HEARD THIS BEFORE?

Don't sweat the small stuff.

In 100 years will this matter?

Wait until next year!
Oh, wait, I'm a Chicago Cub baseball fan so that's a saying we hear a lot!

Even if you're not a Chicago Cub fan here's a saying you may have heard and may even believe to be true:

"Dyslexia is only about flipping letters around.  Reading backwards. That's it!"

The other day my husband heard a women announcing to her co-workers that dyslexia is only about "flipping letters around".  The subject came up because another woman in the group was concerned about her grandson's struggles in academics and other areas of life. The first woman went on to say that the grandson could not be dyslexic because dyslexia is "only about reversing letters".

Before my husband even had a chance to chime in one of the moms I've worked with came into the room. Her son is a graduate of the Davis Dyslexia Correction Program.  Upon hearing the conversation that was taking place my client's mom quickly took charge of the conversation.

My husband? He just sat back and listened because not only does this mom know what she's talking about, she can tell you first hand about the many successes, in many areas of life, that her son has had since he completed the Davis program that I offer at OnPoint Learning Center.


To start off your next conversation about the true facts on dyslexia check out these basic 37 common traits of dyslexia:
http://www.dyslexia.com/library/symptoms.htm

Read over these traits of dyslexia and see if there's not something you can't wait to start telling others about!

And don't wait 100 years!

Going for the Gold

As I'm writing this the XXX Olympic Games is taking place in London.

"Golden moment tonight for Felix Sanchez of the Dominican Republic," says the NBC broadcaster as I'm watching the 400 meters hurdles. "Sanchez wins the Olympic 400 meters hurdles!" 

Felix Sanchez is a two-time Olympic gold medalist; he's the oldest man to win the Olympic 400m hurdles title, and the second consecutive 400m hurdles champion to win his second title eight years after the first.  He's been nicknamed "Super Felix", the Invincible", Superman" and "the Dictator". 

He'd vowed to win the gold medal in honor of his grandmother who died four years ago, but he failed.  Now, eight years after winning Olympic gold in Athens and becoming the first gold medalist for the Dominican Republic, he's back. This time, not only is he a winner, but he's managed to run the race in the same time as he did eight years ago — 47.63 seconds. 

46.43 seconds. Remarkable!

But, let's look past the tough exterior of the man known as "the Dictator", and past someone who's talented enough to run incredibly fast, but at someone who has accomplished this feat twice in almost a decade.  Just what kind of person is this Felix Sanchez? 

What I know about Felix Sanchez is that after the race ended, he strutted around the track [now I know where he gets those nicknames from!]---and celebrated,  he reached inside his racing bib, and pulled out a picture.  Tucked inside his uniform, placed close to his heart was his abuela's picture. As the scene played out and the rain began to fall, I watched the strong, self-confident "Super Felix" transform.  

The broadcaster continued: "as raindrops begin to kiss his face he's sure his grandmother is sending them, " he said.  

"The Invincible" felt his grandmother looking down on him.  "Superman"  transformed as he moved along the outer edge of the track and took the picture from out of the inside of his racing bib. He gently placed the photo on the track and knelt beside it.  Almost like watching a butterfly emerging from its long held cocoon a change took place.  Sanchez could no longer hold the tears back.  The jubilant fearless runner released the tears that uncontrollably fell down his face.  Superman transformed into Clark Kent and "the Dictator" to a faithful grandson. 

Felix Sanchez had worked so had to win that gold metal to honor his grandmother he needed no reminders to tell him that his mission was accomplished.  

The gift of dyslexia is like this.  The gift of dyslexia is the gift of mastery.  It is the gift of learning through experience, of learning to the point where recall becomes effortless.  The gift of dyslexia is so completely grasping something that no memorization, explanation or trick is needed for the feeling, emotion, memory.... to come flooding out right here and now.  It becomes a part of you.  

Happy Olympic memories!

What's your day starter?

At the start of a recent meeting we took turns going around the table to introduce ourselves.   Of course we shared our name, but for fun, we also shared what device we each use first thing in the morning. 


