If a parent or loved one will watch closely when a child with dyslexia reads, they will notice that the words that cause the child to hesitate, insert a word, replace a word, omit a word, or skip a line are, for the most part, abstract words and abstract punctuation marks. For a 3-dimensional learner these abstract words and punctuation marks do not have a 3-dimensional picture and thus have no meaning for them. We call them “stumble” words.
To understand the difficulty that a 3-D learner has with abstract words and symbols, use your imagination while I ask you to picture a few words:
- Picture “pencil” … now “beach ball” … and now “house” … and finally “the”. Make note of the experiences you had for each word.
When you were asked to picture “pencil”, you did not picture the letters that spell the word pencil. Instead you pictured the object. You had the same kind of perceptual experience when you pictured the concrete words “beach ball” and “house”. When you tried to picture “the”, you realized there is not a 3-dimensional object to represent it. Most likely you pictured the letters—t…h…e.
A 3-D learner or dyslexic can easily picture and master the first three words but can experience confusion, disintegration, and breakdown with “the” and other abstract words. Until the abstract is made concrete for them, they will have difficulty with reading and writing.
The Learning To Read Program is designed to help the 3-D learner overcome these difficulties. The program is a multi-sensory approach to help children master the abstract words they would normally stumble over. It simultaneously stimulates the senses of touch, sight, movement and hearing to give experiential meaning to the abstract words and symbols. It makes the flat, 2-dimensional words become concrete in the 3-D learner’s mind.
Sincerely,
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