Supporting Your Neurodivergent Athlete at Home: Building Confidence and Success

My son never enjoyed school. After the Davis® program, academics became easier and his self-confidence improved—but he couldn’t help comparing himself to his older brother, who naturally loved books, reading, and learning.

Then he found sports.

Everything changed. He loved it. I truly believe his confidence and resilience today stem directly from this athletic foundation, though being a dyslexic athlete came with bumps. He was physically gifted—he dominated on a pure athletic level—but the vocabulary, the plays, the coaching language? Sometimes that confused him. And when he hit middle school and experienced coaching transitions, new coaches brought different teaching methods and terminology he had to decode all over again.

That’s when I realized: what happens at home matters just as much as what happens on the field.

The hours between practices and games—how you prepare your child, how you respond to setbacks, how you reinforce learning, and how you interact with your child during and after the game—can be the difference between a child who thrives in sports and one who gives up.

This isn’t about becoming an assistant coach or turning your backyard into a training facility. It’s about creating a home environment that builds on what’s happening at practice, can rebuild confidence when it wavers, and helps your child develop the resilience that will serve them far beyond sports.

Let’s talk about how to do that and where to start.

Self-Regulation Tools

Before your child walks into practice or steps onto the field, they need to be ready—mentally and physically, that’s where self-regulation tools come in. These are simple techniques you can teach your athlete to get their brain and nervous system into the optimal space for learning and performing.

If you’ve already completed a Davis® Program, you have an excellent focusing tool for academics and learning—keep using that as is. For sports, however, you might want to introduce a sports-specific focus point that works better for athletic performance. For many field sports athletes find a focus point located directly above the forehead works great, as it gives them a wider view of the playing area and helps with quicker reaction times.

If you haven’t completed a Davis® program and don’t have the Davis self-regulation tools, don’t worry. Here are three essential self-regulation tools every neurodivergent athlete needs:

A Focusing Tool: The String Method

A sports focus can often be located directly above the head—about six-inches to a foot above, between the crown and their forehead. Here’s a technique you can teach your child to find and maintain that focus point:

Step One: Find Your Balance

Have your child stand up straight and shift their weight onto one foot. They’re going to balance on one leg—it doesn’t matter which one. The act of balancing requires their brain to orient itself. You literally cannot balance while disoriented. This simple physical act is the foundation.

Step Two: Imagine the Strings

While balancing, have them visualize that there is a string holding them up. Picture a string attached to the crown of their head, gently pulling them upward. This invisible string is holding them in perfect alignment. This visualization gives their brain a clear, physical reference point—something concrete to focus on rather than an abstract idea.

Step Three: Place Your Focus Point

Now have them imagine a dot floating about six-inches to a foot above their head, and just forward of the string maybe in inch to two forward. This dot is their focus point. It’s not moving. It’s not complicated. It’s just there, steady and clear.

Step Four: Return to Your Dot

Whenever they need to refocus in practice or a game have them think of that dot. Imagine the feeling of the string holding them upright and aligned as they see the dot in their mind. If they have a moment, actually balance on one foot. If they don’t have time for that, just mentally picture the dot and feel the strings holding them upright.

Your child will need to experiment with this focus point as they play their sport. If it doesn’t feel quite right or they can’t get into the zone, they may need to shift it slightly.

For example, a baseball player might try it while catching and again while stepping up to bat. The softball and baseball athletes I’ve worked with all really liked this focus point. One soccer player told me he felt much quicker reacting with it, and a hockey player said he could see the court better. If your child swims or does martial arts, this particular focus point might not be the best fit—but the principle still holds: finding a focus where their body feels grounded and in alignment will serve them well.

Once they find the right spot, it becomes a quick mental reset they can use anytime—before stepping up to bat, before a free throw, before taking the field. It is important to practice using this new focal point. After using it intentionally overtime it will become second nature.

A Calming Tool: Nervous System Reset

When your child is feeling anxious or overwhelmed—waiting to bat with everyone watching, or after a frustrating play, they need a way to calm their nerves. Teach them a simple breathing technique: slow, deep breaths in through the nose, and longer exhales out through the mouth. This signals to their body and mind that they are safe and helps release the anxiety that builds in high-pressure moments.