There were a variety of answers like cell phone, iPad, computer...but a single answer stood out for me. One woman's answer was different from the rest: it was radio.


She listens to morning radio. 


Funny how that works, I'd been thinking along those lines myself; thinking about what morning talk radio has to offer. The mention of radio that morning however, tossed the floodgate of ideas, feels and memories open for me.   


Every weekday morning, for years--okay, for decades!---my mom listened to the radio.  One of the earliest memories I have is of Don McNeil and The Breakfast Club.  The Breakfast Club was a variety show that originated in Chicago.  One of the show's highlights was the morning march.  My brother, sister and I would be calmly sitting at the breakfast table when a hint of marching music would sound out.  We'd shoot out of our chairs to get into our best marching stance.  First, we'd march around the table, around the table again, then we'd start circling around the kitchen itself.  


I hadn't thought of the Breakfast March in ages but I'm sure you're wondering what morning radio and the Breakfast March have to do with dyslexia and autism correction? 


Sequence.


A common example I often use to describe sequence is brushing teeth. I think it's a good example because everyone's familiar with it:  pick up toothbrush, get out toothpaste, squeeze some toothpaste out.... Simple but you might be surprised at how many people struggle with some part of that 'simple' sequence of brushing their teeth. 


As Davis Facilitators our work is often about filling in missing concepts. Supplying the links for the ideas and daily functions of life that may not have been installed in our brain as we were growing up.  Making these concepts in clay, in a three-dimensional form, creates a model that sticks in the brain, filling in the missing pieces. 


Below is one version of the concept of sequence that we master. This is Chase's model of sequence: as in the way things follow each other in size. It looks like a simple model but as I watched Chase construct it I knew it was powerful in its own way. 

Chase worked hard to cut, form, shape, design and create this sequence. If you look into his eyes you might notice the deep thought they seem to hold. 


Simple, yes, but the following week when I was visiting with Chase he told how things are falling into place with his life.  He feels that the 'sequence' of how he acts transfers down the line. What I mean is he's noticing that when he acts calmly his brothers respond calmly back to him. It's a sequence of behaviors that's affecting the whole family in a positive way. You see there's a sequence of size in his family.  He's taller than his brother, who is taller than the next brother. Sequence. 


Maybe I can teach him the Breakfast March so his family can share the sequence of marching around the table as they prepare to start the morning just as my family did!


If you'd like to know more about how sequence can be affecting your life contact me at cathy@onpointlearning.org or call me at 573-819-6010. 

How Am I Supposed to Survive This?!?

I was sitting in the auditorium of our church a few weeks ago, when a very young baby's cry rang out.  As I listened two thoughts crossed my mind:  1) I thought of my own experience of being a first time mom and 2) how must the baby's mother be feeling.

My thoughts quickly revolved decades back to the first trip my newborn son and I took for his well baby check-up.  I was nervous, to say the least. Nervous about what, not really sure, but I can tell you I hadn't thought the whole thing out.  I guess I was worried about what the doctor would say, or find...on and on...but most of all, I'd never experienced taking a baby to the doctor.  I should have been more confident in my own abilities because everything went well. 

...except for one thing.  

Even after my son's check-up I was still faced with a giant puzzle.  A puzzle with neither a beginning nor an end. Okay, it wasn't really a puzzle, it did have a beginning and an end, and it was a tiny, newborn, baby sweater! 

The visit was over, I went to the waiting area to put the little blue and white sweater back onto my son before we went out into the February cold, and I froze.  How in the world was I supposed to put that thing back on him? Remember, there's not even a beginning here. That's how it felt. 

Most of all it felt impossible.  

In my anxious state I was immobilized. "Think," I tried to rationalize.  "You put this same sweater on him before, surely you can do it now, " I told myself.  So I started to figure this puzzle out. First the sweater went on upside-down and backwards. "Oh, my gosh, did anyone notice what I just did," I worried. It seemed an eternity passed before magically the sweater slide into the just-right-place.  

I was so anxious about this experience of ---first-time mom/newborn baby/trip to doctor---that my emotions got the best of me.  

