The Gift of Dylexia

I have read his book, but have not tried his orientation. I found the book interesting too. I think that it would be very effective for dyslexics who are visual-spatial.

It’s one of those methods that bring mixed results —it’s nice to know that the Davis folks have a screening process if you’re going to pay them for the orientation (which is pretty pricey… but it is, too do that stuff).
Mr. Davis has a rather unusual learning profile, though — and his methods are what worked for him, and then applied to others… so in a way he is “free” from the predispositions or biases of more established approaches but it also means there’s less independent evaluation of how it works, and for whom.

A lot of people, myself included, question Davis’s approach. A lot of what he says is unproven, and a lot of his reading methods are old and not-very-effective stuff under new names. Personally I would not pay large amounts of money for something as vague as this.

I’ve thought about trying it (on my own, just following along with the book). I do think it’s worth a try. I personally am hesitant to spend a lot of money on therapies because I’ve spent sooo much already (between testing and remediation I have an expensive child! :-o).

But, if possible, it’s something I’d really like to try on my own this summer.

Has any one here ever tried using it at home?

Not I, but there’s a yahoo group called dyslexiasupport2 (or something very much like that) and one of the active posters is the person who runs the Davis website and really knows a lot about it and has been very helpful to people with questions. You could find out a lot just looking through old messages for her posts (but you’d have to get in the group first)

Let’s just say that you won’t find many references to Davis in any reliable sources on dyslexia. It’s been around an ample amount of time to produce some evidence if it had any real value. On the other hand, there is plenty of research to indicate things that DO help.

The woman on dyslexiasupport2 that works for Davis has mislead many people and has given very incorrect information (such as she doesn’t believe in early intervention). I wouldn’t trust a single thing she says. She is no expert on dyslexia. She profits off of selling her product on listserves.

Well, in this case the book has already been sold; I definitely don’t agree with everything the lady says but she *does* answer questions — not for profit — earnestly. Now, I would *not* consider her an expert on reading (and again, agree that some of her views apply to her child and can’t be generalized) — but I guess I’m assuming that the parent isn’t looking for that.
But yes, let me add… she’s an expert on Davis methods — but the methods are Mr. Davis’s and don’t have the blessings of the research community (which I do value), and she has her own individually formed model of the reading process.
Frankly, when people keep coming up with something… but with different names… and it’s working for them…. makes me think that there’s something in what they are doing that *is* useful — but (for a multitude of valid and cheesy reasons) hasn’t been teased out. Granted, it can also be — a la “sight word teaching” that can look so nice in the short run but doesn’t hold up — a seriously flawed approach. I don’t know.
But if someone already has purchased a book, and has expressed that they intend to try its methods, I figure it will be more likely to provide some good if a connection to someone who’s had some success with that method is provided. I guess if it’s thoroughly lousy then the sooner the person fails & gives up, the better… but I’m such a thorough skeptic that if I haven’t seen it fail personally…

Well, I’ve been a victim both of the Davis hard sell and of attacks by true believers who react to any questioning or argument very aggressively.
One woman who works for the organization, possibly the same mentioned above, pesrsists in poisting many false claims.

I am quite leery of sending someone to this website; if they believe they may be misled and waste a lot of valuable time and often money, and if they question they may be hurt.

Many Davis believers post frequently on the IDA bulletin board. I suggest that anyone who wants to see the results of the program go there and see for yourself the attitude, organization, and language skills that are the outcomes.

The question is with so many research based programs out there, why you would need the Davis method. Undoubtedly there are a few kids/adults for whom this method has been successful, but the research says these kids need systematic explicit phonics.

—des

This program does work for some kids and it remediates at the root of the problem. If I had a child who fits the profile, I would try it. No, it does not work for all dyslexics, but I don’t know of anything that does.

In case anyone is wondering, I’m not a Davis provider - just a teacher and mother interested in helping kids.

I could see that it might *possibly* work on an underlying deficit just as IM, OT or other therapies might. But I still suspect a truly dyslexic child will need good old fashioned OG teaching (or its equivalent).

One of my many concerns with this continuing argument is how success is defined.
Research-based programs and dull people like me define success in terms of increase in reading vocabulary, increase in fluency (speed *with* accuracy and meaning), improvement in answering comprehension questions, improvement in writing, and objective external test scores.
Then there are questions of which intervention is responsible for improvement, when numbers of different things are done at once; us dull science-oriented people insist on either single interventions or statistical studies to sort things out.
If people define success on more subjective bases, well, all sorts of things are successful.

If underlying deficits are remediated, wouldn’t it make the acquisition of academic skills easier? That sounds logically to me.

Since Phonological Awareness is the primary underlying deficit in reading disorders, one would have to choose a program that served that purpose. Reading is a process of understanding the alphabetic code of associating sounds and symbols.

Janis

I agree wholeheartedly that underlying deficits should be remediated as much as possible. And although Phonological Awareness is the underlying deficit in a very large number of kids, I am quite ready to admit that there are others with visual or other deficits, either separately or along with PA deficits. Those are not the issues.

The issues are whether Davis’s theory of intelligence has a leg to stand on and whether his interventions actually help people to read better.
And I am quite open-minded about either one question or the other; there are some people who have off-the-wall theories but who use effective methods in spite of their theories.

What I have seen from Davis theories is unfounded speculation, and what I have seen of the results of his program is weak in academic progress and disastrous in attitude.

Some of his supporters have gone beyond speculation and have posted untrue statements and false attribiutions.
Others make a point of being verbally abusive to anyone who asks these questions and tries to pin down facts.

None of this impresses me with the quality of thinking and teaching provided by this program.

My son did some Davis - holding his minds eye still, making trigger words out of clay. At the time, @ 4th grade, he seemed to have disorientation and a very active mind’s eye. Now, here is what was important to me. My son needed a variety of interventions and I did not want to go directly to say a Davis provider who would only do Davis. I also did not go directly to Lindamood Bell, where he would just get their programs. I was fortunate to find an LD clinic that uses a variety of techniques. He had LiPS, Davis, Fast ForWord. Unfortunately, we found his needs were too great to be remediated in the few hours a week I could afford at a clinic and his public school did nothing. That need for daily, consistent work led us to private school and other things. While he has made progress, there is still a huge disability..but there are huge strengths and life goes on.