DYSLEXIA [a general term for disorders that involve difficulty in learning to read or interpret words, letters, and other symbols, but that do not affect general intelligence.] OED
Besides resolving confusion, dyslexics utilise the altered perceptions that occur with disorientations for creative imagination. When it is applied to solving a problem during non-verbal conceptualisation, it might be called intuition, invention or inspiration. When it is done for entertainment, it is called fantasising or daydreaming. Keep in mind that dyslexics have little or no internal monologue, so they do not hear what they are reading unless they are reading aloud. Instead they are composing a mental picture by adding the meaning - or image of the meaning - of each new word as it is encountered.
Two kinds of thought.
It is widely believed that human beings think in two different ways: 'verbal conceptualisation' and 'non-verbal conceptualisation'. Verbal conceptualisation means thinking with the sounds of words. Non-verbal conceptualisation means thinking with mental pictures of concepts or ideas.
Verbal thought is linear in time. It follows the structure of language. When using it , a person composes mental sentences one word at a time. Verbal thinking occurs at about the same speed as speech. Normal speech has a speed of about 150 words per minute, or 2.5 words per second.
Non-verbal thought is evolutionary. The picture 'grows' as the thought process adds more concepts. Non-verbal thought is much faster, possibly thousands of times faster. In fact, it's difficult to understand the non-verbal thinking process because it happens so fast you aren't aware of it when you do it. Usually non-verbal thinking is subliminal, or below conscious awareness.(1).
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As they attend to their dreams, what may emerge is a relization that each time they go round the circle they are in a new place. They are spiralling, finding new meaning and new resonances in each round. The image is releasing more and more of its mystery. As they move up and down on the spiral they may find themselves periodically lost; then, on the next round, they may feel themselves resonating right through their spiral. They are circling "the diamond body." Denied guiding models of both masculine and feminine in the temporal world, we must compensate by moving into a timeless world, the "once upon a time" that announces our entrance into the fairy tale realm. This descent, which we are forced to make after we have exhausted the possibilities of our temporal state, is the realm of "faerie", the realm of realized human nature that from earliest childhood needs to be ceaselessly explored. The "diamond body" is the be found here.(2).
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As in a dream, fairy tales and folk tales present us with
the characters who will enact the conflicts that arise out of situations.
Conflict builds to climax. A startling turn moves action towards new places
of wholeness. Jung believed that a natural movement toward wholeness exists
with the psyche. If we follow the dream process and try to comprehend
the messages from the unconscious in other possible ways, we are guided
to people and situations that help us, or force us, to deal with parts
of ourselves that we need to integrate. If we conduct dialogues with
our inner cast of characters, we just might become whole human
beings.(2).
Discovery of dyslexia gene could lead to earlier tests
By Jeremy Laurance, Health Editor
Published: 29 October 2005
Scientists have announced that they have identified a gene for dyslexia,
paving the way for the development of earlier tests for the reading disability.
Accurate diagnosis at a younger age of the condition that affects up to
10 million people in Britain is essential for the development of effective
educational programmes, researchers said.
Many children who are poor readers are mistakenly diagnosed as a dyslexic
when their reading ability is not assessed alongside their intelligence.
The sign of real dyslexia is a reading ability well below that for the
child's age and intelligence. A comparison of the genetic make-up of 153
dyslexic families carried out at Yale School of Medicine in the US showed
that a single gene could be responsible for up to one in five cases of
the condition.
The researchers found that an alteration in the gene on chromosome six,
called DCDC2, led to disruption in the formation of brain circuits that
make it possible to read.
The findings were presented at a meeting of the American Society of Human
Genetics in Salt Lake City, Utah, yesterday and published simultaneously
in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Jeffrey Gruen,
associate professor of paediatrics at Yale, who led the study, said: "These
promising results now have the potential to lead to improved diagnostic
methods to identify dyslexia and deepens understanding of how the reading
process works on a molecular level."
Learning to read involves brain circuits learning to communicate with
one another. In people with reading disabilities these circuits are disrupted.
People with dyslexia form compensatory brain circuits but they are inefficient
and they have difficulty learning to read.
Previous research over the past 30 years has shown that dyslexia has a
strong hereditary component. Up to half the children of dyslexic parents
and half the siblings of dyslexic children are also affected. In the search
for a genetic cause, attention has focused on chromosome six ,which contains
19 genes, most of which affect functions in the brain. In experiments
on rats, the Yale team found that the gene DCDC2 was activated in both
fluent and dyslexic readers, suggesting dysfunction of the gene caused
the reading disability.
Professor Gruen said: "We now have strong statistical evidence that
a large number of dyslexic cases - perhaps as many as 20 per cent - are
due to the DCDC2 gene. The gene is expressed in reading centres of the
brain where it modulates migration of neurons. This very architecture
of the brain circuitry is necessary for normal reading.