An Energy Tool: The Dial or Lever

In Davis® work, we call the energy tool “your dial.” If your child hasn’t learned this yet, think of it as an energy lever they can actively control and adjust based on the activity. The energy needed to listen to instructions is very different from the energy needed to sprint down a football field or explode off the line. Teach your child to consciously adjust their internal lever before each activity—turning it lower for focus and listening, higher for explosive movement and intensity. They’re in control of dialing in exactly what they need.

These three tools—focus, calm, and energy—work together to prepare your athlete’s brain and body for success.

Pre-Teaching Vocabulary and Concepts

When starting a new sport or going back to a sport for a new season, vocabulary can change, when this happens, it can be very helpful to pre-teach vocabulary and concepts at home to help reduce the cognitive load your child faces at practice.

When your child walks into practice and hears unfamiliar terminology or new concepts for the first time, they’re trying to do three things simultaneously:

1. Decode and understand the words
2. Grasp the concept being explained
3. Figure out how to execute it physically

That’s a lot. For a dyslexic that often processes language more slowly, it’s can be too much and they have disoriented or fall behind and miss information. For a kid with ADHD, following the sequencing and timing of a new play can cause some disorientation, resulting in missing understanding.

When you pre-teach vocabulary and concepts at home, your child arrives at practice already familiar with the language and basic ideas. Now they can focus their cognitive energy on execution and refinement rather than basic comprehension.

Ways to Pre-Teach Effectively

Get the practice schedule or curriculum in advance

Ask the coach: “What will you be working on this week?” or “What plays or skills are coming up?” Most coaches are happy to share this information, especially when you explain it helps your child prepare.

Introduce terminology in a low-pressure setting

A few days before practice, casually introduce the terms:

“Hey, I heard Coach is going to work on ‘pick and roll’ this week. Want to see what that looks like?”

Then show them a short video clip (YouTube is full of examples) or demonstrate with household objects.

Use visual aids and or physical demonstration

Don’t just define the term verbally. Show it:

• Watch professional athletes execute the skill
• Watch a YouTube lesson on it.
• Walk through the movements
• Have fun:
  • model it in clay
  • Draw a simple diagram or
  • Use action figures or toys to demonstrate a play

Make it interactive and playful

“Okay, you be the defender, I’ll be the offensive player. I’m going to show you what a ‘give and go’ looks like.”

Learning through play removes pressure and makes the concept stick.

Keep it brief

Five to ten minutes is plenty. You’re not teaching them to master the skill—just familiarizing them with the concept and language so it’s not brand new when the coach introduces it.

Real-World Example

Your child’s soccer coach is introducing “overlapping runs” next practice.

A few days before practice:

• You watch a 2-minute YouTube video together showing overlapping runs in professional soccer
• You walk through it in the backyard: “You dribble here, I run past you here, you pass to me here”
• Have them teach it back to you.

At practice:
When the coach says “We’re working on overlapping runs today,” your child thinks, “Oh yeah, I know what that is!” Instead of disorienting, they experience recognition and confidence.

The Confidence Multiplier

Pre-teaching doesn’t just reduce confusion—it creates a powerful psychological advantage.

Your child walks into practice feeling prepared and competent. When the coach introduces the concept, they might be one of the first to understand it. They might even demonstrate it successfully on the first try.

Suddenly, they’re not the kid who’s a step behind. They’re the kid who is a step ahead.

That feeling is transformative.

Ongoing Support

Learning-Focused Conversations After Practice

Instead of “How was practice?”—which usually gets a one-word answer—try asking questions that help your child process what they actually learned:

• “What did Coach teach you today?”
• “Did you learn anything new?”
• “What was the most interesting part of practice?”

These questions shift the focus from performance to learning. They give you real insight into what stuck, what confused them, and what might need reinforcement at home. Plus, they help your child recognize their own growth instead of just worrying about whether they did it “right.”

Build a Highlight Reel

Keep a running collection of your child’s best moments—video clips, photos, or even just a written list of wins big and small. You’ll miss recording plenty of moments (especially during practices) and that’s okay. What matters is having something to pull out when you need it.

Use this highlight reel strategically:

• Before big games to remind them of what they’re capable of
• When confidence dips after a tough practice or loss
• Just to celebrate progress and growth

Here’s what surprised me: my son and I would work on his highlight reel at different times during the season, but when his brother made one set to his favorite music and showed it to him, my son noticed something we’d both missed. His brother (who understands sports more then I do) had picked out different moments than we had. His video showed the screens, the pick-and-rolls, and the passes that led to assists. Not just the flashy moments or the baskets. My son felt a surge of pride realizing his brother could see how hard he was working, not just the highlight-reel plays. That’s the power of this tool: it shows your child what others see in them.

