topic of fun articulation. You can practice according to any publication, the exercises are the same type - hamster (puff out your cheeks), smile, donut, proboscis and the like. It’s better to turn any activity into a game. It is better to start exercises with a speech therapy massage, which “warms up” the muscles of the cheeks and tongue. The duration of the lesson is no more than 5 minutes, otherwise the child will lose interest.

The joint work of specialists and parents always improves the situation and contributes to the formation of correct and clear speech in the child. Take care of your baby’s successful future, sign up for a consultation with a speech therapist right now!

Switching

To obtain accurate images in the imagination of a dyslexic, it is necessary to teach him to turn off the disorientation that occurs every time he begins to create images that do not coincide with the prescribed information. To do this, Davis proposes creating an “orientation point” - a certain space in which a person mentally fixes vision and consciousness.

Exercise. The dyslexic is asked to imagine a straight line that extends from an object presented on the palm, passes through the tip of the nose and exits through the back of the head. The line ends approximately 20 cm above the occipital part - this is where the “orientation point” is located. Otherwise, the child can be asked to imagine that his consciousness is transferred to the person standing behind him.

Once the image of the “orientation point” is fixed in the dyslexic’s head, the need for detailed visualization of the line emerging from the object will disappear. In turn, the child will be able to control disorientation and receive the image in the form in which other people see it.

Discharging and checking

When a dyslexic gets into a state of disorientation, the process of creating a “point of orientation” and maintaining it for a long time takes a lot of effort. Many people begin to feel headaches or even feel excessive muscle tension in the neck. In order not to lose control of the “mental eye” and get rid of discomfort, it is necessary to discharge.

Exercise. A dyslexic person is encouraged to use their imagination to create a feeling of calm and relaxation that spreads not only throughout the body, but also reaches an “orientation point.”

With constant training, neck tension and headaches will go away very quickly. After this exercise, you need to make sure that the mind's eye is at the same fixed point. To do this, the dyslexic simply needs to point his finger at the place where his “orientation point” is located. If the point is determined correctly, the test can be considered successful. If not, you should re-place it in the correct place. It is necessary to move on to the next stage after a person has mastered the skills of discharge and verification.

Medical intervention

Since dyslexia is associated with immaturity of brain structures, the doctor may prescribe vitamins and nootropic drugs that improve the function of nervous tissue. Drug therapy is always individual, taking into account the speed of development of the baby.

A promising treatment method is micropolarization (TCMP). This method has been tested over a long period of time (about 30 years) and is characterized by high therapeutic effectiveness.

Micropolarization is the effect of a weak (up to 1 mA) electric current on certain areas of the brain. An EEG cap (testile) is placed on the child’s head, and positive and negative electrodes wrapped in a damp cloth are placed under it. The current used is unipolar (flows from plus to minus, from anode to cathode). Under the influence of current, directional polarization of cell membranes occurs, and their enhanced development begins.

The child does not feel anything during the procedure. The full effect of treatment unfolds within 2 to 6 months.

It is advisable that a specialist who develops fine motor skills work with the child at the same time.

Settings

At the beginning of therapy, the “orientation point” of a dyslexic person is quite unstable, so it is very important to teach how to accurately determine its location. Only the ability to accurately adjust the optimal point will allow you to control disorientation and manage dyslexia in general.

To adjust the location of the point, you need to mentally move the "mental eye" around the intended "orientation point." In this way, the child will be able to identify the optimal arrangement of these concepts. Having found the necessary point, the dyslexic should fix it using an imaginary anchor.

The essence of D. Davis's method

Ronald Davis, author of The Gift of Dyslexia and The Gift of Learning, has suffered from dyslexia since childhood and knows firsthand the difficulties that children with this diagnosis face. Poor performance at school, constant problems communicating with peers, their bullying and ridicule, dissatisfaction and disappointment from teachers and parents - all this awaits someone born dyslexic.

Davis proved that dyslexia is not a defect, but a set of innate abilities that you need to learn to manage. Hardly anyone considers these talented people stupid and underdeveloped: Winston Churchill, G.H. Andersen, Leonardo da Vinci, Nelson Rockefeller, Keanu Reeves, Agatha Christie, Steve Jobs, A. Einstein. But these are examples of individuals with dyslexic disorders.

Therefore, if asked how to cure dyslexia, Davis would answer something like this: “Dyslexia is a great gift. It doesn’t need to be treated, it just needs to be corrected so that this feature only brings benefits.”

