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EspañolDAVIS DYSLEXIA CORRECTION
'Davis Dyslexia Correction' is a counseling-based approach for addressing issues commonly associated with dyslexia, ADHD, ADD, dysgraphia, dyscalculia, and related learning disabilities. The goal of the program is to enable children and adults to recognize and control the symptoms which are viewed as causing them difficulty, and to use their natural creative and imaginative strengths for learning.
The method was created by Ronald D. Davis, from techniques he used to overcome his own difficulties with reading at age 38. Davis opened his first clinic in California in 1981. In 1994, he outlined his theories and the basic techniques used in the first edition of his book, ''The Gift of Dyslexia''.
The Davis theory is based on premises that differ from the traditional view of learning disabilities. The International Dyslexia Association, an advocacy organization based in the United States, considers Davis Dyslexia Correction as one of many treatments that are based on insufficient evidence. Available reports on the Davis method are "largely anecdotal".
The Davis methods are currently promulgated through Davis Dyslexia Association International (DDAI), a commercial organization which provides training in Davis methods and also licenses qualified Facilitators to use Davis trademarks such as Davis® or Davis Dyslexia Correction® in connection with their work. DDAI was initially founded as a membership organization in California in 1995 by Ronald Davis, Alice Davis, Eldon Braun, Sharon Pfeiffer, and Abigail Marshall. DDAI currently has affiliated organizations in multiple countries, including the Davis Learning Foundation in the UK; Davis Dyslexia Association Pacific, based in New Zealand; DDA-D.A.C.H., based in Germany; and DDA-Nederland, DDA-Mexico, and DDA-Israel.[1] DDAI and its affiliates do not provide services directly to dyslexic clients; rather, those services are provided by the licensed Facilitators who have completed training with DDAI.
The Davis training consists of a combination of seven weeks of workshops and about 150 hours of field assignments spread out over the course of a year.[2] The Davis Facilitators are independent practitioners who set their own fees for private services, or may be employed by schools to provide services directly to pupils.
The Davis program is currently available in 29 different languages, in 38 nations from approximately 450 licensed Davis providers located in different parts of the world. [3]
Davis theorized that dyslexic individuals are primarily picture-thinkers, who experience confusion when encountering symbols and words representing abstract concepts, particularly the small function words of language (“trigger words”). According to Davis, this confusion leads to a state of disorientation, which alters visual and auditory perception – for example, the student may experience reversals or transpositions of letters, or fail to correctly hear or interpret spoken words.
The key to correcting dyslexia, according to Davis, is to eliminate the source of the confusion through mastery of the letters and words that give rise to confusion.
Davis's book, ''The Gift of Dyslexia: Why Some of the Smartest People Can't Read and How They Can Learn'' has been translated to 15 languages. The main claims of the book are:
★ The mental function that causes dyslexia is a gift: it is a perceptual talent and an ability to think multidimensionally, using all the senses.
★ Dyslexic individuals think primarily in pictures and have little or no inner monologue or verbal conceptualization.
★ The problem faced by people thinking in such a way is that there are more than 200 English words that do not have a corresponding mental picture. These 'trigger words' (articles, conjunctions, and prepositions such as ''a, the, and, in'') leave blank pictures in the mind, causing disorientation and a feeling of confusion.
★ Many dyslexic children are mistakenly diagnosed as having ADD (attention deficit disorder) because their visual thinking style and tendency toward confusion and disorientation makes it difficult for them to concentrate.
★ Davis proposes Davis Orientation Counseling to teach a technique for turning off disorientations, and Symbol Mastery to make visual images of the trigger words in clay. These methods are believed to correct dyslexia by eliminating the confusion factor that Davis believes to be the root causes of the disability.
The Davis Dyslexia Correction program begins with an initial phase of one-on-one counseling with a trained Facilitator, which usually lasts about 30 hours over the course of five consecutive days. The program is individualized and tailored to the specific needs of the individual, but each program begins with techniques to eliminate mental disorientation, resolve perceptual confusion, and help focus attention.
Students with reading problems then model the alphabet in clay, and learn the small, function words of their language by using clay to model both the letter sequences and the meaning or concept represented by each word. The Davis reading exercises are believed to reinforce visual tracking and sequencing skills, and build comprehension skills by linking visual imagery to reading sentences and sentence fragments. The Davis Orientation techniques are also combined with balance and coordination exercises, using Koosh balls.
