Don't Swear With Your Mouth Full!

Don't Swear With Your Mouth Full! When Conventional Discipline Fails Unconventional Children by child psychologist Cary S. Chugh is the latest addition to the TCP Book Club.

I have to admit I'm a hard sell when it comes to books on parenting. I'm as wary of quick fixes as I am of laborious, time consuming strategies. So when I received Dr. Chugh's book for review, I knew I would have to read it with pencil in hand.

Don't Swear With Your Mouth Full! begins by challenging readers to reassess how they think about their children's behaviour and their role in correcting it. Chugh clearly states that parents "will never have 100% control over [their] child." That said, the line between reasonable vigilance and neglect is not always obvious and, when the inevitable misbehaviour happens, what then?

Dr. Chugh delves into the temperament of the Difficult Child and other factors that may contribute to chronic behaviour problems like ADHD, giftedness, special medical or developmental needs, and Oppositional Defiant Disorders. Chugh goes on to examine the spectrum of parenting styles and research on their longterm behavioral effects, all before diving into the thick of why many of the most conventional forms of discipline fail.

Yelling, threatening, corporal punishment, removing privileges, time-out, chores, sticker charts and ignoring are the eight forms of behaviour management strategies examined. According to Chugh, each is fatally flawed, though some have more redeeming qualities than others. Chugh examines four essential components of an effective behaviour plan:

1. clarity
2. meaningfulness
3. immediacy and
4. consistency

Borrowing from chapter four, lets put conventional time-out through the Chugh check-list. Let's say Emma, age eight, punches her sister and earns herself a eight minute time-out, this based on the one-minute-for-every-year-of-age urban myth. Assuming I've taken time to explain, it is clear to Emma why she is being punished and for how long. Does the punishment have meaning for her? Not really. In fact, she is probably becoming more resentful of her sister by the second...and me. Is there an immediate way in which Emma can bring closure to her punishment? No. The punishment ends when the timer goes off. Is there a consistent way the punishment ends? That depends on whether I'm present when the timer goes off. Depending on when and how often this scenario occurs, my consistency may waver.

Chugh's methodology builds upon some basic conventional methods, but changes them enough to return some of the power to the child. Punishments are no longer time-limited, but behaviour-limited; sticker charts are more aptly used as a memory aid than a score card; and restitution or corrective activities are used to increase the chances that the child will make better behaviour choices in the future. To illustrate this, let's put Emma's time-out through a Chugh make-over.

Emma punches her sister and is sent to sit at the kitchen table in time-out. Emma is allowed to return to play only after she can repeatedly demonstrate how she might use her words instead of her fists, in addition to apologizing and comforting her sister. Emma does not have to comply, but cannot play until she does.

I very much like Chugh's method as it allows for clearly delineated negotiation between adult and child. I know how easy it is to inadvertently end up in a power struggle with a pint-sized control freak. Pro-social escape routes from punishment allow kids to practice desirable behaviours and receive positive reinforcement. As there is no strict formula or scores to keep, implementation is simple and flexible. Chugh also includes suggestions on how to modify this plan for toddlers and teens.

While I can't imagine using all the examples the book offers, its underlying philosophy is compelling and will definitely weave its way into my home and classroom.

The Magic Flute retold by Anne Gatti

I've had a mild appreciation for opera ever since the 1984 movie Amadeus. As some of you may recall, the multiple Oscar Award winning picture included quite a few scenes from The Magic Flute. I'm proud to say that even Emma and Mouse recognize Der Höle Rache though it pains me to admit that they attribute the famous aria to Barbie's Mermaidia. (I bet Mozart never saw that coming.)

In any case, while preparing for a course on teaching music I stumbled upon a fantastic picture book and CD set. The book guides young readers/listeners through the story of The Magic Flute while referencing specific tracks on the accompanying CD. The artwork by Peter Malone is as beautiful as it is expressive and the CD is devoid of any distracting 'turn-the-page-now' indicators.

Instinctively, I would say this particular version is best suited for an audience older than eight years, but could easily be used into early high school, if only to teach appreciation of the art form.

I, for one, feel like I went to the opera today, so I thought I should share the wealth. For your viewing pleasure, I've included a YouTube clip of Der Hölle Rache, a personal favourite. I've spared you the Barbie version. You can thank me later.