By observing himself and other gifted people, Davis was able to identify the internal source of all the problems of dyslexics - disorientation. It is this that gives them the opportunity to see objects in volume, to easily study mechanisms that are incomprehensible to most people, and to think figuratively. But at the same time, it interferes with free reading and handwriting: people with dyslexia find it difficult to perceive flat information, recognize, and reproduce symbols and words from ordinary book pages.

The basis of Ronald Davis's technique is to turn off disorientation and move the “epicenter of perceptions” (mental eye) of a dyslexic to the optimal “point of orientation.” After gaining the ability to control their consciousness, children with dyslexia learn to read using 3D models of symbols, words and plots that they understand.

The Davis method, as applied to each student, involves going through the following stages:

Preparatory - includes goal setting, the formation of motivation and responsibility, the concept of an “energy scale”.
Adjustment of consciousness. Consists of sections: assessment of perception ability, switching, discharge, fine tuning, coordination tuning.
Mastering symbols and reading techniques.

Coordination

Children with dyslexia have difficulty coordinating their movements and correctly identifying their left and right sides. To get rid of clumsiness and confusion, special exercises that must be performed after successfully identifying and tuning the “mental eye” will help.

Exercise. The child stands on one leg and balances on it, maintaining balance. Having established balance, he needs to catch small balls, doing this alternately with each hand, and then with both at the same time. At the next stage, the ball is thrown with a slight deviation in order to complicate the task and provoke the dyslexic to go beyond the established axis of balance.

Main signs of dyslexia

The disorder is first diagnosed in children under 10 years of age. It is important that a child with dyslexia has fully intact intelligence, however:

when reading he makes mistakes because he guesses the words;

does not understand well or cannot retell what he has read;
makes many mistakes when copying or writing from dictation;
has illegible handwriting;
characterized by strong irritability and increased emotional background;
the body diagram is disturbed (confuses right and left), clumsiness appears;
holds the pen in an unusual way.

Experts associate these manifestations with disruption of the left hemisphere, as well as interhemispheric connections.

Mastering symbols

The imagination of dyslexics is only capable of perceiving three-dimensional three-dimensional images. In turn, the reading process is based on understanding printed two-dimensional symbols, which makes learning insurmountably difficult for these children.

Exercise. The child is invited to create letters, numbers and other written characters from plasticine or clay. After this, it is necessary to compare the three-dimensional figure with its printed counterpart, determine its location in the alphabet or number order. It is necessary to move on to working with the next sign after the dyslexic has consolidated the previous symbol in his mind, can give examples with it, and understands the purpose of its use.

I, Natalya Genrikhovna Svobodina, am a speech therapist of the highest qualification category, a practical psychologist and an honorary worker of general education of the Russian Federation. Professional experience - 30 years, one of the initiators of the founding and member of the organizing committee of the Russian Dyslexia Association since 2001.

10 years ago I first heard about the Ronald Davis method and the book “The Gift of Dyslexia.” This was information on the website of one of the medical clinics in Moscow. Even then, as a specialist, I was not satisfied with the traditional approach to correctional work with dyslexics, which had developed over decades. And even the knowledge of psychology and neuropsychology that I tried to bring to my work still left blank spots that either had to be filled in with something, or something radically changed.

Having seen an advertisement for classes using the Davis method on the medical center’s website, and having read detailed explanations about the essence of this method and its effectiveness, I decided to take the training. But that was not the case... Studying only abroad, only in foreign languages, and, as I later found out, very expensive.

But curiosity had already sprouted, and it was impossible to stop me. Moreover, in life I had to overcome not such obstacles.

I wrote a letter to the head of the Dyslexia Correction Center, Laura Law, where I explained my interest and desire to get acquainted with such a wonderful method. Having prepared for a long wait, I was pleasantly surprised when the answer arrived literally the next day. Laura suggested meeting and getting to know each other.

As has already been said, I am a very curious person. Everything new and interesting in my profession should not be passed by. Our meeting took place in the center of Moscow, in a cozy cafe over a cup of coffee. The first impression was strong - an alien, a person from another world, from another planet. A beautiful, confident woman sat opposite me and talked about her work, about dyslexia, about why she started working on this problem. For about five minutes I still caught interested glances from cafe visitors at my interlocutor, which I was not surprised at. But soon the topic of conversation completely absorbed me, and after half an hour I caught myself thinking that I had known this woman, as we say, for 100 years. That we have almost complete agreement on many issues, that we are “on the same wavelength.” Many people know this feeling.

