Improved Behavior And Self-Esteem

Table of Contents | Davis Dyslexia Correction Methods | Experiences With Davis Methods

9 Year Old Boy, Hyperactive - Improved behavior & Self-Esteem

My name is Melanie. My husband is in the Navy and we are currently living in Keflavik, Iceland. I have a 9 yr old son, Jarrod, that is dyslexic. In January on a quick trip to Georgia(4 days), I managed to get my hands on library books about dyslexia. I had thoughts he might be but no books in our library here on the subject. I learned enough to be dangerous! In February, I had Jarrod "tested" by the EDIS team that visits the base once a quarter for such purposes. He could read and therefore not dyslexic by the teams standards. He was above grade level in most things, but below in math and spelling. Math mainly because he didn't want to do the problems. He always reverses his numbers and gets the problems wrong even though he knows the answer.

In February I also found out about Davis. I bought the book from Amazon and it was the best thing I did!! In April on our yearly trek back to "civilization" we made a detour to Florida for the Davis training. God provided just enough income tax refund to pay for the course. It was worth every penny!! I saw results right away. Jarrod acted different than he ever had. At a stop at the airport he held my hand! Doesn't seem like much, but for him it was amazing. Normally, he'd be all over the place running, hiding, jumping, etc. I was truly shocked and amazed.

We took 5 weeks of vacation this year and have just been back a week. I am still trying to get back to my normal time zone and schedule. We homeschool and have all along. Symbol mastery is part of our school day now. I also have a 6 1/2 yr old daughter who is not dyslexic but wants to do clay also. I am trying to incorporate all that Jarrod learned into his school work. He complains alot about doing spell reading. Says it doesn't help, but I think it does-he just doesn't like it. He loves to play with the clay and during the training for the first time in his life he could recite the alphabet correctly twice in a row!

We play koosh ball war after school each afternoon. The koosh ball catch has helped me also with balance and catching. I used to be the worlds worst catcher of anything!

Davis has helped my son feel better about himself. He knows he is not stupid now and that has helped tremendously in his self esteem. We will be 'pausing' next year in school. I am not going to repeat what we learned, but we will relearn things that aren't concrete yet-like subtraction with borrowing. Jarrod always does it bottom minus top vice top minus bottom. We will delve deeper into areas of interest and try to get his writing up to speed. He hates to write anything, but loved learning cursive and has very nice cursive handwriting. Not so for printing. Getting thoughts on paper is almost impossible for him to do.

Posted by Melanie Newman to [Dyslexia Discussion Board], May 1999