After Tupac & D Foster by Jacqueline Woodson

I bought this book because it was a Newbery Honor title. I'd received an Amazon gift certificate from my old colleagues in Geneva and used it to feed my longstanding juvenile literature habit. Admittedly, I would not have chosen this book otherwise. What did I know about rappers? About growing up black, in the mid-nineties, in Queens? Precious little. But, despite my ignorance, this story moved me in a way it couldn't have six months ago. You see, last July I didn't know anyone like D Foster, a child too old to be cute any more, bouncing from one foster home to the next with only her girl friends to keep her steady. Today, after having spent the last semester in P-town schools, I know at least one young woman who might see herself in these pages. It looks like tomorrow I'll be making a special delivery.

Meet the Austins, Take Two

I read Meet the Austins by Madeleine L'Engle as a teenager and fell in love. I don't believe it was for the story per se. The plot was fairly simple: a large New England family takes in a spoiled only child after the death of her parents and all must learn to adapt. What truly grabbed my attention was L'Engle's portrayal of life in a large family. I was an only child, you see, and would have given my eye teeth for a sibling... or a puppy. The Austin's had two — dogs, that is — and four kids until Maggie-the-Terror arrived. In any case, Meet the Austins gave me the taste of family life that was a little less Brady than I'd otherwise been exposed to. I'm reading it to the girls right now and I can't help but chuckle. A family with five kids and two dogs? I think I'd lose my mind.

Markus Zusak: You Wrote My Favourite Book

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak has to be the best book I've ever read, and by no means is this an exaggeration. Not only is it a compelling story, but it is told with such disarming originality that I'm promptly rereading it in hopes that it might trickle over into my work. In this tale told by Death during WWII, metaphors consistently do double duty, if not triple, creating mood, character and plot points in a single brush stroke. It was launched as YA novel, but undoubtedly has infinite cross-over potential. Bravo, Mr. Zusak. I should only hope that one day my book might share a shelf with yours.

2008 Reading List

Click on any title below to read my review:

• 
  
• Tin Angel by Shannon Cowan 
• RevealingMinds by Craig Pohlman
• Jack: Secret Histories by F. Paul Wilson
• The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick
• Elijah of Buxton by Christopher Paul Curtis
• The Blue Stone by Jimmy Liao
• Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
• Double Lives edited by Shannon Cowan et al.
• Still Life by Louise Penny
• The Myth of Laziness by Mel Levine M.D.
• Raising Your Spirited Child by Mary Sheedy Kurcinka
• Alphabet of Dreams by Susan Fletcher
• Overcoming Dyslexia by Sally Shaywitz, M.D.
• Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
• The Gift of Dyslexia by Ronald B. Davis & Eldon M. Braun
• On Writing by Stephen King
• The Night of the Iguana by Tennessee Williams
• The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards

Book Review: Revealing Minds by Craig Pohlman

It seems so long ago now, but in my life before kids I was a physiotherapist. As such I was an expert assessor of the neurological, cardiorespiratory, and musculoskeletal systems, combining subjective history and objective testing to formulate working diagnoses and subsequent treatment plans for my patients. Not until reading Dr. Mel Levine's A Mind at a Time five years ago did I consider that struggling learners require a similar systematic approach. In Revealing Minds: Assessing to Understand and Support Struggling Learners, Craig Pohlman delves into the nitty-gritty of assessment, using a neurodevelopmental framework to organize findings or 'phenomenae' and to assist in developing a learning plan.

Have I lost you already? Perhaps. Let's use Dr. Pohlman's book to figure out why.

Assessing Attention
Were you paying attention? There are multiple facets to one's ability or inability to attend to the task at hand. Did you sleep well last night? Do you ever sleep well? To take in new information you need to have adequate mental energy. You also need focused cognitive activation so that you don't drift off task. For instance, when you read the word 'neurological' above did you think about your dearly departed granny who died of a stroke? If so, you might have completely missed the point of the paragraph, through no fault of your own. A third aspect of attention is one's production control system which has more to do with controlling what you do, or your output, than what information comes in.

Assessing Memory
My second sentence above is a doozie! Thirty-two words, in fact. I'd say its a personal record, if I kept track of such things. It would be easy to forget the beginning of the sentence by the time you got to the end, especially if your short-term memory was weak. There are also quite a few long and potentially unfamiliar words, demanding you, the reader, to access your long-term memory for clues as to their meaning. Each word is composed of 2 to 15 letters, each with their own individual sound which imposes on the reader's paired associative memory. Quite frankly, it's a miracle the sentence can be read at all.

