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Author(s): |
Regina Cicci Ph.D. |
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Reprinted with Permission From: |
International Dyslexia Association (info) |
Printed Date: Summer 2001
Date Posted on this Website: October 08 2002
The Davis Dyslexia Correction Methods
The theoretical base for the Davis Dyslexia Correction methods of diagnosis and treatment of dyslexia was developed in California by Ronald Davis. He corrected his own dyslexia through self-discovery when he was an adult. He was self-diagnosed as having dyslexia, claims that he was regarded as retarded as a child, and suggests that with current nomenclature he may have been thought of as a child with autism.
The Davis system includes primarily two components. One involves orientation and disorientation and the other symbol mastery. "Orientation corrects perception. Symbol mastery corrects dyslexia" (Davis, 1997, p. 116).
Dyslexia, defined in his book, The Gift of Dyslexia, is "a type of disorientation caused by natural cognitive ability that can replace normal sensory perceptions with conceptualizations; reading, writing, speaking or directional difficulties that stem from distortions triggered by confusions regarding symbols" (Davis, 1997, p.250). Language derives from symbols. "Symbols are composed of three parts: what the symbol sounds like; what the symbol means; and, what the symbol looks like" (Davis, 1997, p. 10). Problems with reading, spelling, math, and attention are regarded by Mr. Davis as being dyslexia.
Orientation/Disorientation
Much of his work, as described in his book, is based on the view of disorientation. According to the theory, when disorientation occurs, the brain sees things moving that really are not. This disorientation is the same kind of disorientation that occurs when we sit motionless in a car and a car moves along side. We experience an impression of moving. When a person with dyslexia looks at print, similar disorientation occurs, according to Davis.
The theory is that "dyslexia is a result of perceptual talent" (Davis, 1997, p. 6). The talent is a strength that leads to creativity. Verbal and nonverbal conceptualizations are regarded as the two kinds of thinking. Verbal conceptualization is linear and results from "thinking with the sounds of words" (Davis, 1997, p. 9). A person "composes mental sentences one word at a time" (Davis, 1997, p. 9) at the same speed as speech, which is about 150 words a minute. In contrast, according to his theory, individuals with dyslexia think in pictures and "picture thinking is estimated to be, overall, 400 to 2000 times faster than verbal thinking" (Davis, 1997, p. 98). Picture thinking is regarded as evolutionary and superior to verbal conceptualization because it is faster and more complex. All individuals with dyslexia, according to Mr. Davis, function with intuitive leaps in managing nonverbal material.
Genius results from being both dyslexic and talented in art, music, and athletics. He claims that individuals with dyslexia have the same kinds of minds as geniuses: da Vinci, Edison, Einstein, Cher (sic), Walt Disney (sic), and Whoopi Goldberg (sic) and that, "... their genius didn't occur in spite of their dyslexia, but because of it" (Davis, 1997, p. 3).
The "Mind's eye" is the "mind's epicenter of perception" (Davis, 1997 , p. 128). This is "that which views one's mental images. The mind's eye is what looks at imagination" (Davis, 1997, p.251). An individual must first have a perceptual ability assessment where he or she is led through steps of visualizing a common object from various perspectives using his "mind's eye." Before beginning the orientation counseling, it must be determined that the person can re-visualize an object. If he or she cannot, then the orientation program is not done.
Once it has been determined that the individual can move the mind's eye through the steps of the assessment, then Orientation Counseling is done. Through simple drawings of the individual's head, he or she is led to visualize objects in and from various positions. Drawings are used to have the person understand what is to be done. Exercises are completed to move the mind's eye, which only the individual can do. Such moving is contrasted to the coach moving the person's arm. Voluntarily controlling the mind's eye is the goal of the orientation sessions. After one hour of orientation counseling, some teenagers are purported to improve as much as eight grade levels in reading (Davis, 1997, p. 150). When persons confront disorientation in reading or other tasks, they are encouraged to again return to their own orientation point. Fine tuning the "mind's eye" makes sure that the individual can easily find the optimum orientation place where he or she experiences a sense of comfort.
Symbol Mastery
For the Basic Symbol Mastery, the child (or adult) constructs the upper case alphabet from clay with a printed model present. He or she matches the clay model to the printed letter. The student must be pleased with how the clay letters look. Then tasks are done of naming the letters from A to Z and from Z to A. The coach or helper says letter names and the person points to the clay model. Twenty-two exercises are done. Then the tasks are repeated with the lower case alphabet.
Exercises are also done with making the punctuation marks from clay. The student is encouraged to learn the names and meanings of the punctuation marks and to find the marks in text. Then the marks can be used successfully when students read text.
Continuing with the Symbol Mastery, words are used. When a word cannot be read, it is looked up in a dictionary and is used in sentences. A clay model is made to illustrate the word. A special set of "trigger words," essentially the Dolch List with additional inflected forms of those words added, are regarded as words that trigger dyslexic symptoms. So, again clay constructions are used. For words, such as "the" and "a," students construct scenes or persons with clay arranged in certain positions. The constructions allow individuals to relate these images to the words, thus fixing them in memory. According to Davis, people with dyslexia do not have trouble reading words such as elephant because they see such words as pictures in their minds. They do have trouble with words that some of us describe as the function words of the language (prepositions, conjunctions, articles, forms of be, etc.)
"To train the student in left-right eye movement in reading" and to "enable the student to recognize letter groups as words," Spell-Reading is used (Davis, 1997, p. 217). The students name each letter. The coach or helper then says the word. Words can be presented singly or in text. When they are embedded in text, paper or cards can be used to block all but the stimulus word on which the student should focus.
Conclusion
There does not appear to be literature to support the orientation and disorientation theories. As Davis says, the exercises can do no harm except making one a little dizzy. Available reports at this time are largely anecdotal. Research is being done with the "Davis Learning Strategies." The results are to appear in the Reading Improvement Journal and on a web site.
This research is to be done in some classrooms, K-3. Some will use the Davis program and others will not. Objective standardized tests will be used to study the group pre- and post-program. The concern with this research design is that the program is a developmental one and will be used before children have easily identified learning deficits. There are too many variables to compare those children using the Davis program and those using other teaching approaches. Further, according to reports from the Davis group, each person with dyslexia is different.
In Davis' theory, the individuals considered as having dyslexia represent a wide range of deficits and the definitions go beyond generally recognized classifications. Although some mention is made of children needing to know letters before work with the Davis methods, a phonological base for reading is ignored. Widespread research supports the notion that dyslexia results from children having difficulty in associating printed letters frgm the sounds of speech. Understanding and using speech are important for learning to read. The Davis methods rely mostly on visual perceptual components of the learning process for reading, spelling, handwriting, and math. Actual teaching to read or even teaching to'leam seems absent from the Davis methods.
Reference
Davis, R.D. with Braun, E.M. (1997). The Gift of Dyslexia (Revised). New York. A Perigee Book. The Berkely Publishing Group.