Difficult Experiences

Even with the best coach and excellent preparation, your child will have hard days. They’ll make mistakes. They’ll feel frustrated. They might have a game where nothing goes right or a practice where they feel like they can’t do anything correctly.

How you respond in these moments can really help your athlete build resilience.

What Not to Do

In these moments, avoid minimizing their feelings, jumping straight to solutions, or comparing them to others. All of these responses—whether it’s “It wasn’t that bad,” “Here’s what you should do differently,” “But you did better than your teammate,” or “I’m so proud of you!”—dismiss their experience and create distance.

What to Do Instead

Validate their feelings first:

“That was a really frustrating practice, wasn’t it?” or “I can see you’re disappointed with how that game went.”

Let them know their feelings make sense. Sit with the disappointment for a moment before trying to move past it.

Ask what they’re thinking:

“What was the hardest part for you?” or “What are you feeling most frustrated about?”

Sometimes they just need to be heard. Other times, this helps you understand what specifically went wrong so they can address it. This can help move from frustration to empowerment.

Help them identify one thing that went well:

After they have shared their experience, you can help them identity something that went well such as “I noticed you made a great pass in the second half” or “Your footwork on that one play was really solid.”

This isn’t sugar coating—it’s helping them see that a bad game doesn’t mean everything was bad. It builds the habit of balanced self-assessment.

Reframe mistakes as information:

“So you’re saying the timing was off on that play. That’s really good to notice. Now you know what to focus on in practice.”

Mistakes become data points for improvement rather than evidence of failure.

Remind them of past progress:

“Remember when you first started and [specific skill] felt impossible? Now you do it without even thinking. This new thing will get easier too.”

This builds confidence that struggle is temporary and improvement is possible.

Ask what they could do to make a change:

Here’s where you help them figure out what actually went wrong—and what they can control next time.

Start with: “What do you think you could do differently next time?”

Listen to their answer. They might say “I need to practice that move more” or “I didn’t understand what the coach was asking” or “I felt confused out there.” All of these are valuable.

If it’s a skill gap (they recognize they need more practice):
“That makes sense. That’s exactly what practice is for—building that skill. What part do you want to focus on first?”

This frames practice as the solution and puts them in control of what to work on. You can offer to practice together in the backyard, or ask if they want to watch a video of that play first.

If it’s a self-regulation gap (they felt confused, disoriented, or anxious):
Ask: “Did you feel clear about what you were supposed to be doing, or were there moments where things felt confusing?”

If they recognize the confusion or anxiety, you’ve found the real issue. Then: “Remember those focusing and energy tools we’ve been practicing? That’s exactly what would help you feel more grounded and clear next time. Want to practice that before your next game?”

If they didn’t notice the disorientation, you can gently point it out: “I noticed you seemed a little lost out there. Sometimes when we’re not feeling grounded, it’s hard to focus on what the coach is saying. That’s where your focus tool comes in.”

The key: help them recognize what went wrong so they’re motivated to use their tools next time. They’re not being told what to fix—they’re discovering it themselves.

Offer physical comfort and connection:

Sometimes a hug, sitting together quietly, or going for ice cream says more than words. Physical presence communicates “I’m here with you in this” without requiring them to talk about it.

The Long-Term Vision: Sports as a Resilience Builder

Here’s what you need to remember on the hard days, when you’re wondering if all this effort is worth it:

Sports aren’t just about athletics. They’re about building the whole person.

For your dyslexic child, sports can be the place where they discover something school might never show them: They are capable, competent, and strong.

Sports Build Identity Beyond Academics

In school, your child may be “the one who struggles with reading” or “the kid who needs extra help.”

In sports, they can be “the player with great field vision” or “the teammate who never gives up” or “the athlete with creative moves.”

This alternative identity reminds them—and everyone else—that they are more than their academic challenges.

Sports Teach Resilience Through Lived Experience

You can tell your child a thousand times that struggle leads to growth. But it’s different when they live it—when they practice a skill over and over until they finally nail it, when they lose a game and come back to play stronger, when they make a mistake and figure out how to recover.