Assessing Language
Reading draws upon one's receptive language abilities. It begins at the phonological level, as the brain converts letters on the page into sounds, a highly unnatural process. Not only do the formulated words need to be understood, but also their relative meaning given the sentence structure and context. "When push comes to shove," is an expression that could summon violent images in the mind of the most literal reader.

Other Neurodevelopmental Factors to Consider
My opening paragraph put no demands on your Spatial Ordering. If, however, I were to ask you to copy a pencil sketch of a three dimentional cube, that would be another thing altogether. Temporal-Sequential Ordering comes into play when assembling Ikea furniture. Neuromotor Function refers to your ability to control your body's movements. It can be broken down into four main categories--gross motor, fine motor, graphomotor, and oromotor--none of which are being significantly taxed as you read this blog. Higher-order cognition, on the other hand, is working overtime to see the parallels between physiotherapy assessment and treatment and those used to help struggling learners. Finally, Social Cognition may come into play when you leave a comment. Will you be friendly or analytical in your response? Or both? Which would be most appropriate given the present context?

Revealing Minds is an absolute treasure for any educational professional who wishes to better understand and thereby assist their students. It is not a system of assessment that will result in a label. On the contrary, it will produce a clear, individualized student profile highlighting not only weaknesses, but also relative strengths and affinities. Neurodevelopmental Assessment is no more restricted to testing than is physiotherapy assessment. Extensive history taking is key, not only from a child's teachers, but also from parents and the students themselves. The appendices are extensive, offering abundant supporting research, tests and batteries, and learning plan resources. I can't over emphasize how eager I am to put Dr. Pohlman's approach into action. It's not a question of if, but when.

Book Review: The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick

Hugo Cabret is an orphan living in the walls of a Paris train station doing his utmost to stay alive and undiscovered. He has in his possession two items from his deceased father: a broken mechanical man (or automata) and his father's notebook containing sketches on how to fix it. Hugo believes the pen-holding automata, when repaired, will write a message from his father intended for Hugo alone. Determined to perform the repairs, Hugo steals parts from an elderly toymaker only to uncover an even greater mystery than his own.

I bought The Invention of Hugo Cabret simply for it's notoriety: it was a National Book Award Finalist and winner of the 2008 Caldecott Medal. I wanted to have the book that had reputedly changed the face of children's book publishing forever. As I read, I was awestruck by the inextricable use of words and illustration. I found myself wishing I were a writer-illustrator with the freedom to go non-verbal whenever the spirit and story moved me. I can't say the tale, itself, will become a personal favourite, but its telling is unprecendented and an experience I won't soon forget.

Bravo, Mr Selznick.

Book Review: Jack: Secret Histories by F. Paul Wilson

Not much happens in Johnson, New Jersey until the day 14-year-old Jack discovers a dead body in a wooded area near his home. Soon after, members of an exclusive lodge in Johnson begin to die, one after the other. Driven by intrigue, Jack and his friends work to uncover the secret behind these suspicious deaths. But can they do so without becoming victims themselves?

Read more here at the Well-Read Child

Book Review: Elijah of Buxton by Christopher Paul Curtis

Elijah Freeman is 12-years-old and 'fra-gile.' It doesn't take much to spook him and he's about as gullible as they come. But one thing's for certain, he wants to 'growned.' The first child born free to the Elgin Settlement at Raleigh in Canada West, Elijah must learn for himself the true meaning of respect, freedom and love.

This book brought me to tears like no book has in a very long time. I was outraged, heart-broken and overjoyed, sometimes all at once. Other than the story revolving around the issue of slavery, I will not elaborate. I don't want to spoil it for you. All I can say is that Elijah of Buxton will evoke an emotional response within any reader and thereby shape them. When my girls are about Elijah's age, we'll read it together. Like To Kill a Mockingbird, Elijah of Buxton is a book that should be read and not forgotten.

Thank you, Mr. Curtis. Thank you.

Book Review: The Blue Stone by Jimmy Liao

Mighty Mom has become a guest reviewer at The Well-Read Child, the terrific children's literature blog created by Jill Tullo. The following is an excerpt from my debut review. If you wish to read it in full, click here.

