Davis Reading Program

Davis always gets mixed posts from parents who have put a child through it. As far as I can tell, it helps dyslexics who suffer from orientation confusion, but many dyslexics (perhaps most) do not have this specific difficulty.

You can find quite a few comments from parents — both pro and con — if you go to http://www.groups.yahoo.com, join the DyslexiaSupport group, and search the archived messages for “Davis”.

The program can be expensive, and some parents have indicated just working at home using the book is as effective as going through the one-week program.

Mary

I should add that Davis is not a reading program. It is probably more accurately termed an orientation program. Some parents observed much improved self-esteem and attention after the program, but complained that there were no long-lasting changes in reading.

A good decoding program that often helps dyslexics quickly is Phono-Graphix (http://www.readamerica.net). The Reading Reflex book written by Carmen & Geoffrey McGuiness is about $16 at bookstores, and provides both the underlying philosophy of the method and specific instruction in how to do the lessons with a child. It is often very effective.

Mary

Thank you very much for your feedback Liz

Mary, Could you give more instructions on that Dyslexia Support Group at Yahoo. I put in “dyslexia”, dyslexia support” and “dyslexia support group” and nothing came up. I even put in “dyslexiasupport group”. What am I doing wrong?
Donna

Donna,

You have to put in DyslexiaSupport. No space between the words. I think it’s case-sensitive too, but I could be wrong about that.

Mary

Thanks Mary, I found it.
Donna

Hi Donna:
You can also get a great deal of info and support on the Davis site…www.dyslexia.com. Good luck! I am using Davis methods with my son, working at home from the book.

Just to clarify…the one-week program consists of 30 hours with a registered Davis provider,many of whom have extensive backgrounds in teaching or psychology. During this week, they introduce the “Symbol Mastery” concepts, but this must be followed up by work at home, usually said to take about 6 months.

One key to the Davis program is that it is not something that you can force. The program is not suitable for young children, and although some children are ready at age 7 for orientation, my son is 7 yrs 8mos, and he is just beginning to understand the concept. We are working at home, but I would not take him to a provider just yet as I don’t think he is old enough to receive the full benefit.

This program has had amazing results with older dyslexics, especially teenagers and adults who have not been helped by other methods.

I suggest that anyone interested visit the DDAI site at www.dyslexia.com — there is plenty of information there.

The Davis program is geared to addressing issues associated with dyslexia that cause reading and other learning problems. Generally, progress is very fast, and often reading levels jump tremendously in the one week program. Case reports and statistics are reported on the Davis FAQ section at http://www.dyslexia.com/faq.htm under the topic “Case Reports and Experiences with Davis Methods.

Followup is important. The formal Davis program involves much more than what is available to parents working with their children at home, simply because the book The Gift of Dyslexia only covers a few of the most essential techniques that are part of the program. However, it may be that parents working from home seem to experience equivalent success, because they are probably very likely to follow up with the program.

The crux of the program is the Davis Symbol Mastery, which builds word recognition and comprehension skills. The Orientation phase is important, because it eliminates the perceptual problems and issues that lead students to confuse, invert, reverse or transpose letters — but it is only a preliminary step.

-Abigail Marshall
Davis Dyslexia Association Webmaster