In the past, children who were naturally left-handed were forced to use their right hand. While we know very little about what influences hand preference, we do know that handedness reflects the wiring of the individual brain.
These days, left-handedness is more accepted and acknowledged as a natural preference. Children are no longer forced or rapped over the knuckles for their natural preference of left handedness.
A dyslexic is naturally a visual thinker. As with left-handiness, we really understand very little about the wiring of the brain of dyslexic. It is known that a dyslexic has trouble with phonics based reading techniques. Using phonics based reading strategies or multi-sensory linguistic programs is like forcing a left handed person to use his/her right hand. When it doesn’t work the child is told directly or indirectly that he/she has a learning disability and sent off for more phonics based reading training or prescribed drugs.
Recently, the results of two studies conducted by the Universities of Victoria and Otago
were published. The study stated, in part, the following:
“The phonics method of teaching children to read is not necessary past the initial stages of learning and continuing with it may disadvantage them in the long term…”
Funding needs to be directed to researching non-phonics based reading programs for dyslexics.
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In the past, children who were naturally left-handed were forced to use their right hand. While we know very little about what influences hand preference, we do know that handedness reflects the wiring of the individual brain.
These days, left-handedness is more accepted and acknowledged as a natural preference. Children are no longer forced or rapped over the knuckles for their natural preference of left handedness.
A dyslexic is naturally a visual thinker. As with left-handiness, we really understand very little about the wiring of the brain of dyslexic. It is known that a dyslexic has trouble with phonics based reading techniques. Using phonics based reading strategies or multi-sensory linguistic programs is like forcing a left handed person to use his/her right hand. When it doesn’t work the child is told directly or indirectly that he/she has a learning disability and sent off for more phonics based reading training or prescribed drugs.
Recently, the results of two studies conducted by the Universities of Victoria and Otago
were published. The study stated, in part, the following:
“The phonics method of teaching children to read is not necessary past the initial stages of learning and continuing with it may disadvantage them in the long term…”
Funding needs to be directed to researching non-phonics based reading programs for dyslexics.
December 3, 2011 - 1:26amThis Comment
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