10 years have passed since then. During this time, I visited the DARON Dyslexia Correction Center more than once, met the Center’s methodologists, and attended speeches by other Davis Association methodologists working in other places. I went to Israel, where Laura lives and works, and managed to fall in love with this country (which happens to me, having visited many parts of the world, extremely rarely). I met Laura’s wonderful son, who once made her take up the problem of dyslexia, and who can currently serve as the clearest example of the achievements and success of the Davis method. I met with parents and students who have already completed training at this Center or are just about to. And, of course, I read, more than once, R. Davis’s book “The Gift of Dyslexia.”

However, as before, I really wanted to see at least out of the corner of my eye how the lesson was going, what is special about this method? Why are children so happy, and some parents, on the first day, without hiding their distrust and wariness, leave on the fifth day with a smile and words of gratitude.

All this made me very worried. What's the secret? Or, if you want, what's the catch? To be honest, I was afraid that soon, as we had with many medical and educational centers, I would learn something that would once again bring great disappointment.

But as the years went by, I talked to those parents who, having completed the main course, came to a course for the correction of dyscalculia (disorder in the formation of mathematical concepts), English language, or ADD symptoms. The conclusion suggested itself - if they go to this Center and other courses, it means it helped them.

There were also dissatisfied people. Including a couple of those to whom I personally recommended to undergo training using this method. Fortunately, they were in the minority. They called me complaining that they weren't seeing much results. The reason for dissatisfaction among everyone I spoke with (two children, from two different families) was the same - they wanted a miracle, a trick. What did these “miracle seekers” want? Here is an example: a child took the course before the school holidays; on the last two days, when instructions were given to parents, they did not come (they did not consider it necessary to resolve the issue of attendance), and soon after classes the holidays began (they went on vacation). Naturally, no one did anything, did not follow any recommendations, and exercises with balls were not taken seriously. We arrived and went straight to school. And the child, surprisingly, reads poorly again. "How come? We have paid!" Who is guilty? - a rhetorical question. As one mother said: “He didn’t read, but after class on the fourth day he read it. I was happy. And I went to school, and again there were problems. It just got a little better.” And then I completely calmed down - a familiar picture. There is no catch here - you have to work, put in the effort. Some will say, well, this is how we work without the Davis method.

However, in my opinion, the difference between the Ronald D. Davis method and traditional work is that further recommendations do not sound in the usual way - read more, write more. On the contrary, the methodologist says that there is no need to specifically practice techniques for a long time, “to sharpen the tools” acquired in the classroom. It will take a maximum of 15 minutes to complete one of the exercises in order to prepare for homework. And then, just use the tools you received. Use it in math, reading, or learning any foreign language. And gradually, less and less time will be spent on home lessons, and the lessons themselves will be easier. Moreover, the process of transferring these instruments reminded me of one episode - many years ago I invited a master to tune my antique piano. I remember how he, bowing his head in a special way, listened first to the tuning fork, then to the sound of the instrument. He tightened something, let something go, and listened again. “Spot” adjustment is exactly what the methodologists of the DARON Dyslexia Correction Center can and skillfully do. Watching later how they “set up” the first child, how they taught him to use the tools he had received, I thought that I had seen everything I needed. But with the second and third it was different. The nuances in training, in “tuning” - this is precisely the individual approach that everyone talks and writes about. But, after more than 30 years of practice, one hand is enough for me to count those teachers who used this individual approach to their fullest. And by the way, they had the same large classes, which our teachers often refer to.

When working with a lagging student, a conventional tutor mainly focuses on clarification, repetition, and consolidation. Moreover, consolidation occurs due to a greater number of exercises performed. In many training manuals (by the way, I admit, in mine too), I read the advice: if one person needs to do 1-2 exercises to consolidate the material, then another needs 4-5. I also followed this advice and advised others the same until I took up neuropsychology and read R. Davis’s book “The Gift of Dyslexia” for the first time.

Not WHAT and HOW MUCH to do, but HOW to do – that’s what is taught in classes using the Davis method for 5 days. In the last two days of classes, the methodologists give detailed instructions to those who will be with the child at home (parents, nanny, teacher, speech therapist - whoever is able): how to read at home, how to do homework, how to learn other subjects (not only Russian ).

Today, one thing is clear to me - I cannot master “HOW” according to Davis “at once,” even after watching the classes, even after reading the book several times. Not because I’m so stupid, but because, not without reason, I hope, I consider myself a professional. You can’t try it “at random” on children - what if it works? You must have a good command of the methodology, and be sure to undergo practical training under the supervision of experienced methodologists. In short, it’s clear that you either need to go and study this method thoroughly, or turn to professionals.

