How the Dyslexic Program Works
The Davis Dyslexia Correction® Program is a 5-day intensive/one-on-one program where a child is given tools to address the root cause of learning disabilities—confusion. Once the reasons for confusion are addressed, a child has the ability to use his/her natural strengths and talents to become successful in their learning environment.
During the program, the child is given the following tools:
Orientation: Disorientation is a natural reaction to confusion. In disorientation, a child does not have a correct perception of the things around them. In order to “turn off” this disorientation, the child is given an orientation. Orientation corrects perception and gives the child the ability to see their world in 2-D rather than 3-D. With orientation, the child (at will) can stop their letters from moving, thus making it possible to read, write, spell, and focus. Once orientation is achieved, the student is ready to build the conceptual skills that will allow them to overcome problems stemming from dyslexia.
Release: This tool is used to deal with stress or confusing situations and eliminates frustration or anxiety that occurs in a child’s everyday life.
Dial Settings: This tool helps the child turn down or up his/her energy at will. If the child’s dial is too high, the child has a difficult time sitting for reading, writing, or focusing. If the dial is at an appropriate setting (4 or 5), the child will be able to accomplish the seat work or focusing that is needed. Many parents have found this tool helpful in eliminating the need for medications such as Concerta or Ritalin.
Reading Exercises: These exercises are especially adapted to help a dyslexic child to slow down their mind processing and tract from left to right. Since they are used to looking at an entire object, they will do the same in their reading. Instead of seeing the individual letters that make up the word, the child is looking at the word as a whole and guessing at the word. These exercises help the child to see and recognize each letter, increase comprehension, and store information into long term memory.
Symbol Mastery: Since dyslexics are conceptual learners (see in pictures), reading can be a challenge for them. Such words as “a”, “the”, and “and” do not bring a picture to mind. Instead, the dyslexic sees a blank. The sentence, “The cat ran up the tree” has only two words the dyslexic can see—“cat” and “tree”. The rest of the words create confusion which leads to disorientation and learning disabilities. To eliminate this, the dyslexic needs to model 219 words that show the meaning and the letter symbols used. When they have all three parts of the word: what it means, what it looks like (letter symbols), and what it sounds like, the confusion goes away, thus eliminating disorientation and learning disabilities.
When working with children and teenagers, Training Gifted Minds also provides support training to parents, so that they can continue to work with the child at home. At the end of the basic program, students have a full understanding of all the Davis methods and know how to continue to use these methods on their own. On completion, students are given a kit containing all materials needed to continue to practice Davis techniques and to continue with clay modeling until they have mastered all the common trigger words.
Professional services described as Davis®, including Davis Dyslexia Correction®, Davis Symbol Mastery®, Davis Orientation Counseling®, Davis® Attention Mastery, Davis® Math Mastery, and Davis® Reading Program for Young Learners may only be provided by persons who are trained and licensed as Davis Facilitators or Specialists by Davis Dyslexia Association International.