An enormous blue stone lies peacefully in the forest until the day it is discovered by people. The people split the stone in two, leaving one half undisturbed while taking the other to a sculptor's workshop to be carved. There, the artist turns the stone into a massive grey elephant. The people delight in sculptor's creation, but the stone is not happy. It mourns for its forest home and crumbles. The largest remaining piece is delivered to a new artist. This time it is shaped into bird for an old lady's garden. The lady is quite happy with her bird, but the stone is not. Again, it falls to pieces. And so the pattern continues: the stone, transformed repeatedly by humans, crumbles each time it remembers its true home. Only when it finally turns to dust can a breath of wind bring it back to where it belongs. There, in the forest, the stone finds peace.
More...

Book Review: Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

In the opening pages of her memoir, Eat, Pray, Love, Elizabeth Gilbert is in her mid-thirties living in the suburbs of New York. She has a successful writing career, but is unhappily married and suffering from depression. What follows is an account of Ms. Gilbert's year as a newly divorced woman, traveling through Italy, India, and Bali in search of pleasure, spiritual fulfillment, and, ultimately, balance.

I expected to love this book. I really wanted to like it. What's not to love. Food? Mmm. Spirituality? Amen. And balance? That's the key to everything, isn't it? You can imagine my surprise, then, when I found myself often apathetic to her journey.

It wasn't because of the writing. Ms. Gilbert is more then well equipped in the language department to relate her experiences. At times I felt the narrative could have been tighter but, for the most part, it was an excellent read.( In fact, some of her lines are downright bladder busters. I won't spoil them for you by sharing them here.) What was lacking was tension. To recap: it is the story of a successful, divorced woman with no kids, being paid to travel the world to write a book about her experiences. Yes, she had inner demons, but I felt most were tamed by the time she left India and that a real lesson in balance would have been to go back her normal life (complete with deadlines and an ex-husband) and achieve it there. The story ends, however, after a leisurely, yet culturally enlightening stay in Bally. Nice, peaceful, but climactic, it is not.

That's the thing with memoir: it needs to be true. There is no tweaking the truth for tension. It is what it is. As this book is a New York Times bestseller, there are plenty of readers who would disagree with me. I, for one, would love a post-script. How did the balance go one year later, Liz?

Book Review: Double Lives edited by Shannon Cowan et al.

Double Lives is an anthology of essays on writing and motherhood published this year by McGill-Queen's University Press. It is not Chicken Soup for the Writer-Mother's Soul, nor is it solely a lament on the mental thicket that is motherhood. Double Lives lies somewhere in between. The contributing authors are all highly successful and include wed, unwed, and divorced mothers, lesbian mothers, adoptive mothers, and mothers of children with special needs. All, save one, were writers before motherhood. I suppose I was, too, if you count what I wrote in high school--but I don't.

It was interesting for me to read about the universal impact children have on a creative life that requires so much unencumbered internal reflection. Before I had children, I didn't write. Or rather, I wrote like this:

Dear Dr. Bones,
Thank you for referring Mr. Lumbago to our clinic for assessment of his chronic low back pain.
On subjective exam, Mr. Lumbago reported....

You get the idea.

It never occurred to me to write for pleasure. As I said, I wrote in high school--required writing, and not a word more. My English teachers did their utmost to encourage me, but I was hell bent on becoming a doctor which, as far as I could tell, required little literary prowess. On that point alone, I was correct.

It was motherhood and my own turbulent beginnings in the role that led me back to the page and as such, I've never known what it is to write and not mother. The two have only ever co-existed and, truth be told, without motherhood I might still be writing to Dr. Bones. If anything, Double Lives bolstered my hope that one day it will get easier, that one day the mental freedom I once had (and wasted on advance physics) will return--but by then I'll be missing my girls.

Book Review: Still Life by Louise Penny

Still Life was waiting for me when I got to Canada. Mighty Mum the First, a Louise Penny fan like no other, had saved it for me. "Don't feel you have to," she said, but I could tell that she really wanted me to give it a try. Needing something a tad lighter than Engaging Autism to get into the summer holiday spirit, I complied.

For three nights I couldn't get past the first chapter--jet lag made Penny's omniscient point of view incomprehensible. My sleep-deprived brain was simply unable to keep up with point of view changes from one paragraph to the next. Thankfully, a few nights' good sleep and persistance prevailed and I was sucked into the first mystery I've read in years.