At the end of the initial one-week correction program, support training is given to a parent, tutor, or other support person chosen by the client with dyslexia, to enable follow up of the program at home.
Davis methods are described in detail in two books by Ronald D. Davis, ''The Gift of Dyslexia'' and ''The Gift of Learning''. The methods described in the books can be used at home, by parents working with their own children. Davis describes the goal of Symbol Mastery to be learning "all three parts" of a word - what it looks like, what it sounds like, and what it means.
Most support for the method comes from informal case studies or anecdotal reports rather than empirical data. An example are the case studies reported in the British Department for Children, Schools and Families (formerly, Department for Education and Skills)''A Framework for Understanding Dyslexia''.[1]
Nonetheless, there have been two quantitative studies based on modified forms of the Davis program, which could be given in way that allowed for uniformity of approach and comparison to matched controls. These are as follows:
'Engelbrecht Study, South Africa' (unpublished)
:'Title:' ''The effect of the Ron Davis programme on the reading ability and psychological functioning of children'', [2] Master's Thesis by René Engelbrecht in support of Master of Arts in Research Psychology, Stellenbosch University, South Africa.
:'Summary:' Twenty Afrikaans-speaking students in grade 5 to 7 from a South African school for children with special educational were randomly assigned to an experimental and a control group. All children had previously been diagnosed with a reading disorder. The participants of the experimental group were given a 14-hour intervention based on certain Davis techniques, comprised of seven weekly sessions of two hours each. The control group received no intervention. Both groups were evaluated at the beginning and end of the study period by means of four measuring instruments to determine reading and spelling levels; the Davis group showed significant improvement on 3 of 4 of the measures. Follow-up tests performed 12 weeks later showed that the initial improvement had been maintained.
'Davis Learning Strategies pilot study' (published in a refereed journal)
:'Title:' ''The Effect of the Davis Learning Strategies on First Grade Word Recognition and Subsequent Special Education Referrals'' (Pfeiffer, Davis, Kellogg, Hern, McLaughlin, & Curry, 2001) (Report of 7-year pilot study of Davis Learning Strategies primary level classroom early intervention program)
:'Summary:' The purpose of this study was to measure the effects of integrating various Davis techniques, primarily Davis Symbol Mastery (the clay modeling of words and their meanings), on basic word recognition skills among primary level students. First grade students were tested on a list of 100 core sight words at the beginning of the school year, and again at the end of the school year. Students in 3 classrooms who received the Davis intervention were compared with a matched control group of students who did not receive the Davis program. Both groups scored similarly on pretests. The students receiving the Davis instruction scored significantly higher than the control group on the post-test, with 37 of 40 students scoring at or above 80% (mean score=9.70). Of the control group, only 28 of 46 students were able to recognize 80% or more of the words (mean score=8.02). Follow-up data on the Davis group indicated that there were no special education referrals from that group two years after the initial intervention.
:This research was conducted in California public schools from 1994-2000 and was sponsored by the Davis Research Foundation and supervised by a professor at Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington. The classroom teachers were trained and mentored by Davis Facilitators.
The ''Davis Dyslexia Correction'' method represents a departure from traditional educational views of dyslexia and dyslexia remediation, and is viewed with skepticism by many mainstream educators. Traditional reading remedial programs typically teach phonetic strategies in addition to word recognition, vocabulary building, reading comprehension, fluency, and writing skills.[4] The Davis method does not encourage reliance on phonetic strategies for word recognition.
The Davis approach is not strictly a method for teaching reading, as its aim is to address factors that trigger perceptual confusion and difficulty with attention focus, which are assumed to underly the reading difficulties, coupled with providing learning techniques that can be applied independently by the student in any context. The specific techniques for reading are geared to building letter sequencing and visual word recognition skills, and emphasize understanding of word meaning and sentence comprehension through association with visual imagery. The program emphasizes use of a dictionary and/or dictionary pronunciation key to provide an auditory component to word study, but it does not utilize or encourage phonetic segmenting or blending as a decoding strategy. The Davis method is premised on gearing teaching to the perceived visual-spatial learning strengths of students with dyslexia, rather than attempting to remediate weak phonetic skills.