I understand that there will be those who, after reading the advice of some parents on the Internet, who are trying to work independently using this method, will begin their own experiments. You can try and experiment on your children. Unless, of course, you don’t feel sorry for your children and your time. Just don't take on strangers.

I saw personally that those who carried out and used the knowledge acquired at the DARON Center (later I learned that methodologists call this knowledge “tools”), the results were clearly visible. And this is noted not only by the child and parents, but also by teachers. The more I read, talked with different specialists, (I even had the chance to take part in a debate on the same forum with parents of dyslexic children), the more an incredible desire grew in me to see the work of methodologists in action. But some inexplicable taboo prevented me from asking permission to attend classes. Moreover, I know what an individual lesson is - any stranger who comes without a preliminary conversation, without the consent of all parties, can become a serious obstacle for the methodologist. But curiosity and the desire to give our specialists the opportunity to acquire new knowledge and new experience prevailed. I approached Laura Zakon with a proposal to hold a seminar for speech therapists and primary school and Russian language teachers and talk about the features of diagnosing dyslexia using the Davis method. I wanted to find points of common ground and divergence.

At first, we decided to do this for as many Moscow teachers as possible. To do this, the director of my school contacted the Moscow Department of Education with a proposal for such a seminar as part of government work (in my opinion, this is a clever name-calling). It’s good that we didn’t advertise until we received a response. Because they answered us like this: “this topic is not within the scope of interests of the Moscow Department of Education.” That's it, short and clear. They are not interested in children with reading and writing disabilities, children with dyslexia, dysgraphia and dyscalculia. These are not Olympiad winners, and not children with disabilities. This is so... They simply don’t exist. Or rather, no for officials. But they are real for teachers and parents.

Therefore, I organized this seminar myself. Laura Zakon honestly told me that under no circumstances would she talk about the content of the method, about the techniques, that is, about the methodology itself. I was very interested, what then is she going to talk about for 4 whole hours?

As a result, not 4, but 6 hours, 16 people who could fit in a small room listened with great interest. It was a very useful meeting. Director of the Dyslexia Correction Center Laura Law spoke about the symptoms of dyslexia from the point of view of the Davis method, about those characteristics of dyslexic children that should immediately alert adults, about the early identification of potential dyslexics. It seems that this was not news for us, specialists with extensive experience. But looking at it from a different angle, in a new way, which this technique certainly contains, was very useful and interesting. Many listeners who obtained information about this technique on various websites on the Internet were interested in the question of working with plasticine. This did not surprise the lecturer. Apparently she gets asked this question often. She explained that the point is not to work with plasticine. This is just one of the techniques. And this is not just sculpting letters from plasticine, but elaborating this process in a special way, creating concepts for letters and any other written signs (my interpretation of the statement, of course, I did not write down verbatim, because I sat and listened). By the way, working with plasticine when studying the letters of the Russian alphabet is widely practiced in domestic methods. It would seem that she told everything, explained everything, warned about the possible mistakes of introducing into her work techniques read, “torn out” from the book “The Gift of Dyslexia” without special training... But two weeks later I receive a letter from one mother who read the book and decided to work with my son myself. She sent me the result, here it is:

And she asked the question: “What to do next? Should I sculpt all the letters? Wasted time, a disappointed child, unjustified hopes - this is what a haphazard approach to correcting violations leads to, “snatching” the techniques you like from any technique.

Having read the book “The Gift of Dyslexia” several times, observing some of the children who completed the training course at this Center, talking with methodologists, I have long realized that one of the strongest aspects of this technique (and perhaps the strongest), which allows one to achieve good results - this is the creation of a fairly strict System and a clear following along the entire route within this System, taking into account the individual characteristics and personality of the child, and his violations. Of course, the personality of the methodologist also plays a huge role - this is the second component. And the third is the involvement of adults in work. This is not only the strict implementation of all recommendations received in the last two days of the course, but also empathy for the child, his successes, timely praise for even the smallest things, pride in him and faith in him. Moreover, it is not enough to experience this within oneself; the child must see all these feelings in an adult. But without falsehood - children immediately feel the insincerity of adults’ words, especially laudatory ones.

So, the time came when I could no longer help but ask permission to attend classes. I was interested to see if I had correctly identified the points of agreement and divergence between us, Russian specialists, and our Israeli colleagues who study according to the Davis method.