And as that baby cried, in the middle of the service, I wondered if the mom on the other side of the auditorium felt like I had so many years ago.  Was she anxious about how she would calm her baby? Did she have a plan?

I can barely believe I'm writing this story today because never, did I think I'd tell another living soul, how inadequate I felt that day. Heck, I was just thrilled to get out of that doctor's office that day with my healthy son (wearing his sweater), happy I'd survived the dreaded sweater experience! 

Emotions--we think of them as something locked deeply inside, something hard to deal with in unknown experiences.  When it comes to dealing with our children, particularly as they reach school age and beyond, what happens when it seems they are learning in a different way? When they seem to be learning at a different pace than other kids around us? 

Here's what the National Center for Learning Disabilities says-- 

"The only "wrong" thing to do is to do nothing. If you wait to seek help for your child, her [or his] frustration and sense of failure will continue to erode their self-esteem...."

Here's a checklist for Preschoolers: 

• Problems pronouncing words?
• Difficulty finding the right word?
• Difficulty making rhymes?
• Trouble learning numbers, alphabet, days of the week, colors and shapes?
• Trouble concentrating?
• Trouble interacting with peers?
• Difficulty following directions or learning routines?
• Difficulty controlling pencil, crayons, scissors?
• Difficulty with buttoning, zipping, tying skills?

Whether it's milestones that we encounter like taking our first baby to the doctor for their very first check-up, or we're trying to sort out the reason our child's struggling so much with reading, please know that at times it all can seem impossible. 

There are answers, though, and at OnPoint Learning Center we are here to help you find the answers that will make life easier for you and your child. 

This is a clay model of survive, meaning to continue as self. 

Survive, even when things get tough!

Yes, we can survive this!

Is there a sign for dyslexia?

For the first few months of my life I had the little red-birthmark adorning the end of my nose.  While that birthmark did eventually fade away, a similar marker didn't replace it to conveniently announce: "Hey, this girl learns differently. She's dyslexic!"  Too bad my journey with dyslexia hasn't been as obvious as that front-and-center red-dot birthmark I once had!


Funny how that works.  


A while ago an exasperated mother contacted me regarding her daughter's struggles academically and behaviorally. 


One struggle centered on reading --though 'struggle' doesn't begin to define the territory we've just entered.  'Despise' more accurately covers how this child felt about reading! Every aspect of reading was horrendous for her to emotionally encounter. 


What did people who should have been there to support this young lady and her difficulties have to say? 


The school told mom that her daughter simply was not trying hard enough.  In fact, they had told mom this for several years.  This is a common myth about dyslexia.  We may seem to not be living up to our potential. 


A dear friend of the family and the girl's doctor were both adamant that mom should put the girl on medicine.  Mom didn't feel that medicating her daughter was the answer to the problem. 


The grandparents would not even talk about the situation because, frankly, it was too near and dear to the situation they'd already experienced with their own daughter.  


Finally, I was most struck by the comment a nurse offered.  The nurse said there was no possible way for this child to be dyslexic...she was too cute! 


Too cute?  She's cute so therefore she can't be dyslexic?  


If only dyslexia came in tandem with indicating birthmarks that broadcast:

 "HEY, I'm a dyslexic learner.  I learn in a way that might be different.  I AM NOT STUPID.  I learn differently than you might learn!" 

No such luck! We are not born with dyslexic-indicating-birthmarks. But, there are things that can indicate a dyslexic or dyslexic-like learning style when we are young. Some of these indicators include differences in developmental milestones, late to begin talking, difficulty in learning to rhyme, and an avoidance of reading. 


Here's a link to the Davis Young Learner Strategies, a solution to the dyslexic traits that may be found in young children.  


Contact OnPoint Learning if you'd like more information about the programs that provide tools to correct the learning difficulties associated with dyslexia. 


OnPoint Learning Center, LLC
3610 Buttonwood Dr. Suite 200
Columbia, Missouri 65201
573-819-6010
http://www.onpointlearning.org/
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Soon after I was born into this world a birthmark triumphantly appeared on the end of my nose. Imagine a small-rounded-pencil eraser, dipped into some red paint, and used as a stamp on the end of a baby's nose.  Sounds cute, right? Cute it was, when I was a chubby, little one month old baby.  However, my parents worried that the cuteness would fade and something far worse replace it. 