A related program, ''Davis Learning Strategies'', is an early intervention program geared to at-risk learners, rather than a dyslexia treatment program. While it incorporates many of the same techniques, it is given in a classroom setting and is intended to complement other classroom instruction. [5] This is not a fee-based treatment program, but rather a classroom methodology that can be implemented by regular primary level teachers after attending a 2 or 3 day practical workshop. [6]
In 2001, the International Dyslexia Association included an article by Regina Cicci, Ph.D., about the Davis program in an issue of its newsletter Perspectives devoted to "Controversial Therapies" for dyslexia. Based on a review of the book The Gift of Dyslexia, the author concluded:
★ There did not appear to be outside literature to support the Davis orientation and disorientation theories.
★ Available reports on the method were largely anecdotal.
★ The Davis methods ignore the phonological base for reading, even though widespread research shows that dyslexic children have difficulty associating printed letters to the sounds of speech.
★ The Davis methods rely mostly on visual perceptual components of the learning process for reading and other literacy skills.
Cicci also stated that "Actual teaching to read or even teaching to learn seems absent from the Davis methods." The meaning of this statement is unclear, as the article also devoted several paragraphs to describing the Davis word study (Symbol Mastery) and reading practice exercises (Spell-Reading), without specific criticism of the methodology.
Cicci also raised concerns about the research design of the Davis Learning Strategies early intervention study because it was not specifically geared to children who could be identified as dyslexic. [7]
★ Davis Dyslexia Association Web Site
★ The Davis Counseling Approach From the Department for Education and Skills, ''A Framework for Understanding Dyslexia ''
★ Davis Dyslexia Correction - A Brief Overview From Dyslexia Online Magazine
'Critical links'
★ Dyslexia challenge is a race against time
★ Dyslexia in Montana: Davis and Paucity of Good Remediation
★
★ Perceptual noise exclusion hypothesis
★ Visual thinking
★ Dyslexia
★
★
★
★
★
1. Davis Dyslexia Association International
2. Davis Facilitator Licensing Program
3. www. dyslexia.com
4.
Multisensory Structured Language Programs: Content and Principles of Instruction
5. What is the Davis Learning Strategies Program?
6. Davis Learning Strategies Basic Workshop for Primary Teachers
7.
| Contents |
| History of Method |
| Theoretical claims |
| The Gift of Dyslexia |
| Program description |
| Research |
| Comparison to Traditional Methods |
| Criticism |
| External links |
| See also |
| References |
| Notes |
History of Method
The method was created by Ronald D. Davis, from techniques he used to overcome his own difficulties with reading at age 38. Davis opened his first clinic in California in 1981. In 1994, he outlined his theories and the basic techniques used in the first edition of his book, ''The Gift of Dyslexia''.
The Davis theory is based on premises that differ from the traditional view of learning disabilities. The International Dyslexia Association, an advocacy organization based in the United States, considers Davis Dyslexia Correction as one of many treatments that are based on insufficient evidence. Available reports on the Davis method are "largely anecdotal".
The Davis methods are currently promulgated through Davis Dyslexia Association International (DDAI), a commercial organization which provides training in Davis methods and also licenses qualified Facilitators to use Davis trademarks such as Davis® or Davis Dyslexia Correction® in connection with their work. DDAI was initially founded as a membership organization in California in 1995 by Ronald Davis, Alice Davis, Eldon Braun, Sharon Pfeiffer, and Abigail Marshall. DDAI currently has affiliated organizations in multiple countries, including the Davis Learning Foundation in the UK; Davis Dyslexia Association Pacific, based in New Zealand; DDA-D.A.C.H., based in Germany; and DDA-Nederland, DDA-Mexico, and DDA-Israel.[1] DDAI and its affiliates do not provide services directly to dyslexic clients; rather, those services are provided by the licensed Facilitators who have completed training with DDAI.
The Davis training consists of a combination of seven weeks of workshops and about 150 hours of field assignments spread out over the course of a year.[2] The Davis Facilitators are independent practitioners who set their own fees for private services, or may be employed by schools to provide services directly to pupils.
The Davis program is currently available in 29 different languages, in 38 nations from approximately 450 licensed Davis providers located in different parts of the world. [3]
Theoretical claims
Davis theorized that dyslexic individuals are primarily picture-thinkers, who experience confusion when encountering symbols and words representing abstract concepts, particularly the small function words of language (“trigger words”). According to Davis, this confusion leads to a state of disorientation, which alters visual and auditory perception – for example, the student may experience reversals or transpositions of letters, or fail to correctly hear or interpret spoken words.
