Читать книгу Dyslexia and ADHD - The Miracle Cure - Wynford Dore - Страница 21

As the table shows, there is so much overlap between the conditions that the practice of dividing them into separate categories is slightly misleading. The fact is people with learning difficulties often share very similar symptoms. All too often in the past people have simply been labelled according to which symptoms are more noticeable. If you had problems with reading, then you were dyslexic. Trouble sitting still? You were hyperactive. Couldn’t catch a ball? You were dyspraxic! However, it is not nearly that straightforward.

Our theory is that all learning difficulties are the result of the same neurological problem in the brain – caused by a delay in the development of the cerebellum. These problems are interrelated and affect some people more severely than others. They are all caused by the inability to learn, or automatise certain types of knowledge or skill. This particular neurological condition will be looked at in more detail in the next chapter. However, for now it is worth pointing out that this is an issue far more common than has ever been imagined. Many, many people suffer from this problem and most do not even realise it.

For instance, look through the list below. Do some of these symptoms sound familiar? Of course, no one suffers from all of these problems, but many of those who suffer from several of them are needlessly underachieving. Before looking at the list, remember that Cerebellar Developmental Delay (CDD) is not a disease. It is not of itself painful, nor is it life threatening. It is simply a delay in the required development of one area of the brain. If we were all tested for CDD, an amazingly high proportion of us would be found to be affected to some degree. Each of us knows that there is nearly always one area where we personally find the development of certain skills more difficult than average – for example, we may have some, but not all of the following features during development:

 Slow to learn to ride a bike (see also clumsiness)

 Difficulty in learning to tie shoelaces

 Difficulty in learning to tell the time

 Poor sleep patterns

 Problems differentiating between left and right

 Problems with sequencing, e.g. sorting coloured beads

 Problems differentiating between ‘in’ and ‘out’, or ‘up’ and ‘down’

 Tendency to jumble phrases and words

 Stammering

 Difficulty in learning rhymes

 Difficulty clapping in simple rhythm

 Late speech development

 Walking quite early, but not necessarily crawling first

 Difficulties getting dressed

 Preferring ‘junk’ foods or covering all food with ketchup

In social situations, we may have some, but not all of the following:

 Poor organisational skills including forgetting things, living in a mess

 Difficulty establishing friendships

 Insensitivity to other people’s feelings

 Difficulty in showing affection

 Difficulty maintaining eye contact

 Tendency towards impulsive behaviour

 Inability to be satisfied, and always looking for more stimulation

 Tendency to talk incessantly and repeat things

 Difficulty in following directions

 Poor spatial awareness

 Inability to process thoughts and feelings quickly

 Difficulty in expressing yourself

 Poor short-term memory – remembering phone numbers, names, lists, etc.

In school and college work, there will be some, but not all of the following:

 Problems with, and lack of interest in reading – often jumping words

 Poor spelling and putting letters and figures the wrong way round

 Difficulty remembering tables, alphabet, formulae, etc.

 Poor handwriting, including leaving out letters or putting them in the wrong order

 Difficulty in writing on the lines

 Problems with writing and getting work completed quickly

 Mixing upper and lower case in words

 Inability to sit still or concentrate on one task

 Difficulty in concentrating

 Problems processing language at speed

 Confusion with places, times and dates

 Difficulty with planning and writing essays

 Difficulty processing complex language or long series of instructions at speed

 High achievement in one or two subjects, but very poor in others

 Increased likelihood of experiencing bullying

 Tendency towards truancy

Then, in emotional life, some, but not all of the following:

 Significant tiredness after school or work

 Tantrums when faced with complicated instructions, or difficulty doing simple tasks

 Low self-esteem which, as you get older, can sometimes include suicidal thoughts

 Fear that you are as lazy or thick as you are told you are by others

 Sense of isolation

 Frustration and anger often caused by an inability to put things in context

 Irrational phobias

 Tendency to be moody

In sport and physical activities, some, but not all of the following:

 Little interest in sport, especially team sports, but some have great skills in skiing, surfing and rollerblading

 Very good at some sports and very bad at others

 Clumsiness – inability to catch, or to kick balls

 Bumping into things

 Poor posture

 Odd gait or clumsy, uneven way of walking or running

In working life, some, but not all of the following:

 Poor sequential memory – inability to sort and remember information

 Poor handwriting

 Poor concentration

 Difficulty in writing long reports

 Inability to prioritise tasks

 Tendency to be indecisive

Researchers at the Dore Achievement Centres believe that if a person suffers from several of the above symptoms they may be suffering from CDD. For us this is a far more appropriate way of defining learning difficulties than using the labels ‘dyslexia’, ‘ADHD’, ‘dyspraxia’ or ‘Asperger’s Syndrome’. CDD focuses on the root cause of learning difficulties and is not inappropriately associated with being thick or lazy. Other definitions tend to focus on symptoms such as poor reading and writing to define whether a person is dyslexic or dyspraxic. Yet, as we have seen, these symptoms refuse to sit neatly in rigid compartments. In other words, a person with ADHD may have similar symptoms to a person suffering from dyslexia. A person suffering from dyslexia may have co-ordination problems in the same way as a dyspraxic person, and so on.

The overlaps between the traditionally defined conditions are never-ending. Therefore, it may be time for all of us to start thinking about learning difficulties in a completely different way. Instead of trying to understand them from an outside perspective (i.e. if that person cannot read, he must be dyslexic), we should consider them in terms of a neurological condition. We should think about learning difficulties in terms of the root cause and we should focus on the significant potential awaiting discovery.