Dyslexia means "trouble with words." Recently, however, it has been further categorized into many different labels including ADD, ADHD, visual-spatial learners, processing disorders, etc. As more is learned about the commonality in thinking styles among all of these, there is a consistent theme with respect to many learning disabilities: Disorientation.

Disorientation affects many areas of learning such as reading, spelling, comprehension, writing, and math.

Disorientation is actually a natural talent - a gift. When disoriented, dyslexics can problem-solve, create, invent, engineer, and escape by using their extraordinary and vibrant multi-sensory thoughts, similar to movies. This same gift, however, is also what makes dealing with 2-dimensional words and symbols a tedious task.

Words that enable a picture-thinking person to imagine a picture, have meaning and are clearly understood. However, they are unconsciously challenged when faced with certain words like: the, was, if, and, were, in, on, as, or, that...and at least 209 others just like them (commonly known as “sight words”).

With no picture to process for each sight word, the reading material quickly loses meaning - causing confusion, frustration, and fatigue. At this point, the dyslexic's automatic response is to disorient and examine the source of the confusion multi-dimensionally. This works beautifully with real-world objects, but it doesn't work for the written word. The result of disorientation while reading is distorted perception of the words.

When equipped with the right tools, people with dyslexia can intentionally control and correct their perceptions and avoid the disabling aspects, allowing their gifts and talents to shine.

Read more about how Davis Orientation Counseling® provides tools for correcting perception in the revised edition of Ron Davis' breakthrough book, The Gift of Dyslexia ©2010.