Monday, March 09, 2009

A few thoughts on dyslexia

"When we look at highly successful dyslexic individuals, we see that they succeeded by following their substantial gifts, not by focusing on their difficulties." - Thomas G. West, In the Mind's Eye, Thinking Like Einstein

I am a faithful reader of the blog Eide Neurolearning Blog. They consistently post scientific information about the brain that interests me. The above quote resonates with me, in that I need to take heed to it! I tend to want to "fix" things in those that I teach. Actually, I need to make more time for their "gifts" to flourish! This isn't the first time I've come across this advice. I also like the following quote from their post today:

If a child has trouble in core school subject such as reading, an equally intensive search should be made for a child's strengths and interests, remembering to specifically set aside time for gift/talent development.

And I really think this would apply to all people, not just those that are struggling in a core subject. Of course, we can all work hard at mastering different skills (not just the ones that come easily to us) but should we not strive to use to the utmost the gifts that God has given to us as individuals?

1 comment:

ohiofarmgirl said...

When I taught children with learning disabilities I found that they may have a weak area but they are very talented in other areas. Often much more strong than they were weak. These were the students that were the most willing to learn. dianntha