Treating the disease and not the symptoms

Ayear on the internet doesn’t make it a failure. Most overnight successes happen after a lot longer than that and most people realize that anybody can put anything on the INternet so they look for Coke and Pepsi, not Jim’s Soda. This is a major bummer but it means it might be the marketing not the product. Have you tried other marketing methods?
Does making the language visual make it more like sign language? Have you tried hooking up with places set up to do rigorous research, that would get respect, or have you decided they won’t give you the time of day? It’s like the INternet, you sometimes have to keep asking different people - getting 47 no answers doesn’t mean that the 48th one isn’t the ticket. But if your ego involvement in this means you can’t handle rigorous research that would be a different story.
Your writing is also rife with mechanical errors. Whether it’s a good thing or not, that does sometimes affect peoples’ impressions. You’ll want a proofreader.

Thank you for taking the effort to reply . Below I have tried to answer the questions raised as honestly and fully as I can in this format .

In order

1 : Marketing . Making the software license free on request through e-mail in return for feedback .
2 : Making language more visual : A philosopher I think Wittgenstein came up with a paradigm which can serve as an illustration; the picture theory of mind , in simplistic terms I say cat and you process these sounds and call up a stored picture of a cat that you carry around with you . There is no cat present . In simplistic terms by stressing this aspect of language , the part of it which evokes mental imagery , you can change the way you process information . Instead of processing information as verbal neural networks , mind maps or spider diagrams of word triggers . Information can be processed visually , like a game of chess .
3 : Research - I am reminded of John Harrison , but no I am not afraid of rigorous research I would welcome it . If you know of any open minded institutions without an academic agenda , who engage in respectable research then please send details . I would be most grateful . I don’t have an academic reputation to protect . I am only interested in solving the problem .
4 : Could you give me an example of what you mean by mechanical writing ! . Style is a question of fine tuning , in an examination situation for example you have to be able to marshal the facts under pressure and not process information as a huge blocks of stored text repeated back parrot fashion . Stressing style over content is an example of a back to front approach to the problem . While style is vital it counts for nothing if there is nothing to say

I am interested in obtaining more information about this program.
My son has dysgraphia and attention deficit disorders. He has been tested 2 times, the first results were low average(K) and after homeschooling for 2 years the second test (3rd grade) yeilded his overall score to be high average.
I am frustrated with local schools who “lump” all persons who learn differently into one room. I feel that we will never see future generations of genius as these children’s self esteem is systematically destroyed, as well as their constitutional rights being voilated.
Incidentally, though he had many ear problems, and speech problems when he was small, he tested at “superior” on the phonological portion of the test administered by our local university.

Marshall McLuhan: the medium is the message. You claim to be teaching reading and writing, yet your own writing is very hard to follow and full of errors. This does not engender confidence.

The issues that are called mechanical are NOT matters of style. They include: use of complete sentences with subject and verb; agreement of subject and verb; correct spelling; use of conjunctions and/or splitting run-on sentences; parallelism — making clauses and phrases in the same sentence follow the same format or pattern; pronouns with appropriate referents, and no dangling modifiers; proper use of capitals and punctuation; and similar issues of purely rule-based or mechanical use of the language.
Style is another issue entirely and involves choice of vocabulary and use of various sentence patterns for different effects.
Writing which is mechanically correct is easy to read and easy on the eye. The reader is then free to consider the content and to agree or disagree with it or to discuss it further. Writing with many mechanical errors, on the other hand, is difficult and sometimes impossible to understand; for example, if you read “they” but cannot find an appropriate referent to tell you who “they” are, you cannot understand what the sentence is saying about whom, and you then cannot agree or disagree or discuss the content, because a vital part of the content is simply *not there*. Writing with mechanical errors is also tiring to the reader who must go over and over each sentence trying to tease out a meaning, and thus the content is lost in the confusion.
. Again this is not a matter of style, unless you deliberately choose to make errors in an effort to bring some idea or issue to people’s attention. James Joyce and Mark Twain could do this, but frankly I don’t think you’ve yet reached the level of Joyce or Twain, and you will get far more positive attention to your work if you show that you have mastered the subject you wish to teach.

Your marketing means that somebody has to find you. That generally takes a lot longer than you finding them. Suffice it to say that most people realize that anybody can put anything online — “dotcom” in some businesses is almost a synonym for “flybynight.”

I have some projects I’m doing and things that have been online for longer than a year — so I can sympathize but no, I’m not going to do the legwork for you. It would be nice if it weren’t necessary — but it is. There are lots of ways of getting in touch with people, making connections, making contacts — and in the meantime I don’t quit my day job.