That’s when it clicks. Not as an idea, but as something they’ve actually done. And that lived experience of pushing through and improving? It carries into everything else in their life.

Sports Provide Concrete Evidence of Progress

In school, your dyslexic child works hard—but progress often feels invisible. They study, they try, they put in effort, yet the results can feel abstract and slow to appear.

Athletic progress is different. It’s physical and visible. Your child can see and feel themselves getting better in real time:

• “I couldn’t dribble with my left hand at the start of the season, and now I can”
• “I used to be afraid of the ball, and now I’m not”
• “I didn’t understand that play, and now I can execute it”

This visible, concrete evidence of improvement—where effort directly translates to measurable progress they can witness themselves—builds self-efficacy: the belief that focused effort actually leads to improvement.

Sports Create Community and Belonging

Being part of a team gives your child a place where they belong, where they contribute, where they matter.

For children who may feel isolated or different in academic settings, this sense of belonging can be profound.

Sports Teach That Different Strengths Matter

Your child learns that there are many ways to be valuable:

• Speed matters, but so does strategy
• Scoring matters, but so does defense
• Individual skill matters, but so does teamwork

In the real world, people need all kinds of strengths. Speed and strategy. Scorers and defenders. Solo players and team players. School often only values one narrow set of skills. Sports shows your kid that the world is much bigger than that.

The Skills Transfer Beyond the Field

The skills your child develops in sports—resilience, teamwork, communication, handling pressure, recovering from mistakes, working toward long-term goals—are exactly the skills they’ll need in careers, relationships, and life.

You’re not just raising an athlete. You’re raising an adult who knows how to persist through difficulty, who can collaborate with others, who understands that failure is temporary and improvement is possible.

Your Role in the Long-Term Vision

Your job isn’t to make your child a star athlete or to ensure they never struggle.

Your job is to:

• Help them find environments where they can succeed
• Teach them to advocate for what they need
• Support them through setbacks
• Celebrate their growth
• Remind them of their strengths when they forget
• Keep the long-term vision in focus when the short-term is hard

You’re teaching them that they can navigate and thrive in a world that isn’t always built for how their brain works.

The Ripple Effect

When neurodivergent children find success in sports:

Their confidence grows and spills into other areas. They start advocating for themselves in school. They try new things. They take risks. They believe in their ability to figure things out.

The resilience they build on the field shows up in other places of life. The problem-solving skills they develop in games help them find creative solutions to academic challenges. The identity they build as a capable athlete balances the identity of “struggling student.”

Sports become the foundation that supports everything else.

Your neurodivergent child can find joy, confidence, and belonging in sports. They can build resilience that transforms their entire life.

And you—through your advocacy, your support, and your unwavering belief in their potential—are making that possible.

You’ve got this. Your child has got this. And together, you’re building something that will last far beyond any season.

The post Supporting Your Dyslexic Athlete at Home appeared first on Learning Tools.

spring 2022 newsletter LT

The post Spring 2022 Newsletter appeared first on Learning Tools.

by Jenny Wise

According to Understood.org, one in five children has a learning disability, and if they don’t get the right support, they are three times as likely to drop out of high school and twice as likely to be jobless as adults than kids who don’t. These sobering statistics show that involving these children in engaging activities outside of schoolwork is essential for their intellectual and emotional development, and the answer may be the arts.

“Involving children with learning differences (at Learning Tools, we prefer difference to disability) in the arts can have several benefits, including improved motor skills, concentration and focus, creative expression, and self-esteem. Learning Tools outlines some arts to consider introducing to your child.

Music

For a child with learning disabilities, music works the areas of the brain that are tied to speech, reading, comprehension, problem-solving, focus, and more. Singing and playing an instrument have especially remarkable benefits for children with learning disabilities, but even the act of listening to music can have a wonderful impact.

Health benefits of singing
How to get child interested in playing a musical instrument
How to set up music room at home
If you have a music background and you’ve considered making some money on the side, consider using ZenBusiness to start your own business and teach other kids, perhaps specializing in instructing children with learning disabilities.

Photograph

It takes a steady hand, concentration, and focus to take a good photograph, not to mention the ability to compose a scene before you snap the shutter. Children with learning disabilities can learn photography to develop these same skills and so many more.

