Of children with reading difficulties, almost half have problems that are not apparent until 4th grade. From Kindergarden to Grade 3, focus is on ‘learning to read’.   By 4th grade, now the focus is on ‘reading to learn’.  Some students have no difficulties with letter or word recognition or phonetic decoding. Yet, their reading difficulty is that they are unable to read fluently or comprehend what they read.

    Linguistically, we know that a word has three parts: what it looks like (spelling), what it sounds like (pronunciation), and what it means (definition/picture sense).

    A learner who is struggling with comprehension is probably lacking knowledge of what the word truly means.
Words without ‘meaning’, the third part of the word, hamper access to getting ‘the picture’ the author intended.  Often our picture thinking or our non-verbal intelligence demands more than the ability to recognize how to say a word. 

    Sometimes it’s the small words we see everywhere (the, so, for, yet) or words with multiple meanings (run, of), or look like other words (on/no/one, of/if/off) that create confusion.  For picture thinkers sensing no picture or uncertainty of which picture associated with a word, is like reading a sentence with holes in it, like swiss cheese.  Another analogy: like viewing a movie where a few frames are missing every few seconds – would you stay for the whole movie?

    I recall a 17 year old who could read, and did so with such great expression she often read aloud in class.  The problem she experienced was that she did not understand what she read.  The resulting stress and self-doubt hampered her ability to use the information she read in discussion and testing.

    What to do: Take this learner through Davis Orientation Counseling® with the understanding that their great brain (so good at turning on its picture thinking) turns on automatically - and they can turn it off when it gets in the way of seeing the actual words written on the page. Introduce Davis Symbol Mastery®; this is an excellent method that helps the learner to integrate the three parts of essential words. Practice the Davis Sight Exercises - they increase reading fluency.

    Learning Options matches short term programs that provide life-long results to take advantage of our natural way of thinking.  When a screening determines hands-on picture thinking strengths, acceptance into the program guarantees changes for the better.

Discovering that the part of our thinking considered ‘picture or non-verbal’ is at the root of problems with reading and writing, helps us realize that much of our everyday life is filled with examples of the difference between ‘word/verbal’ thinking and ‘picture/nonverbal’ thinking. 
 
Here’s an example of how our brain takes in information in ‘nonverbal’ ways:  Many years ago my sister and I were investigating a creekbed at our summer cottage.  We felt the smooth stones and cold water on our feet as we hunted for yellow popping flowers, when suddenly we were covered with spray from an animal we’d never noticed before.  Our initial curiosity about plants, which didn’t need words to be experienced, was replaced with a very pervasive scent experience, which also did not need words to be experienced.  Language or not, we’d had a very strong experience.   Later that evening, our clothes buried, we got to see bats flying over our tent that served as an outdoor bedroom until a mixture of time and washing with floating Ivory soap in the lake returned us to our pre-skunk condition. 
 
We experienced what happened to us through our senses --sight, sound, scent, feeling, motion.  In the world of education we describe these sensory-input avenues as Multi Modal. 
 
Both idyllic flower hunt and skunkspray reaction had multimodal non-verbal expression from smiles to screams, from sauntering to shocked stillness leading to crazed running, from open to closed noses and eyes, from feeling smooth stones and mosses in the creekbed to smashing over roots and rocks.  
 
Here comes an example of our use of ‘word/verbal intelligence’.  Now decades later I share our adventure by using words, putting the words into writing.  By use of your word/verbal intelligence, you understand and maybe even relate to my story.  Reading about this experience uses words - one modality.  If your verbal/word thinking intelligence is strong enough you can comprehend by picturing what happened. 
 
Those with strong ‘picture/nonverbal intelligence’ who struggle with words (how to say them, what they mean) are blocked from experiencing, understanding, thinking about, and sharing what goes on around us and within us when the events and ideas are provided solely in word format. 
 
Most approaches to helping with reading and writing continue using ‘word/verbal intelligence’ – the weak area of the brain.  By understanding and being given tools to use our ‘picture/nonverbal intelligence’, people who struggled when given tools limited to ‘word/verbal intelligence’, can and do have access to and can succeed in the world of words.  The Davis approach helps people succeed because of, not despite their way of thinking.
 
 
 
 
 

Before the invention of written language, dyslexia and other focus-based and symbol-based ‘dis’abilities didn't exist.  Instead, persons who struggle with written language were likely custodians of oral history because of their excellent ability to memorize and transmit the spoken word.

Imaginative play, an early childhood staple, is rife with examples of intuitive thought and nonverbal thinking. Kids great at this perceive and formulate mental concepts faster than other people, and easily perceive imagination as reality. 

We see kids seamlessly slipping in and out of imagination during their play.  This nonverbal mode of thinking can cause difficulty in learning written language. How?  When efforts to read or write are met with our kids automatic slipping into imagination, they do not come out with words or symbols you expect.  How is this fair?  Their imagination has served them well in other ways, why not with this?

We interpret these difficulties as issues with focus. Unaddressed, this becomes a major complaint, rather than revered gift. 

Being in the real world is a feeling, just as being in the imaginary world is a feeling.  Knowing that negotiating the real world requires both our imaginary-self and real-self to work together is the essence of ‘focus’. 
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By simply recognizing the feeling of focus (being present, oriented), getting tools to make that easier, finding symbols or situations that trigger the need to use their imagination and how to resolve these triggers, you’ll be providing them the best of both worlds.

Keep on doing what you are doing with giving them opportunities to enjoy their creativity alone, with other kids, in group activities, with you.  Take some time to investigate the Davis® tools that help people succeed because of, not despite, their natural way of thinking.  Call, email, or visit my website to consider more Learning Options with which children and adults are empowered. 

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