And as Victoria said… the issues with your writing were not style. It is difficult to figure out what content is if the writing is confusing and yours is. Full-stop colons break up an otherwise cohesive phrase… and was that ‘it is” or the possessive? OH, let’s see… I’m accustomed to figuring out what dyslexic folks are trying to say so I’m a lot better at it than most — but it’s going to be very hard to convince people that you’ve got a solution to language problems when you’re walking evidence to the contrary.

I’m not implying that you are flybynight at all. However, people make that association — it’s either flybynight or hopelessly amateur. Most of these levels of projects simply need to have funding to get them off the ground — grants, a university, something. It’s worth continuing to talk to people and not get discouraged, just keep plugging away. Mary Chapin Carpenter played in tiny little bars for *years.*

Thank you for replying any response is better than no response ,I hope this clarifies my position a little .

Thank you for replying any response is better than no response. You comments are constructive . I would like to point out that I do not presume to teach reading and writing . My position is that reading and writing difficulties are a symptom of dyslexia . The real problem is the learning difference that causes the difficulties . I need students to be able to read and write to follow my course .From this position I hope to alter how language ( the written word and to a lesser extent the spoken word ) is processed .

A difficulty with the written word is always going to exist , it is going to get in the way of joined up thinking , unless the problem is addressed . Reading (Garbage in) - Writing ( Garbage out ) is an explanation of how a computer processes data . We are not computers in between the input and output phases conscious Processing occurs . When I talk of Processing language this is what I am referring to .

An extreme position might be to argue that the relative under performance compared to IQ is a result of a lack of clarity in expression of ideas . I am not sure if this is your position (no irony intended) , it’s just an impression . It appears to be Victoria’s . Perhaps we speak in different languages .

Kind regards

Those difficulties with writing are best dealt with by following the conventions of the language; that is exactly why there are all those rules of grammar.
An extreme position… “the relative under performance compared to IQ ” — what?? Aunt, uncle, what kind of relative and what are they doing under performance? Don’t know about the language you’re speaking, but what you’re writing doesn’t make sense.
I suspect there are good ideas in what you are doing. However, if it’s pretty much a one-man project, then not only will this person who already has language processing problems have to use exactly those skills to get access to your way of addressing the root of the problem, he or she will also have to deal with your confusing use of written language that *anybody* would have difficulty understanding. It would be a shame to have great ideas lost in the language.

You seem to be setting yourself up Sue . I admit it my English is not perfect I rely on a word processor . However scoring points is not important to me … At the moment this whole debate does not seem very dignified . You have projects online . I would be interested in reading what you have to say .

What is your position ?
How does it help ?
How does it work ?
Is it possible to estimate a quantitative difference ?
Over what period of time ?
Are we talking about a learning strategy ?
Are we talking about new thinking ?

If you have a contribution to make Sue , I will listen .

I am not addressing this message to any one person . I believe in maintaining privacy . Feedback is voluntary , if you feel that you have something to say but do not wish publication than you can contact [email protected] direct .

My privacy : My name is Sean Mathew Thompson .In 93 I was diagnosed with severe dyslexia
I sat my final law degree in 1994 . I was less than impressed with the support
it seemed unsophisticated and counter intuitive . The real difficulty seemed to
revolve around the fact that it was so difficult to pin thoughts down , like a juggler
one ball always seem to be up in the air . This made seeing the big picture
difficult . Mind mapping (Tony Buzan : published by BBC Books )
an innovative means of note taking made this possible . While mind mapping is a
great way of inputting and outputting information (some teachers and some schools
and many businesses accept mind mapping among them ICI , Boeing ) .

A need still existed to store a lot of data in a non linear structure .By non linear I mean
not dependent on drill down a computer term that means as you
open a menu it drops down to reveal more options , open one of those options and
yet more options become available . Perhaps a more helpful analogy might be
surfing the internet . I needed to stay on subject , it seemed every
time I sat down I had to re-invent the wheel . I needed to go straight to the destination
without going on the journey . I needed to rid myself of the habit of thinking in
whole sentences ( sub vocalising ) . This inner voice made it extremely difficult to
concentrate .These were my thoughts .

In 98 I was tested again as mild .
This site and software is run out of Warwickshire in the United Kingdom . It
shares the site with internet ftp software .
If you would like a contact phone number then contact [email protected]

This software is freely available , please feel free to vet the software
to see if you feel it is applicable .No obligation . This concept is six
years old the software is on it’s 3rd major incarnation . What I ask for in exchange is that if you
download and trial that you visit http://www.paradigm-21.com and register your feedback
with the poll and within the guestbook .I will hold this offer open until the end of August or until
I have had 100 hundred responses . If you are concerned about security then you can find the software on Cnet downloads at http://download.com.com/2001-20-0.html search on paradox .

In order to download this software you will need an internet connection , a
copy of win 95/98 (platforms)and a copy of winzip . Although it may work on
different platforms I can not guarantee this .