Benefits of photography for kids
It’s not all about camera phones; teach kids to use a DSLR camera
Photography-focused activities kids can do

Painting and Drawing

It doesn’t matter if the child uses colored pencils, markers, crayons, or watercolors; the act of moving something colorful across a blank canvas is a creative way to express emotions. At the same time, it can help a child develop patience, concentration, and problem-solving skills.

Different drawing styles kids can try
12 free online painting and drawing lessons for kids
Benefits of painting for children
Teach children about famous paintings

Regardless of the art form your child pursues, make sure there’s always some fun injected into it. Also be sure to help the child realize every day that the fun he or she is having will boost their focus, improve their schoolwork, and greatly enhance their self-confidence.

About the Author: Jenny Wise created Special Home Educator as a forum for sharing her adventures in homeschooling and connecting with other homeschooling families. She has been homeschooling her four children for many years now, including her youngest daughter Anna who is on the autism spectrum.

Learning Tools assists adults and children attain skills, confidence, and motivation needed to achieve their goals. Our programs are offered for learning and correcting multiple struggles of neurodivergent learners. Reach out to us today! 206-451-7102

Photo Credit: Pixabay.com

The post Involving Your Child with Learning Challenges in the Arts appeared first on Learning Tools.

Several years ago, I published a comprehensive blog post addressing coaching strategies for dyslexic athletes. This work attracted the attention of Darius Namdaran, founder of Bullet Proof Academy and host of the Dyslexia Explored podcast. Darius subsequently invited me to serve as a guest speaker on his landmark 100th episode. The resulting conversation provided valuable insights that I am pleased to share with you here: Dyslexia Explored #100 with Sophia Gomma

The following summary outlines key recommendations discussed during that episode, organized by audience: coaching professionals, parents, and student-athletes.

Tips

Coaches:

• Dyslexic athletes are non-verbal conceptualization thinkers who process information through visual and emotional frameworks rather than sequential verbal instructions.
• Verify that athletes understand the meaning of sport-specific terminology rather than assuming comprehension of standard coaching vocabulary.
• Carefully consider directional communication, recognizing that spatial orientation challenges may arise when coaches communicate from the sidelines to athletes on the field.
• Recognize that athletes who do not maintain eye contact while listening are actively engaged in visualization and mental processing, not disengaged or disrespectful.
• Allow additional processing time for athletes new to the sport or unfamiliar with your coaching approach before providing verbal corrections or redirects. This processing delay typically diminishes with familiarity and experience.
• Provide meaningful context and explanation of the reasoning (“why”) behind new information to facilitate integration into long-term memory, as abstract instruction without context is ineffective.
• Familiarize athletes with clipboard diagrams and visual play representations before high-pressure competitions, as flat visual representations can be disorienting without prior exposure.
• Utilize field-based visual markers and demonstrations when providing directional guidance. Abstract directional language such as “left,” “right,” “east,” or “up court” can create significant confusion for visual-spatial thinkers.
• Recognize that dyslexic athletes typically demonstrate strong intrinsic motivation and desire to learn, though they may experience diminished self-esteem due to academic challenges. Motivate through effort-based feedback rather than generic praise or criticism. For example, “I observed you really tried hard at that—your effort was evident” proves more effective than statements such as “you are already good at that” or “you are not skilled at this.”

Parents:

• Secure your child’s agreement and buy-in before initiating conversations with coaches regarding accommodations or interventions.
• Recognize that most coaches lack formal educational training in dyslexia and may not understand dyslexic cognition and learning needs.
• Communicate to coaches that your child thinks in pictures and learns most effectively when provided with the “why” and big-picture context before exploring specific details.

Student-Athletes:

• Advocate for yourself:
  • If you experience difficulty maintaining eye contact during explanations, communicate to your coach that looking away enables you to visualize and mentally construct the concepts being presented.
  • If you require additional processing time, inform your coach of this need.
  • If you are uncertain about assigned plays, request clarification or verbally describe your understanding to your coach—articulate the mental images you have formed to verify comprehension.
• Conduct independent research: Develop familiarity with your sport through video resources, study relevant terminology, and build foundational knowledge to reinforce understanding and build confidence.
• Engage in mental training:
  • Identify your focused or grounded mental state and develop strategies to access this zone consistently.
  • Engage in self-reflection regarding your responses to challenging emotions: How do you respond when angry, confused, or nervous? What strategies can you employ to support yourself during these situations?