My grandfather, knowing my parents' concern, had an even deeper concern of his own.  He feared they would go forward with their idea to have the birthmark removed.  I can see my parents' point in wanting to rid me of the red-dot; it clashed with my red hair after all! 


One day Grandfather arrived at our home and announced that he and I would be going to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.  There we would seek out a second opinion.  Of course mom and dad were welcome to join us on the trip, he graciously offered.


Long story short: the four of us traveled to Mayo Clinic in Rochester and the report that came back went something like this:  

"This type of birthmark is known to fade with the passing of time. Removal-- whether by surgical, freezing or burning methods--will result in permanent scarring."

Permanent. Scarring? Scary!  To this day my hair remains red (or strawberry-blonde as some like to call it), but the red-dot that once graced my nose is long gone.  Faded.  Just as the doctors predicted.  


The red-dot?  You'd never know that it existed if I hadn't told you this story.  


Ah, but what I really wanted to talk about: dyslexia. A dyslexic learning-style unfortunately has nothing as convenient as a birthmark to announce its presence --like the idea on a pirate's treasure map where X marks the spot!  As scary as the dot on the end of my nose was for my young parents, you have to admit that it boldly announced itself which left no doubt it existed!


What if, during that trip to Mayo Clinic, the doctors had evaluated my potential as a dyslexic learner?   There are a few good indicators for the presence of a dyslexic learning style in young children:


Late, very early, or unusual developmental milestones for walking, beginning to talk, crawling 


Repeated ear infections


Articulation difficulties ('R' and 'L' sounds are often some of the most obvious)


Creative ways of pronouncing words or invented words when they do start to talk


Family members who learn in a different way.  Often one or more parent is on the dyslexic spectrum; or an aunt, uncle, or grandparent. 


Unlike my red-dot-birthmark that I had as a baby, my dyslexia has not faded as I've grown older.  It's still with me which only makes it even easier for me to understand and empathize with those of you who share this special way of learning! 

"It is often said that education and training are the keys to the future. They are, but a key can be turned in two directions. Turn it one way and you lock resources away, even from those they belong to. Turn it the other way and you release resources and give people back to themselves."—Ken Robinson

According to Sir Ken Robinson, there are two keys to our future.  Education and training.  In the educational realm there's a lot of talk that focuses on meeting the students' needs.  While at the same time, almost across the board, the needs of students are met by a range of services that neatly fit into the box of services already in place. 


Too often, changes that are meant to provide assistance to those of us who learn in a different way, are merely presented in a slower fashion. In Sir Ken's language this would be like turning the key in the wrong direction.  It might open the door but, that door leads down the wrong path. 


For instance, take the habit of telling a student to clap-out the number of syllables in a word.  Simple enough to do.  But, what if we can make a lasting image in our minds? 


In our work to correct dyslexia, non-hardening clay is used to create a three dimensional image.  This clay modeling leads us down a path where the results store a mental image, an image of what a word looks-like, sounds-like, and means.  Still simple, but NOW we're providing an example that permanently stores that word.  Using the right tools can turn the key and take us down the right path. 


Most changes I hear about for school and educational matters, when it comes to helping our students improve their reading, writing, and focusing, essentially provides a "dumbing down effect".  An effect that may appear to open the door, but that door, again, is leading us down the wrong path. 


My words are not meant in a mean-spirited way.  My goal is to help others see things in a new way. Think of a middle-school student who feels it's too childish to clap out the syllables in a word.  Do we make them clap out the words anyway or can we step it up and give them new tools? By creating that word and it's meaning three dimensionally, we're not just 'playing with clay' we're creating a permanent image of what that word looks-like, and means, while pronouncing that word in a focused manner.  


So which direction do you want your child's education to go? Have you found the right 'key' to the way you or your own kids learn? 


Check out my website at www.onpointlearning.org and my facebook page at:https://www.facebook.com/pages/OnPoint-Learning-Center-LLC/135836606486829