The Definition Of Dyslexia

 

The definition of dyslexia is low phonemic awareness which means dyslexics don’t hear the sounds within the word. On the other hand, phonics is linking sounds to the letters in the word. Consequently, phonics won’t work if you can’t hear the sounds which is why dyslexics struggle with reading.

A Dyslexic MD Tells His Story

Most moms ask how did I get through medical school being dyslexic? I have an incredible visual memory so I memorized every word I could get the teacher to tell me.  This worked for years until I lost my cuteness. (I know it is hard to believe that I was once cute, but that is what my mom says and I believe her.)

Without cuteness I was sent to the dictionary to look new words up. The dictionary not only tells you the meaning, but it has a phonics system to tell you how to pronounce the word. (Online you can click a button and hear the word pronounced, but I’m old so no Internet.) But I noticed that as long as I didn’t read out loud no one would know that I didn’t know how to pronounce the word. I avoided public speaking for my first 33 years and I listened to how others pronounced the words.

Then my daughter came along and she read words like hop and pat easily, but struggled when the words weren’t phonetic. At age 5 she just gave up. In order to teach her to read and love it I created separate symbols for long vowels, short vowels and the weird vowels like /oy/. This worked like a charm by third grade she was reading at 12th grade level.

My daughter is 30 now and loves to read. If you have a struggling reader don’t wait until he gives up. In the meanwhile, I created Rocket Phonics and sold it to thousands of parents. It has worked for them and it will work for you. Contact me and let’s see if we can solve the problem.