The key to correcting dyslexia, according to Davis, is to eliminate the source of the confusion through mastery of the letters and words that give rise to confusion.
The Gift of Dyslexia
Davis's book, ''The Gift of Dyslexia: Why Some of the Smartest People Can't Read and How They Can Learn'' has been translated to 15 languages. The main claims of the book are:
★ The mental function that causes dyslexia is a gift: it is a perceptual talent and an ability to think multidimensionally, using all the senses.
★ Dyslexic individuals think primarily in pictures and have little or no inner monologue or verbal conceptualization.
★ The problem faced by people thinking in such a way is that there are more than 200 English words that do not have a corresponding mental picture. These 'trigger words' (articles, conjunctions, and prepositions such as ''a, the, and, in'') leave blank pictures in the mind, causing disorientation and a feeling of confusion.
★ Many dyslexic children are mistakenly diagnosed as having ADD (attention deficit disorder) because their visual thinking style and tendency toward confusion and disorientation makes it difficult for them to concentrate.
★ Davis proposes Davis Orientation Counseling to teach a technique for turning off disorientations, and Symbol Mastery to make visual images of the trigger words in clay. These methods are believed to correct dyslexia by eliminating the confusion factor that Davis believes to be the root causes of the disability.
Program description
The Davis Dyslexia Correction program begins with an initial phase of one-on-one counseling with a trained Facilitator, which usually lasts about 30 hours over the course of five consecutive days. The program is individualized and tailored to the specific needs of the individual, but each program begins with techniques to eliminate mental disorientation, resolve perceptual confusion, and help focus attention.
A student uses clay to model the alphabet.
Students with reading problems then model the alphabet in clay, and learn the small, function words of their language by using clay to model both the letter sequences and the meaning or concept represented by each word. The Davis reading exercises are believed to reinforce visual tracking and sequencing skills, and build comprehension skills by linking visual imagery to reading sentences and sentence fragments. The Davis Orientation techniques are also combined with balance and coordination exercises, using Koosh balls.
At the end of the initial one-week correction program, support training is given to a parent, tutor, or other support person chosen by the client with dyslexia, to enable follow up of the program at home.
Davis methods are described in detail in two books by Ronald D. Davis, ''The Gift of Dyslexia'' and ''The Gift of Learning''. The methods described in the books can be used at home, by parents working with their own children. Davis describes the goal of Symbol Mastery to be learning "all three parts" of a word - what it looks like, what it sounds like, and what it means.
Research
Most support for the method comes from informal case studies or anecdotal reports rather than empirical data. An example are the case studies reported in the British Department for Children, Schools and Families (formerly, Department for Education and Skills)''A Framework for Understanding Dyslexia''.[1]
Nonetheless, there have been two quantitative studies based on modified forms of the Davis program, which could be given in way that allowed for uniformity of approach and comparison to matched controls. These are as follows:
'Engelbrecht Study, South Africa' (unpublished)
:'Title:' ''The effect of the Ron Davis programme on the reading ability and psychological functioning of children'', [2] Master's Thesis by René Engelbrecht in support of Master of Arts in Research Psychology, Stellenbosch University, South Africa.
:'Summary:' Twenty Afrikaans-speaking students in grade 5 to 7 from a South African school for children with special educational were randomly assigned to an experimental and a control group. All children had previously been diagnosed with a reading disorder. The participants of the experimental group were given a 14-hour intervention based on certain Davis techniques, comprised of seven weekly sessions of two hours each. The control group received no intervention. Both groups were evaluated at the beginning and end of the study period by means of four measuring instruments to determine reading and spelling levels; the Davis group showed significant improvement on 3 of 4 of the measures. Follow-up tests performed 12 weeks later showed that the initial improvement had been maintained.