The post Coaching Dyslexic Athletes, Dyslexia Explored Podcast appeared first on Learning Tools.

Spring News Letter 2020.

The post Spring News 2020 appeared first on Learning Tools.

Fall 2019 NewsLetter

The post Fall News Letter 2019 appeared first on Learning Tools.

Below is Jamie’s account of the day:

• Start off the morning with a check-in, how we are feeling about being there, did we sleep well, do we need a snack or to do some stretching – make sure we are set up to be successful for the day.
• Then we take time to check and make sure our focusing tools is where it needs to be and do any fine tuning if need be. This is as easy as 1,2,3, balance.
• Then we play around with koosh balls (a type of rubbery stringy ball).   From there we are really focused and ready to do some reading.
• We only read for 5-10 minutes depending on how one is feeling. When we work on reading comprehension it might be longer and a good discussion of “the movie” that we have visualized while reading.
• Next, we would do clay work to master words. We talk about the “trigger words”, look it up in a dictionary (it is amazing to see how many different meaning one of these words can have), make all kinds of sentences until that word is really clear to us, then we get to create a model of the word in clay. Creativity is welcome here, but simple models work great. So for the word “on”, while Sophia modeled a child who rode “on” the camel, I modeled a boy flew “on” the plane. This was a bit more challenging then I had thought it would be – but I was happy with the model in the end. {“on” definition used “used as a function word to indicate means of transport“}
• Then we take a break, maybe a 10 minutes break, maybe 15 – just depends on what we together think is needed. “I love how I get to help make the decisions, ‘it is your program, after all, Sophia says’.
• We end our break with koosh balls or start our work session, however, you prefer to think of it. Koosh balls help to ensure we are focused and ready for the next task at hand.
• When we get back to work, we often do another reading exercise. If not reading, we work on spelling words; we tackle another spelling word that has given me trouble in the past. Using the tools, making the word in clay, and then mastering has me spelling the word in no time! The best part is, I remember the word.
• We continue the day in this pattern. The day goes by fast actually, and while it is work, it doesn’t feel like work. The best part was each day I felt proud of the models I did and surprised by how much working with the word helped me, I don’t have problems with these words anymore when I am reading or trying to write and spell them – weird but true.

Spelling word “apologize” learned during the Dyslexia Reading Program.

Clay model showing the meaning of “always” (at all times) done during the Dyslexia Correction Program.

The post A Typical Day with My Dyslexia Tutor appeared first on Learning Tools.

English class has always been a nightmare for me, I was hopeless at writing text, or at least coherent paragraphs.  In grade school, it was spelling and grammar that I hated. Then middle school we were writing about books we read, and while that wasn’t quite as bad (because I could use sentences from books) it was the sequence and organization of what I wrote that challenged me. In high school, I soon had to formulate words to express my own feelings about what we were reading. Writing spilled over into other subjects and whenever I had to write an essay I felt sick. In college, we are supposed to be experts and remember all those things from English class to write intelligent thought-provoking papers for all classes.

For me writing was excruciating, it was also a barrier to my goal, graduating from college. I was at a small liberal arts college and I don’t’ know if we didn’t have tutors, or if I was just too humiliated to find out. But, because I was determined, I faced the humiliation of asking friends to help me correct my papers. Wow, what a blow to one’s self-esteem after you have rewritten a paper two, something three, times before you show it to someone and then have it come back to you a red marked up mess. I remember fearing what my classmates me thought of me, I had only a trusted few I would ask for help. Now that I am well into my 40’s, I am not quite so vulnerable, my skin has been thickened over the years.   Now it is easier to tell my stories and explain what a nightmare writing can before some, just like reading late can be for others.

Dyslexia: not just a Reading Problem

For me, my dyslexia didn’t show up as much with my reading, I was able to get by, I was really good at asking others what they thought, for listening to others and discuss topics. Understanding what I read could be hidden. What I couldn’t hide was my struggle with writing coherent sentences. I still struggle at times when I feel rushed or do not have a clear picture of what I want to say. When I was young I would procrastinate on the writing portion of homework, but it was because I would not know how to begin. I don’t know how many times I was told by teachers and friends to just start writing and then go back and correct it and make it readable. So much easier said than done. I tried out this method, and since I didn’t have a better solution, I used it, but it was not an efficient method for me.