"We can't continue with one-size-fits-all schooling any more. People
with dyslexia are not less intelligent than others, they just learn in
different ways. Tailoring programmes to fit the needs of these children
will enhance their success in school."
The researchers say other genes yet to be identified are involved in dyslexia.
Brain scans carried out by researchers from the UK Dyslexia Research Trust
have shown that people with dyslexia have underactive brains in areas
associated with reading and vocal word formation.
However, other research indicates that dyslexia may also be a neurological
condition. Post-mortem studies of the brains of people with dyslexia showed
that many neurons were in the wrong place.
Difficulties with words
* The word dyslexia comes from the Greek, meaning"difficulty with
words".
* Around 4 per cent of the population is severely dyslexic, and up to
a further 13 per cent suffer mild problems.
* The condition affects people from all backgrounds and of all abilities,
from those with a rudimentary education to those with university degrees.
* It causes hesitant reading, difficulty with sequences such as getting
dates in order, poor organisation and erratic spelling.
* People with dyslexia may also be innovative thinkers, good trouble shooters,
intuitive problem solvers and lateral thinkers.
* Successful dyslexics include the physicist and Nobel Prize- winner Albert
Einstein, Winston Churchill and the author Hans Christian Andersen.
Scientists have announced that they have identified a gene for dyslexia,
paving the way for the development of earlier tests for the reading disability.
Accurate diagnosis at a younger age of the condition that affects up to
10 million people in Britain is essential for the development of effective
educational programmes, researchers said.
Many children who are poor readers are mistakenly diagnosed as a dyslexic
when their reading ability is not assessed alongside their intelligence.
The sign of real dyslexia is a reading ability well below that for the
child's age and intelligence. A comparison of the genetic make-up of 153
dyslexic families carried out at Yale School of Medicine in the US showed
that a single gene could be responsible for up to one in five cases of
the condition.
The researchers found that an alteration in the gene on chromosome six,
called DCDC2, led to disruption in the formation of brain circuits that
make it possible to read.
The findings were presented at a meeting of the American Society of Human
Genetics in Salt Lake City, Utah, yesterday and published simultaneously
in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Jeffrey Gruen,
associate professor of paediatrics at Yale, who led the study, said: "These
promising results now have the potential to lead to improved diagnostic
methods to identify dyslexia and deepens understanding of how the reading
process works on a molecular level."
Learning to read involves brain circuits learning to communicate with
one another. In people with reading disabilities these circuits are disrupted.
People with dyslexia form compensatory brain circuits but they are inefficient
and they have difficulty learning to read.
Previous research over the past 30 years has shown that dyslexia has a
strong hereditary component. Up to half the children of dyslexic parents
and half the siblings of dyslexic children are also affected. In the search
for a genetic cause, attention has focused on chromosome six ,which contains
19 genes, most of which affect functions in the brain. In experiments
on rats, the Yale team found that the gene DCDC2 was activated in both
fluent and dyslexic readers, suggesting dysfunction of the gene caused
the reading disability.
Professor Gruen said: "We now have strong statistical evidence that
a large number of dyslexic cases - perhaps as many as 20 per cent - are
due to the DCDC2 gene. The gene is expressed in reading centres of the
brain where it modulates migration of neurons. This very architecture
of the brain circuitry is necessary for normal reading.
"We can't continue with one-size-fits-all schooling any more. People
with dyslexia are not less intelligent than others, they just learn in
different ways. Tailoring programmes to fit the needs of these children
will enhance their success in school."
The researchers say other genes yet to be identified are involved in dyslexia.
Brain scans carried out by researchers from the UK Dyslexia Research Trust
have shown that people with dyslexia have underactive brains in areas
associated with reading and vocal word formation.
However, other research indicates that dyslexia may also be a neurological
condition. Post-mortem studies of the brains of people with dyslexia showed
that many neurons were in the wrong place.
Difficulties with words
* The word dyslexia comes from the Greek, meaning"difficulty with
words".
* Around 4 per cent of the population is severely dyslexic, and up to
a further 13 per cent suffer mild problems.
* The condition affects people from all backgrounds and of all abilities,
from those with a rudimentary education to those with university degrees.
* It causes hesitant reading, difficulty with sequences such as getting
dates in order, poor organisation and erratic spelling.
* People with dyslexia may also be innovative thinkers, good trouble shooters,
intuitive problem solvers and lateral thinkers.
* Successful dyslexics include the physicist and Nobel Prize- winner Albert
Einstein, Winston Churchill and the author Hans Christian Andersen. (3)
SOURCES
1. "The Gift of Dyslexia", Ronald D. Davis with Eldon M. Braun.,
Souvenir Press, 1994.
2. "The Maiden King", Robert Bly, Marion Woodman, Henry Holt
& Co., 1998
3. Independent Newspapers 30th October 2005