Visual Spatual Learner

Her next clue was something she noticed when she was demonstrating drawing to a class, and trying to give a verbal explanation of the methods she was using. She found that she often would "simply stop talking right in the middle of a sentence. I would hear my voice stop and I would think about getting back to the sentence, but finding the words again would seem like a terrible chore -- and I didn't really want to anyhow. But pulling myself back at last, I would resume talking -- and then find that I had lost contact with the drawing, which suddenly seemed confusing and difficult. Thus I picked up a new bit of information: I could either talk or draw, but I couldn't do both at once."

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A part of the answer is that, from childhood onward, we have learned to see things in terms of words: we name things, and we know facts about them. The dominant left verbal hemisphere doesn't want too much information about things it perceives -- just enough to recognize and to categorize. The left brain, in this sense, learns to take a quick look and says, "Right, that's a chair ...." Because the brain is overloaded most of the time with incoming information, it seems that one of its functions is to screen out a large proportion of incoming perceptions. This is a necessary process to enable us to focus our thinking and one that works very well for us most of the time. But drawing requires that you look at something for a long time, perceiving lots of details, registering as much information as possible -- ideally, everything....

Symptoms of Dyslexia

Dyslexic people are visual, multi-dimensional thinkers. We are intuitive and highly creative, and excel at hands-on learning. It is sometimes hard for us to understand letters, numbers, symbols, and written words because we think in pictures but learning to adapt this hidden talent can lead to success, particularly in creative and inventive fields.

Reading:

Ð'* Fluctuating memory problems with letters, words or numbers -- including sequences such as the alphabet.

Ð'* Skipping over or scrambling letters, words and sentences.

Ð'* Reading is a slow, tiring process often accompanied with head tilting or finger pointing.

Ð'* Reversal of similar letters (such as "b" and "d"), words (such as "saw" and "was") and numbers (such as "6" and "9").

Ð'* Letters and words blur, move, double, scramble or are omitted or added.

Ð'* Dyslexics are prone to concentration problems, are easily distracted, light sensitivity, tunnel vision and delays between visual and phonetic processing.

Writing:

Ð'* Handwriting is often messy, slanted or drifting -- and varies in size of lettering and spacing.

Ð'* Many dyslexics can write backwards with ease, often without understanding that this is not normal

Speech:

Ð'* Speech disorders can include slurring, stuttering, pronunciation problems and delays between auditory-input and response.

Skills:

Ð'* Uncertainty with right/left hand recognition and directions.

Ð'* Difficulty with basic skills such as telling time or tying shoelaces.

Ð'* Problems with balance and coordination which usually leads to avoidance of many sports and motion-related activities.

Phobias & Moods:

Ð'* Frequent fears of the dark, getting lost or going to school.

Ð'* Mood disturbances.

Ð'* Obsessions and compulsions.

Most importantly, having several of these symptoms can cause a complete lack of self-esteem. It's easy to feel stupid when reading or writing -- learn instead to develop your unique hands-on or visual abilities

The terms 'dysphonetic' and 'dyseidetic' are words used to describe typical symptoms of dyslexia. The person labeled 'dysphonetic' has difficulty connecting sounds to symbols, and might have a hard time sounding out words, and spelling mistakes would show a very poor grasp of phonics. This is also sometimes called "auditory" dyslexia, because it relates to the way the person processes the sounds of language.

Q. Can someone have dyslexia without reading problems? [November 23, 1998]

Can someone have dyslexia without reading problems? I am an avid reader. I never did well in English Composition class and I don't spell very well. I have always described my short-term memory as mirror (I reverse numbers, etc). My long term memory is very good, however. Even though I have found no major problems with my "strange" way of thinking, it would help explain things about myself.

A. The symptoms you describe are consistent with dyslexia. Ron Davis refers to dyslexia as a 'self-created' condition. By that he does not mean that it is a person's fault that they have dyslexia, but rather that the particular symptoms stem from an individual's life experiences. Many dyslexic people are, in fact, very good readers, but struggle tremendously with spelling or writing.

It is also very possible for a person to have only mild symptoms of dyslexia, or to have severe symptoms but only experience them occasionally. If these symptoms are significant enough to cause problems for the person -- in school, the workplace, or other aspects of their lives - then it would be appropriate for the person to seek help to correct their problems.

Many people with only mild or occasional symptoms have found that the book The Gift of Dyslexia has provided them with valuable insight into the way they think and learn, even if they did not feel they needed to get further help with areas of difficulty.

Abigail Marshall, DDAI

Visual Spatial LearnersAn Introduction

Welcome to the wonderful world of the visual-spatial learner! We're excited to share with you information about this important learning style, and to share with you about recognizing, assessing, teaching, counseling