Still Life takes the reader to Three Pines, a small village in the Quebec Eastern Townships, where Jane Neal, a well-loved member of the community, is found dead. No word of a lie, if this book were not fiction, I'd be looking to spend a long weekend in this town, resident murderer be damned. Ms. Penny creates not only a fabulous sense of place--there's no missing that the book takes place in Quebec--but also a bus load of intriguing and endearing characters. I'm especially fond of the gay bistro and B&B owners--they're a hoot. Yes, dinner at the bistro with the author followed by a reading by the feisty poet-in-residence, Ruth Zardo, would be perfect. Make that a table for three, please--something tells me Mighty Mum the First would want to come.

So, will I be reading any more Louise Penny mysteries? You better believe it! Better save them for me, Mighty Mum. I'm hooked.

Book Review: The Myth of Laziness by Mel Levine M.D.

I was watching Oprah while feeding Mighty Mouse when I first heard Dr. Mel Levine speak. A renown American pediatrician, Dr. Levine had written a book, A Mind at a Time, about the the varying neurodevelopmental systems involved in learning and how relative strengths and weaknesses can effect a child's ability to succeed. Given that I had a newborn in my arms, I was strangely alert--more so than I'd been in weeks. I prayed that Emma would keep sleeping until the interview was over. She did. Days later I bought the book and spent the subsequent weeks reading snippets between feedings, play groups, diaper changes, and naps. When I was done, I broke the news to the Captain.

"I think I want to teach."

The Myth of Laziness, a second book by Dr. Levine, focuses on neurodevelopmental dysfunctions which contribute to a person's inability to get work--particularly written work--done. As the title states clearly, the doctor believes that laziness does not exist, that every person possesses an inherent need to contribute and succeed. It is his theory that success deprivation leads to avoidance behaviours which we, in turn, label as laziness.

Through eight case studies, Levine illustrates how varying combinations of neurological glitches can result in an individual's inability to produce and, when addressed, how a person can rise on the wind of his own success. The deficits discussed include: graphomotor dysfunction, impaired memory feed into output, poor active working memory, difficulty converting thought into language, poor organization, impaired mental energy controls, weak impulse control, and insatiability.

Some cases evoke more sympathy than others: the first case--a boy with significant graphomotor dysfunction among other conditions--breaks my heart; the teenaged multi-millionaire playboy with weak attention controls, not so much. In all cases, reading is not an issue, with difficulties in output typically arising during the middle school years (ages 9 to 12) when demand for written work escalates dramatically. According to Levine, identification of a neurodevelopmental difference is neither a label, nor a get-out-of-work-free pass. Accommodations and pointed interventions at the neurological break down points can help, but won't without the commitment of the child and the child's family and educators.

So, am I convinced? Is laziness a myth? Do all humans have an inherent need to contribute, to succeed? I believe they do, but I must temper this by saying that not all persons can be successful at all things. For instance, I cannot play tennis. My eye-hand coordination is abysmal. No, really. With practice, I might improve, but only marginally and likely not enough to experience adequate emotional or financial payback to warrant the effort. Luckily, I can easily avoid the sport. I need not return a volley in order to keep my children clothed or fed. The impact of this skill deficit is negligible. Now, let's say that, instead of tennis, I was poor at writing. (No snide comments, please!) Writing forces a person to organize her thoughts into words, then sentences and, finally, into a story or argument. What if, through no fault of my own, I couldn't do it? Would I have finished high school, let alone university? Would I have had the ability to identify my strengths in the face of such a flagrant weakness? What would I think of myself? What other means would I use to feel the same pleasure and satisfaction that success affords? How would that shape my personal ethics and values? It's my suspicion that a person's neurodevelopmental profile is a large contributor to the attitude and behaviour we call laziness, but it isn't the only one.

Book Review: Raising Your Spirited Child by Mary Sheedy Kurcinka

Emma the Brave and I were struggling and I didn't know why. She was having multiple meltdowns a day and my patience was wearing thin. Don't misunderstand: she was (and is) a happy kid--almost euphoric. But she had (and still has) a unique ability to swing Tarzan-like from slap-happy to guttural rage with almost no warning. How could a child so exuberant and willful be constantly a hair's breadth from becoming a puddle of mush? It was dumbfounding.

Had she always been this way? I didn't think so. Maybe. If not, when did it start? I couldn't say. Was it because we'd moved over 6000 kilometers from our native country and culture? Was immersion in a second language too much? Were my expectations of her evolving faster than she could keep up? My questions were endless. All I knew for certain was that something had to change.