Writing down anything that came to me actually gave me too many words to deal with. The problem with just putting whatever down on paper is I can ramble and ramble. The sequence of thought and/or the organization of ideas can be all over the place, but beyond that was getting the right words. I have really struggled with getting the right words for what I want to say, I say it so many times and in so many different ways that I confuse myself and my thoughts become muddied OR I don’t’ say enough of the right things because it is too obvious to me and I assume the reader would see it as being obvious as well.

I remember in college struggling and telling a friend that the words are just in a jumbled up in the sky and I can’t seem to pull the ones I want to use down to explain something. I understand this better now, I wasn’t seeing the words jumbled up, I was seeing what I wanted to express as a picture. Ever heard the saying “a picture is worth a thousand words?” There can be so much to see in a picture, especially one that is evolving and complex. Without a good understanding of the meaning of prepositions, adjectives, and adverbs describing those pictures I felt stumped. I just told my teachers I was stymied, their suggestion was to just write everything I thought and then clean it up – stream of consciousness writing.

Now I understand what the issue was with this method — I am not a verbal conceptualizer, I am not thinking with the sound of words, and this method was trying to help me get the words out. The actual issue I was having was not knowing which word to use because I didn’t have the meaning of high-frequency sight words that make up 75% of the words we use.

Meaning Based Program

The Davis methods are meaning based programs, they use symbol mastery to give meaning to words that cause dyslexics trouble – exactly what I needed.   I remember a moment during the program seeing what made up the trigger words list. I had an “ah ha” moment, I remembered being in German class in high school, getting a test back that was of German prepositions. I was looking at the test where you match a word with a picture. I had done poorly on it and I was confused as to why I got so many of them wrong because I knew the English equivalent. Back then I couldn’t figure it out, now it is clear as day to me, I didn’t have the right meanings of the English preposition to match with the picture on the test.

The Davis Dyslexia Correction Program has helped me move beyond my fears of words. I now understand the meaning of words at a much deeper level. I also have the ability to be focused enough to see my errors. I can clean up my writing to a place where I can be pretty sure it is understandable to others. Before I really thought I was broken when it came to expressing myself, now I see it for what it is.

Writing Text: My Method

My method to write text is a combination of methods.  I use outlining, mind mapping, as well as stream of consciousness depending on what I am writing.  Email start with bullet points.   This writing I started with bullets as well, he is what I had down:

• English class nightmare- Writing hard
• Experience
• Method not helpful
• Why – picture thinker
• Trigger words
• What Davis did

I put this on my page and then wrote a bit under each bullet.   I tried a bit of stream of consciousness, but I am constantly coming back to my bullets to be sure that this is what I wanted to express.  For this writing, I ended up deleting quite a bit because it wasn’t relevant. I then reread it very slowly making sure that each sentence is the picture I want to present. I then put it away until the next day, look at it with fresh eyes.  I still like to have someone else look at it to find things I might have missed.

This method isn’t too different then what some teachers tell you to do, but what is different is me, the wisdom, knowledge, and understanding I have gained through mastering trigger words allows me to see it, reread it, and be present to words in a way that wasn’t possible for me before.

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My son is now in 8^th grade: he is doing very well in language arts, he writes beautifully, he reads well with excellent comprehension and in math, he has been getting high marks.  His math teacher even said to me that my son has a great mind for math; he just needs to believe in himself a little more.

Math Story Words Can Create Trouble

I thought he was on a great academic path and then last weeks’ homework happened. As he was doing homework, he asked his older brother some questions and his brother answered the questions with other questions to try and get him to think through the problem. I was having a proud mama moment; my older son was truly trying to help.

Then all of a sudden, I hear a loud, forceful voice say, “I already told you”.  I gently asked if he was using his tools, which was returned with a glare of an irate teenager full of disgust. Okay, I see that mom needs to stay out of it! I tried, I truly did, but as he was reading the story problem question back to his brother and telling him what equation he made out of it, it was obvious to me that the confusion was due to trigger words, so naturally I had to butt in.

He ended up working through the problems with me making sure he had a clear picture of what the meaning of each of the words were and to be sure he knew what was being asked for in each question. Then I told him we could fix his frustrations by modeling in clay the words that were causing confusion, just like we used to. He was up to it and we spent the weekend playing with clay and cutting up circles of clay into fractions.