In this case, I made such a request as a specialist with more than 30 years of experience, as a member of the Organizing Committee and one of the initiators of the creation of the Russian Dyslexia Association, which has already existed for more than 10 years and, what was important for the Center, as a potential assistant for future students . Having received the consent of the director of the Center, I prepared to wait, because I knew that I had to get the consent of the methodologists, parents, and select a course with a child of exactly the age that most often comes to the attention of domestic specialists - primary school age.

And so I received an invitation to a course with a 9-year-old child: dyslexia, dysgraphia, ADD (attention deficit disorder). Our person! Just the one whose problems “are not in the sphere of interests of the Moscow Department of Education.”

For five days in a row I got up at 6 am, because it took me 1 hour and 40 minutes to get to the Dyslexia Correction Center. For five days I wrote everything down like a diligent student. Already on the second day the thought: “How does a child get up early and go by 9 am, and then work for 6 hours with short breaks? Moreover, one-on-one with a methodologist is not like sitting in a classroom during a lesson. How?!" treacherously stuck in my head.

I listened, watched, went through two full courses with elementary school children and received answers to all my questions.

The first course with the third grader was conducted by methodologist Kalina Potyak. She immediately told me that she was glad to hear the opinion of her colleague, and asked me to look critically - from the outside we know better. Here's the general impression. The technique is clear and accessible. And I didn’t see those “secrets” and “hidden secrets” that you involuntarily think about here. Everything is accessible and clearly explained, logically, justifiably from the point of view of rational science, medicine, psychology, neurology. But not from the point of view of our real education. I emphasize - real, because on paper, in the Programs, in the instructions, everything is very correct. But there are no conditions for implementing all these correct decisions, no matter how much the media sings about reforms and the accessibility of our education. Therefore, it was interesting, understandable and joyful to me that I have been using much of what I see for a long time in my work. As an assistant in further work, the parents invited a specialist, an experienced speech therapist, for the child. I saw how during the first meeting she, without saying a word, denied everything inside. And I understood it very well - I remember my feelings after reading the book “The Gift of Dyslexia” for the first time. The softest words in my head were - yes, all this is nonsense. But my colleague and I talked, I told her about what I myself had thought before, about my first impressions. And also about the need to strictly follow the instructions that will be received from the methodologist, even if you really want to contribute something of your own. By the way, I asked this question to the specialists of the Davis Association - is it possible to bring something of our own into the methodology (I mean other techniques, etc.). To which the methodologists clearly answered - no. This strict adherence to the rules is also the strength of the technique.

All explanations are clear to the child. I never once felt that any task, action, or exercise was unnecessary. Everything was logical, justified not only by the goal, but also by the physical and psychological state of the child. Yes, it was difficult for him. Try not only to study for 6 hours with an attention deficit disorder, with a low level of volition, but also to produce results. I kept waiting for him to rebel, but he didn’t wait. Although, the child was on the verge more than once. This is where the highest skill of the methodologist was demonstrated. As a person who was once associated with theatrical activities, it was extremely interesting for me to observe the virtuosity of the teacher. She was always half a step ahead of refusing to complete the task. She foresaw the child’s emerging desire to go into “silence” and turned the situation around in such a way that he received an additional impulse, a message, and continued to work. This is aerobatics!

Come on, parents who support independent work, can you provide this level of interaction with your child? But this does not mean that I did not have, let’s say, comments and questions. We talked for a long time afterwards and considered all the points, including, from my point of view, controversial ones. On the last day of classes, Kalina talked for a long time with her parents and speech therapist, who decided not to refuse the offer and get involved in the work. She honestly said that it was difficult to accept all this at once, but interesting. I respect professionals who are always open to new things, no matter how much experience they have.

The second year was with a child who was just getting ready for school. The main problem of ADHD is attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. From work experience I know that 10 minutes of working with such a preschooler is already success. And here it is 6 o'clock. Where does Laura find such masters?

Another methodologist. At first it seemed to me that she was more emotional and did not structure the lesson as clearly as Kalina. But this is on the first day. Finding an approach to a child who is either crawling under a chair or under a table is not an easy task. Therefore, on the first day it was interesting to watch how she pulled out of this fidget one small success, then another. Look, I found something else. I looked, and he was already smiling, showing interest, and things started to happen. On the remaining days, the work was structured as clearly as in the previous course. Of course, there were more breaks and interruptions. Of course, the child refused to do anything. But the notorious individual approach, which has been declared in our education since Soviet times, but for which today’s teacher or specialist working in the public sector simply does not have time, here acts as a powerful tool in working with a child. When the course ended, I thought that now the boy would run away with relief. But imagine my surprise when he threw himself into the arms of the methodologist, climbed into her arms and did not want to leave. Such a reaction is worth a lot. We teachers know this.