I bought two books simultaneously, How to Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk and Raising Your Spirited Child, then I read--or at least I read one. Three-quarters of the way through How to Talk, Emma and I had made real progress. It took another two years for me get to around to Raising Your Spirited Child, but I finally did. In retrospect, maybe I should have read it first.

First published in 1991, Mary Sheedy Kurchinka begins by defining who is the spirited child.

"They are normal children who are more intense, persistent, sensitive, perceptive, and uncomfortable with change than normal children."

She goes on to have the parent-reader rate their child's temperament and then their own based on nine temperamental traits. She also has them determine whether their child is by nature an introvert or extrovert thereby determining their energy source. A big fan of measuring tools, I decided to rate the whole Mighty family. Here's how we ranked out:

Mighty Mom: spirited introvert
The Captain: spirited introvert
Emma the Brave: spirited introvert
Mighty Mouse: spunky extrovert

It's easy to assume that we should all get along famously, having so much spirit in common, but it's actually is a source of conflict. The Captain is the king of persistence. Try getting him to do anything before he is good and ready is next to impossible. Emma and I are pretty intense, but her far greater sensitivity and introversion requires patience from me when I'm at my worst. And then there's Mighty Mouse, highly persistent, as well, and the token extrovert. Try to get an introverted moment's peace when she needs to recharge by talking--it's not going to happen.

The book goes on to teach the reader how to work with spirit and plan for success. Ms. Kurcinka in no way gives spirited children free reign to overstep the bounds of respectful conduct. She does, however, place the onus on the parent to predict and prevent trouble spots such that their child has the greatest chance of success. The strategies she suggests would be effective with any child regardless of their temperamental profile. Her message to parents is that you are not alone, that your child is 'more,' and therefore requires 'more' from you, but, with the right care, they will be the rose in your garden, a joy like no other.

Other books by Mary Sheedy Kurcinka include: Sleepless in America; Kids, Parents and Power Struggles; and the Raising Your Spirited Child Workbook. I've listed them more for me than anyone else. Who knows? They may come in handy some day.

Book Review: Alphabet of Dreams by Susan Fletcher

I met Susan Fletcher on a bus headed for the Bologna Fair Grounds where the 2008 Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators Conference was being held. Her book, Alphabet of Dreams, was on the list of those I planned to read, so I introduced myself, then sat behind her in silent awe until we reached our destination. That's Susan Fletcher! Eek!

When we arrived at the conference I quickly snapped up the one and only copy of her book from the book stand and began to read. Ancient Persia in The City of the Dead...an adolescent girl disguised as boy... a much younger brother with prophetic dreams...evil kings, wise men and a birth foretold in the stars... I was not only hooked--I was transported.

Alphabet of Dreams is classified by the powers-that-be as a young adult (YA) novel. I can't help but agree. While the main character, Mitra, is at most 14-years-old, the vocabulary used in this narrative is extremely rich and could prove discouraging to a less advanced reader. That said, if you were to read the book along with your young teen, it could make for a truly unique summer reading experience.

Bravo, Ms. Fletcher. I look forward to meeting you again.

Book Review: Overcoming Dyslexia by Sally Shaywitz, M.D.

I don't remember learning to read, though I do recall a time when reading was a chore. I was in grade 4 and had chosen a book from the library which was either too difficult or too boring--probably both. It was about cowboys and Indians. Why I ever chose it in the first place is a mystery. I suspect it was recommended by the school's pipe-smoking, lady librarian. She scared me. Nevertheless, a book report was expected Monday morning and by Sunday evening I'd read only a third. I scribbled something onto a page, writing big enough to fill it, then headed downstairs to watch the latest Disney special.

The next morning at school, while we were all working quietly, my teacher, the dreaded Mrs. Cornet, called me up to her desk. A few kids looked up from their books. Such requests were always good for a show.

"How did it end?" she asked. She held my book report in front of her, her thumb practically punching a hole straight through it.

My heart pounded in my ears as I strained to recall the picture on the last page of the book: an Indian lying on the ground, surrounded by other Indians looking sad. "The Indian died," I said.

"But how did he die?" This she said a little louder.

A few kids more kids looked up. Someone snickered. Trying to ignore them, and took a deep breath. "Of natural causes," I whispered.

(Remember, I was nine.)