Learn the Meaning of Words Through Pictures

Do you know “by” in math can mean to multiply, but it can also mean divide?   During the homework fiasco, it was clear that my son didn’t know the second meaning of “by” meaning divide, which was needed to get the equation correct. The other word that was causing confusion was “of” when working with fractions.

I hadn’t seen him break down into this “self-hate” in a long time; he kept saying how stupid he was under his breath. He could do the math, but translating words into a math problem requires one to have a clear meaning/picture of each word. That is what the symbol mastery does, it gives meaning to words.   So learning the meaning of words that don’t produce a mental picture is extremely important to picture thinkers.

Math has a language of its own, but it is more than just numerals and function symbols, the words we use for math to describe functions are just as important.  By using clay to mold and create the meaning of the word, we get to understand, know and master a word at a very deep level. After doing this work, that word no longer causes a problem.

“by” in math can mean divide

“of” in math can mean a portion or fraction taken from

The post The Importance of Symbol Mastery and Learning the Meaning of Words appeared first on Learning Tools.

In school, I had “coping methods” that would at times get me to pass a spelling test. For me, the trick was, don’t study until 5-10 minutes before you walk into class, then cram like crazy.  I couldn’t think of anything before the test, couldn’t talk to anyone, just keep those letter in my head. One problem would be getting interrupted by friends or the teacher before the test; ignoring or pretending to daydream worked pretty well for that.

Another problem was when the teacher wanted you to write a sentence with the word, those teachers were so frustrating, and picky. The sentence piece always got me, I would end up losing the other words that I was trying to keep straight by concentrating on the sentence. I mean really, why can’t I write, “He was tantalized” for the word tantalize? Nope, that was never enough, teachers wanted something more.  For my sentences I would be lucky to get even partial credit.

If I tried to study the words well before the test like at home the night before, that made me more confused then ever. I remember my mom trying to get me to learn how to spell the word February. I would get the “ru” order messed up or forget the “r” altogether.   She would say remember the “r” is for your sister and she was born first, and then “u” came along. When that still didn’t work she added in “a ‘r’ is for right BUT it isn’t on the right side, it is in the same order as the alphabet, ‘r’ comes first before ‘u’”. Well… in theory that seems great, and now that I know how to spell February it seems like something I would remember. Yet, I remember, on numerous occasions being at school at my desk trying to remember what my mom told me. I wasn’t remembering the ‘r’ and ‘u’ in the order of the alphabet because I then thought of ‘r’ on the right. If I tried thinking of my sister, I would end up messing it up with thinking surely she said to think of me first and that is ‘u’. Why would I think of my sister first? I would second guess each thing, and then with my stress of taking to long on that word it would require me to sing the alphabet in order to figure out which was first. I had to sing it out loud, but that would get me in trouble so I would try to whisper it. As you can see from my retelling of the story, my inner dialog had me in much confusion and I would end up missing much of what was happening in the classroom.

Fast forward to being an adult. I stopped thinking of spelling, one of the joys of being out of school. But one day, I remember overhearing an employee talking about how annoying it was when she would get emails from her boss (me) that had words misspelled all the time, she couldn’t figure out how I became the head of the department she worked in. I suddenly felt shame and embarrassment.

I knew I was not a good speller. I thought about a few incidents when I had someone ask me what I meant in my email because they couldn’t understand it. I think I explained to them what I meant and then said, “I was typing so fast I made the errors” but really, I just hadn’t seen them. It was really at that moment, feeling shamed by my inability to spell that I started paying more attention to my emails. I would make sure my spell checker was on, and that helped, but it still didn’t fix the problem.

My training to become a Davis® dyslexia facilitator is what helped me overcome my greatest problems with spelling. When I was “the student” for a dyslexia correction program for a facilitator in training, I started to really see symbols and words for the first time. Wow, it was AMAZING, the focusing tools helped me to see my errors in spelling and then the method of writing the word in clay and taking a mental picture of it was profound. Before I honestly just didn’t know if something was spelled wrong at least half the time. I didn’t see it, sometimes I would have an inkling that it wasn’t right, but most of the time proofreading was a joke to me. I wasn’t focused enough to even find all the errors.

I know I now have the ability to learn how to spell any word I want to.   I have worked on the words that used to cause me so many issues, like character, definitely, and business. At times, I still have to think a moment about them, but if I look inside my mind’s eye and trust my gut, I get it right every time.

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