Well, I took two courses. As I already wrote, there are no secrets - this is work, work and once again - work. Moreover, it does not end with the end of the course. It is necessary to continue at home - this means strict implementation of all recommendations. And here, of course, my parents surprise me. Especially dads, or, more accurately, those who pay for the classes. And classes are expensive - that's no secret. But there will be a separate “word” to the parents.

Three days later I had my first lesson with a 2nd grade girl. After re-reading all the notes at home, looking through Davis’ book again, I decided to try something with it, one of the tools. It would seem nothing complicated. But it didn’t work out.

I want to tell those who think that it is enough to read the book and follow all the instructions for the exercises - and everything will work out. You are wrong. I already had heated debates on this matter on one of the forums. Believe me, I am considered a good specialist, and I have a lot of children whom I have helped cope with problems using my methods. But the Davis method is unfamiliar to me, as well as to those parents who decided to master it on their own. You need to train, practice, preferably under the supervision of a specialist. It’s not for nothing that Davis Methodists have a long internship. Everything must be done professionally.

I see where our points of disagreement are - we do not have such a clear structuring in our work. We do not have the opportunity to conduct an intensive course. Classes in normal practice last for months. And even in medicine, a course of intensive therapy gives the most effective results. During my practice, only once was I able to urgently conduct a course with a fourth-grader - 10 days, every other day for 2 hours. So in the dictation before this course he made 28-30 mistakes. And after 10 days - 6-8 errors. I called this course logointensive therapy. But in our practice, few people can afford to practice in this mode.

I am very grateful to my colleagues from Israel for the opportunity to get to know my work better. I hope that there will be a time when we will have more specialists (real professionals), and these classes will become more accessible to our children. And to the DARON Dyslexia Correction Center, Laura Law, and all her employees, I wish, first of all, health, patience, and inexhaustible interest in their work!

Sequential reading

Dyslexics perceive written information not letter by letter, but in a single, holistic way. When studying a word, such a child guesses what object or phenomenon it refers to. It is necessary to develop the skill of sequential reading, highlighting individual syllables and letters. Comprehension of the information read is not taken into account at the initial stage.

Exercise. Choose the simplest possible book and begin reading sequentially letter by letter and syllable. It is important to take breaks and check that the “orientation point” is located correctly.

The next step is to repeat the word read letter by letter and syllable, as well as explain its meaning. In the future, you should develop an understanding of not only individual words, but also entire sentences.

Classic correction methods

In Russian speech therapy centers, the Davis technique for eliminating dyslexia is rarely used. Experts prefer to use the classical system, in which the practice technique is determined by the type of dyslexic disorder:

With the phonemic type, the ability to analyze and synthesize phonemes or differentiate sounds by ear is not sufficiently developed. If auditory differentiation is difficult, the pronunciation and auditory perception of a specific problem sound is first clarified. Then the mixed phonemes are compared in terms of pronunciation and listening comprehension. If the analysis and synthesis of phonemes is unformed, the presence of a problematic sound in a word is first clarified, then its position is established. You need to find out the number of sounds and syllables, how they are located relative to each other, and combine them into a word.
With an optical view, the child does not assimilate visual letter images. The principle of classes is to recognize symbols hidden in images and objects, improve orientation in space. The student must master the skill of reading from left to right without sliding along the lines.
With the mnestic form, there is no ability to remember letters or associate symbols and sounds. In this case, the patient is shown an object in which the visual and auditory images of a specific letter are combined. For example, the letter “zh” is drawn in the form of a beetle.
In semantic dyslexia, there is a lack of comprehension of what is read with normal reading technique. The task of a speech therapist is to expand the student’s vocabulary, develop vocabulary, and master grammar and syntax.
With the agrammatic form, errors are constantly made during reading, and mainly in the endings of words. Here you need to work on word formation, rules for changing nouns, adjectives, verbs, and the formation of sentence structure.

According to the Davis system, in case of dyslexia, not only psychologists and speech therapists, but also parents at home should work with the child. Classes are selected taking into account the developmental characteristics of the patient.

A huge amount of materials are sold in stores and on the Internet for the request “Davis Dyslexia Method”. Using these materials, you can independently make correctional objects and practice without preparation.