“A success story . . . proof that one can rise above the disease and defy its so-called limitations on the brain.”—Daily Beast Despite winning the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 2008, Philip Schultz could never shake the feeling of being exiled to the "dummy class" in school, where he was largely ignored by his teachers and peers and not expected to succeed. Not until many years later, when his oldest son was diagnosed with dyslexia, did Schultz realize that he suffered from the same condition. In his moving memoir, Schultz traces his difficult childhood and his new understanding of his early years. In doing so, he shows how a boy who did not learn to read until he was eleven went on to become a prize-winning poet by sheer force of determination. His balancing act—life as a member of a family with not one but two dyslexics, countered by his intellectual and creative successes as a writer—reveals an inspiring story of the strengths of the human mind.
Offering readers honest advice, in this new book Dr. Selznick uses plain language to make dyslexia understandable and cut through confusion. It's like chatting with a knowledgeable relative or friend who's concerned about your child. Dr. Selznick offers hope grounded in reality--no sugar-coating the issues. His 25 essential points include the definition and characteristics of dyslexia, how dyslexia is assessed, how to approach remediation, and tips for conquering the most common learning disability.
Finally, a groundbreaking book that reveals what your dyslexic child is experiencing—and what you can do so that he or she will thrive More than thirty million people in the United States are dyslexic—a brain-based genetic trait, often labeled as a “learning disability” or “learning difference,” that makes interpreting text and reading difficult. Yet even though children with dyslexia may have trouble reading, they don’t have any problems learning; dyslexia has nothing to do with a lack of intellect. While other books tell you what dyslexia is, this book tells you what to do. Dyslexics’ innate skills, which may include verbal, social, spatial, kinesthetic, visual, mathematical, or musical abilities, are their unique key to acquiring knowledge. Figuring out where their individual strengths lie, and then harnessing these skills, offers an entrée into learning and excelling. And by keeping the focus on learning, not on standard reading the same way everyone else does, a child with dyslexia can and will develop the self-confidence to flourish in the classroom and beyond. After years of battling with a school system that did not understand his dyslexia and the shame that accompanied it, renowned activist and entrepreneur Ben Foss is not only open about his dyslexia, he is proud of it. In The Dyslexia Empowerment Plan he shares his personal triumphs and failures so that you can learn from his experiences, and provides a three-step approach for success: • Identify your child’s profile: By mapping your child’s strengths and weaknesses and assisting her to better understand who she is, you can help your child move away from shame and feelings of inadequacy and move toward creating a powerful program for learning. • Help your child help himself: Coach your child to become his own best advocate by developing resiliency, confidence, and self-awareness, and focusing on achievable goals in areas that matter most to him. • Create community: Dyslexic children are not broken, but too often the system designed to educate them is. Dare to change your school so that your child has the resources to thrive. Understanding your rights and finding allies will make you and your child feel connected and no longer alone. Packed with practical ideas and strategies dyslexic children need for excelling in school and in life, this empowering guide provides the framework for charting a future for your child that is bright with hope and unlimited potential. Praise for The Dyslexia Empowerment Plan “A passionate and well-articulated guide . . . This extremely practical and motivational book will be welcomed by parents of dyslexic children.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review) “Accessible and reassuring.”—Library Journal “This step-by-step guide will become a go-to resource for parents.”—James H. Wendorf, executive director, National Center for Learning Disabilities “I study dyslexia in the lab and am a parent of a wonderful daughter who fits this profile. Ben Foss’s book should be considered essential to any collection on the subject. It was extremely useful, especially for a mom.”—Maria Luisa Gorno Tempini, M.D., Ph.D., professor of neurology, UCSF, Memory and Aging Center “As someone with a learning profile that made school tough, and as a parent, I know kids need the right support. Ben Foss knows how to get access to education because he’s been through it. I was thrilled to read this book. It offers a wise collection of insights that are both practical and touching.”—James Gandolfini, actor, The Sopranos
Draws on recent scientific breakthroughs to explain the mechanisms underlying dyslexia, offering parents age-specific, grade-by-grade instructions on how to help their children.
Jargon-free and easy to read, Defeat Dyslexia! is the practical guide for busy parents and carers. Find out with what dyslexia really means for your child's reading, spelling, maths, and other areas of learning, including music, languages, and sport. Then discover straightforward, positive ways to help your dyslexic child to excel, in school and in life. Using Defeat Dyslexia!, you'll gather facts, advice, and inspiration from a dyslexia expert who is also proudly dyslexic. With this book, you can: Spot Dyslexia Identify signs of possible dyslexia, including hidden clues. Find out about overlapping conditions, like dyscalculia, dyspraxia, ADHD, and autism. Understand Dyslexia Get to grips with the strengths and weaknesses of dyslexia. Make the diagnosis process stress-free. Defeat Dyslexia! Learn the quick and easy 'first steps' for supporting your child. Create a long-term plan of action for learning success. It's time to defeat the demons of dyslexia - and embrace the best of what it means to be dyslexic.
This book combines moving accounts of the lived experience of dyslexic adults with tips and strategies for surmounting the challenges you or a loved one or family member may face. Drawing on in-depth interviews, Kelli Sandman-Hurley explores common themes such as school experiences; the impact of dyslexia on mental wellbeing; literacy skills; and being a dyslexic parent, perhaps to a child who is also dyslexic. Interviewees share what helped them (or didn't), the strategies they use daily to tackle literacy-based tasks, anxiety and low self-esteem, the advice they would give to the parent of a dyslexic child who is struggling, and reflect on how their experience has impacted their own parenting style. Whether you're dyslexic yourself or supporting someone who is, this book sheds light on an underrepresented topic, providing much-needed guidance and insight around what life is really like for an adult with dyslexia.
This prevalent reading problem has puzzled medical researchers and parents alike for 100 years. The latest evidence indicates that dyslexic children have trouble breaking words into constituent sounds, which makes it harder for them to connect speech with letters of the alphabet.
Richard Selznick is a child psychologist who has helped parents with their children s struggles in school for more than 25 years. His first book, The Shut-Down Learner, identified the problems faced by spatial learners and recommended ways that parents and teachers can help them learn. School Struggles offers aid, comfort, and perspective to parents whose children have difficulty in school for a multitude of reasons. Selznick addresses reading and writing issues, task analysis, learning disabilities, behavioral problems, difficulties with organization, social skills, medication, parents interactions with teachers, and more, in a practical, down-to-earth manner. The book is filled with takeaway points, surprising insights, and new actions to try with your child that are a godsend for families struggling with school and behavioral issues. Through his work with thousands of academically struggling kids and their families, Dr. Selznick has developed techniques and easily applicable tools on pretty much any topic that plagues parents and children alike, including the excessive use of technology, parental indulgence of their children, and the difficulty of being patient with a frustrating situation. This is an indispensable guide for any parent who stays awake at night worrying about their child s school experience, whether the issues are academic or social, or both."
Lively Sloan loves to make up dances, put on shows, and do art. But as she heads into first grade, nothing frustrates her more than reading. In math, the numbers go together right in her brain, but no matter how hard she looks at letters, and no matter how many times her teacher and parents say "focus," she would much rather do cartwheels. She feels sad that she isn't "with" her class and isn't reading the "right way." Then, she finds out that she has dyslexia. Join Sloan on her journey to learn to read, gain confidence, and find her own special kind of smart. Cartwheels is a great story for opening conversations and explaining the basics of dyslexia to children.