The teacher then proceeded to ask one of the boys in the class to enlighten me as to the book's real ending, where the cowboy shot the Indian. She tsked at me and sent me back to my seat while the class tittered with 'better you than me' antipathy. Mortified, I slipped into my seat and swore I would never choose a tricky book again.

In Overcoming Dyslexia, Dr. Sally Shaywitz describes what I suspect I was experiencing that year: "the fourth grade slump."

"Around the fourth grade there is a tremendous surge in the proportion of words that are irregular, those that do not follow the regular rules for pronunciation and do not lend themselves to sounding out."

Fourth grade is typically when children transition from learning to read to reading to learn. A child may be able to decipher the reading code, blending the letter sounds into words, but if it is not done fluently and with good comprehension, a dip in reading performance results. One might argue that I should have skipped the Disney special and finished the story. Point taken. But the fact that I was willing to risk the wrath of Mrs. Cornet is proof to me that I was struggling. That woman was a terror.

Overcoming Dyslexia isn't about 'the fourth grade slump.' That's just where I saw a glimpse of myself in it's pages. The book is really about eliminating unnecessary suffering due to dyslexia through early screening and effective intervention.

Dr. Shaywitz walks the reader through the history of dyslexia, as well as it's neurological basis, diagnosis and treatment. Her recommendations are evidence-based, meaning the interventions have withstood scientific scrutiny. As a former physiotherapist, another profession which demands evidence-based practice, it was a comfort to me to know that teaching methods do matter, that teaching a child to read is rocket science, and that Mrs. Cornet's methods might have been lacking.

No one should have to survive grade 4, or any other grade, for that matter. With books like Overcoming Dyslexia, there's hope for us all.

Starting Over

"Now it was time for him to move out. She wasn't there, so he must go for both of them. It was up to him to pay back to the world in beauty and caring what Leslie had loaned him in vision and strength.

As for the terrors ahead--for he did not fool himself that they were all behind him--well, you just have to stand up to your fear and not let it squeeze you white."

--from Bridge to Terabithia a novel for young readers by Katherine Paterson, Winner of the 1978 John Newbery Medal

It's been a rough week.

Book Review: The Gift of Dyslexia

For the past two months I've been reading and doing math with children at a nearby school. For some, it's their second, third, or even fourth language; for others, it's their mother tongue. A few, however, are showing early signs of dyslexia, a dysfunction that has interested me for years.

It is easy to see dyslexia as a huge liability. How does one survive, never mind succeed, without such an essential life skill? In their book, The Gift of Dyslexia, Ronald D. Davis and co-author, Eldon M. Braun argue that the perceptive abilities that contribute to the development of dyslexia are indeed a gift, though a gift not especially conducive to interpreting symbolic language.

Persons with dyslexia are capable of conjuring multiple perspectives in their 'mind's eye' using the same visual input as the rest of us. Imagine being able to mentally see something from both the front and side simultaneously. Sculpting, painting, or assembling Ikea furniture might come rather easily; reading might not. Words require a single perspective. They cannot be read backwards, upside-down, or from the middle outwards. Add to this the ability to think visually and their difficulties multiply. Try to conjure a clear mental image that defines the word 'the,' 'and,' or 'because.'

Not easy, is it?

Davis and Braun go on to describe procedures for overcoming dyslexia which include Orientation Counseling, Symbol Mastery, Symbol Mastery with Words, and, finally, Spell-Reading.

During Orientation Counseling, the individual gains conscious control of their perspective or 'mind's eye.' As a former physiotherapist, I found this portion of the procedure to be the least valid or reproducible. I am also not convinced that it's necessary.

Symbol Mastery assures the person can form and identify letters without using compulsive, non-constructive habits like The Alphabet Song. The dyslexic individual forms the letters of the alphabet out of clay and in reverse order. This tactile process increases the likelihood of the person latching on to a single correct perspective. The individual then learns to identify the letters out of order until they can do so faultlessly.

Symbol Mastery with Words allows the individual to form a single, concrete mental image for words that trigger his or her perspective to vary. This portion of the procedure appears to be the most challenging. Again, imagine forming a clay sculpture that illustrates the word 'because.' Luckily, the dyslexic individual is quite handy at creating mental images and comes up with such senarios himself.

Finally, Spell-Reading trains the eye to read from left to right. With this fixed perspective, recognition of words on sight is possible.

As you can probably tell, I am fascinated by this process despite my misgivings about Orientation Counseling. What incredible minds we have... I can hardly wait to try these techniques out.