Size 4 MB

Instructions -

1 : You can opt to download directly by opening internet explorer and
opening the following address

http://www.getafile.com/cgi-bin/merlot/get/paradigm21/Paradox.zip
or you can visit the web site http://www.paradigm-21.com (under
construction )and download paradox from
the trial it/buy it page . ( warning - once this page is opened don’t
select buy it this site will debit your card )
2: Once downloaded you need to find Paradox zip , open it and double
click on set-up.exe .
3 : Once installed open exercises , this will result in a dialog box
with a security key ( in red) and a return e-mail address. This security key is automatically copied to the clipboard . If you open up the e-mail you can paste the key straight into the body of the message . I am not around all the time but I will try to reply with
you unlock code as soon as possible.

I am sorry but I do not know you level of computer literacy so I do not know
if this seems daunting or not , if you need walking through then feel free
to e-mail back .

The software comes with help and a Tutor and what I hope is a simple
interface . The first three exercises are simple variations on established
learning strategies , taught using games . The final lesson is text only but
it introduces what might seem like a radical learning strategies

Kind regards

Please try to understand that writing clearly is not to “Score points” — it’s to communicate! When I can’t understand what you’ve written, I can’t learn from it.

I’ve got a website at www.resourceroom.net - mostly it’s getting stuff already thought put together and “out there” so people can get to it. I really admire the folks who are doing the original thinking and creating.

Ark-soft,

I think your idea is fascinating. I have to say though, that a good businessmen listens to his customers. If your customers do not understand your product it will never make it.
Marketing is definitely another area that is important. Sue is correct that it takes much work. I would hate to see a good idea go to waste. Please take that advice seriously.

I will not pick on anyone’s writing. Mine is terrible. I do believe it is possible to be a genius in other areas yet, not write well. I believe Winston Churchill had someone transcribe everything for him.

I wish you luck. Don’t give up!

Thank you for replying , thank you for the encouragement . In my original E-mail I tried to get the idea across that teaching students to read and write is just the beginning . That the same learning difference that causes this difficulty in decoding written language , continues to hold back students and adults . My point was that language is just an invention In China where the language is pictorial , dyslexia is not even recognised .

I am not suggesting everyone learn Chinese . I am simply suggesting that the emphasis be taken away from the written word . Teaching a child , student or adult to read or write to an acceptable standard will not solve the problem . You are simply treating a symptom .

The debate did not revolve around this point it revolved around the quality of my English . My belief is that , the big gains are to be found elsewhere . I am not suggesting that these teachers do not perform a vital role .. .

The intent was to set up a trial of a program that in my experience actually works . Perhaps the emphasis is towards adults and young adults but LD’s are by nature hereditary . I felt that a this Bulletin board might generate further interest . Gimmicks and Quality can be an issue so the software is available free and screen shots are provided .

The software itself as you might have guessed avoids conventional language centred learning , the emphasis is on learning by doing . Perhaps I need to stress learning , not learning to read or write . This does not seem to be a big issue but it should be , it should be the most important issue .

The final lesson is the most important and aims to offer an alternative way to decode language , if you stress visual imagery language makes more sense to the dyslexic and hyperlexic mind . This type of written material would be classified as poor English , but it does leave an imprint and allow the student or adult to effectively learn from books . Since publishers in the immediate future will not prepare English in this way , this lesson and course will provide the lessons and the skills to translate language yourself .

I want to demonstrate that an LD is not an excuse to under perform , I do not believe this is acceptable . Perhaps you child is still at the stage of learning to read and write , but exams will follow . The excuse that you child has done well but simply is not equipped to learn is not a responsible answer . As radical as this may sound , I look forward to the day when a LD like dyslexia or hyperlexia is seen as an advantage in the eyes of higher education bodies . Research seems to indicate that these LD’s may be the result of an alternate structure in the brain where the two hemisphere left and right are roughly equal in size . In very crude terms since the right hemisphere deals with the processing of visual material it seems that a greater capacity is at the disposal of the LD student or adult . Significant evidense points to right hemipsheric processing being superior to left hemispherpic processing .

Einstein did not hold an academic post until he was 33 , I don’t know if these words were shaped by personnel experience , I suggest they were ‘All that is valuable in society is dependent on the opportunity accorded the individual ’ .

Note A : Perhaps I am not a good businessman , innovative ideas rarely seem practical or pragmatic at first . I don’t think a good businessman would make his products available for free . The full product is available for free , the only catch is an expensive security lock that means you will have to register by e-mail (free) to unlock the full product . This is for my protection against piracy . In return I am hopefully getting feedback and endorsements from the percentage of the population who have the most to gain .

Note B : Screen shots

http://www.paradigm-21.com/ss-ParadoxA.bmp
http://www.paradigm-21.com/ss-ParadoxB.bmp

Thank you for taking the time to read this response . I tried highlight the major points of interest .