'Davis Learning Strategies pilot study' (published in a refereed journal)
:'Title:' ''The Effect of the Davis Learning Strategies on First Grade Word Recognition and Subsequent Special Education Referrals'' (Pfeiffer, Davis, Kellogg, Hern, McLaughlin, & Curry, 2001) (Report of 7-year pilot study of Davis Learning Strategies primary level classroom early intervention program)
:'Summary:' The purpose of this study was to measure the effects of integrating various Davis techniques, primarily Davis Symbol Mastery (the clay modeling of words and their meanings), on basic word recognition skills among primary level students. First grade students were tested on a list of 100 core sight words at the beginning of the school year, and again at the end of the school year. Students in 3 classrooms who received the Davis intervention were compared with a matched control group of students who did not receive the Davis program. Both groups scored similarly on pretests. The students receiving the Davis instruction scored significantly higher than the control group on the post-test, with 37 of 40 students scoring at or above 80% (mean score=9.70). Of the control group, only 28 of 46 students were able to recognize 80% or more of the words (mean score=8.02). Follow-up data on the Davis group indicated that there were no special education referrals from that group two years after the initial intervention.
:This research was conducted in California public schools from 1994-2000 and was sponsored by the Davis Research Foundation and supervised by a professor at Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington. The classroom teachers were trained and mentored by Davis Facilitators.
Comparison to Traditional Methods
The ''Davis Dyslexia Correction'' method represents a departure from traditional educational views of dyslexia and dyslexia remediation, and is viewed with skepticism by many mainstream educators. Traditional reading remedial programs typically teach phonetic strategies in addition to word recognition, vocabulary building, reading comprehension, fluency, and writing skills.[4] The Davis method does not encourage reliance on phonetic strategies for word recognition.
The Davis approach is not strictly a method for teaching reading, as its aim is to address factors that trigger perceptual confusion and difficulty with attention focus, which are assumed to underly the reading difficulties, coupled with providing learning techniques that can be applied independently by the student in any context. The specific techniques for reading are geared to building letter sequencing and visual word recognition skills, and emphasize understanding of word meaning and sentence comprehension through association with visual imagery. The program emphasizes use of a dictionary and/or dictionary pronunciation key to provide an auditory component to word study, but it does not utilize or encourage phonetic segmenting or blending as a decoding strategy. The Davis method is premised on gearing teaching to the perceived visual-spatial learning strengths of students with dyslexia, rather than attempting to remediate weak phonetic skills.
A related program, ''Davis Learning Strategies'', is an early intervention program geared to at-risk learners, rather than a dyslexia treatment program. While it incorporates many of the same techniques, it is given in a classroom setting and is intended to complement other classroom instruction. [5] This is not a fee-based treatment program, but rather a classroom methodology that can be implemented by regular primary level teachers after attending a 2 or 3 day practical workshop. [6]
Criticism
In 2001, the International Dyslexia Association included an article by Regina Cicci, Ph.D., about the Davis program in an issue of its newsletter Perspectives devoted to "Controversial Therapies" for dyslexia. Based on a review of the book The Gift of Dyslexia, the author concluded:
★ There did not appear to be outside literature to support the Davis orientation and disorientation theories.
★ Available reports on the method were largely anecdotal.
★ The Davis methods ignore the phonological base for reading, even though widespread research shows that dyslexic children have difficulty associating printed letters to the sounds of speech.
★ The Davis methods rely mostly on visual perceptual components of the learning process for reading and other literacy skills.
Cicci also stated that "Actual teaching to read or even teaching to learn seems absent from the Davis methods." The meaning of this statement is unclear, as the article also devoted several paragraphs to describing the Davis word study (Symbol Mastery) and reading practice exercises (Spell-Reading), without specific criticism of the methodology.
Cicci also raised concerns about the research design of the Davis Learning Strategies early intervention study because it was not specifically geared to children who could be identified as dyslexic. [7]
External links
★ Davis Dyslexia Association Web Site
★ The Davis Counseling Approach From the Department for Education and Skills, ''A Framework for Understanding Dyslexia ''
★ Davis Dyslexia Correction - A Brief Overview From Dyslexia Online Magazine
'Critical links'
★ Dyslexia challenge is a race against time
★ Dyslexia in Montana: Davis and Paucity of Good Remediation
★
See also
★ Perceptual noise exclusion hypothesis
★ Visual thinking
★ Dyslexia
References
★
★
★
★
★
Notes
1. Davis Dyslexia Association International
2. Davis Facilitator Licensing Program
3. www. dyslexia.com
4.
Multisensory Structured Language Programs: Content and Principles of Instruction
5. What is the Davis Learning Strategies Program?
6. Davis Learning Strategies Basic Workshop for Primary Teachers
7.
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