The Gift of Dyslexia, Revised and Expanded: Why Some of the Smartest People Can't Read...and How They Can Learn
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- Create Date：2021-03-30 11:21:20
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Ronald D. Davis
- ISBN：0399535667
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Summary
The revised， updated， and expanded edition of the classic in the category。
This book outlines a unique and revolutionary program with a phenomenally high success rate in helping dyslexics learn to read and to overcome other difficulties associated with it。 This new edition is expanded to include new teaching techniques and revised throughout with up-to-date information on research， studies， and contacts。
This book outlines a unique and revolutionary program with a phenomenally high success rate in helping dyslexics learn to read and to overcome other difficulties associated with it。 This new edition is expanded to include new teaching techniques and revised throughout with up-to-date information on research， studies， and contacts。
Reviews
Kerri
，
So， as mom to 3 dyslexia kiddos （one undiagnosed but with all the markers） holy cow this book blew my mind。 Now， I also know kids with Dyslexia who these things don’t apply to， but as I read this， I realized I myself suffer from dyslexia- explaining the kiddos， sorry guys。 Labeled gifted and “reading” at 2 I had memorized every word as a snapshot and my reading levels were off the charts but my comprehension wasn’t where it belonged。 Diagnosed as gifted， my whole life everyone has told me to slo So， as mom to 3 dyslexia kiddos （one undiagnosed but with all the markers） holy cow this book blew my mind。 Now， I also know kids with Dyslexia who these things don’t apply to， but as I read this， I realized I myself suffer from dyslexia- explaining the kiddos， sorry guys。 Labeled gifted and “reading” at 2 I had memorized every word as a snapshot and my reading levels were off the charts but my comprehension wasn’t where it belonged。 Diagnosed as gifted， my whole life everyone has told me to slow down when I speak。 I always joke I never should’ve graduated high school because math completely escaped me- but I could look at problems and answer them without doing math something infuriated my teacher！ He was a good guy but spent an entire year trying to figure out how I was pulling answers out of the air after testing me differently than the other kids because he thought I was cheating。 Thankfully， I graduated before they switched over the regents to make you show all your work！ As I read I could see my son on every page。 It was a helpful reminder to try to see the world through his eyes。 As a teacher， and not an expert， I’m sure this method won’t work for every kid， but I think there is immense valuein the simple and conversational way he describes the challenges of dyslexia。 I think it would be life changing for both kids and parents if everyone read the way he struggled。 The explanation of the manifestation is so clear and when you try to explain that you see the world differently generally people think you’re kind of crazy。 I still have to reorientate when I do read-alouds with my class because the words pop off the page but I can control my reading well。 OG is our go to dyslexia treatment but I might try some tricks from the Davis method to see how they go！ 。。。more
Frediem
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Very interested book。 It opened my eyes on dyslexia。
Damos
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Something doesn't sit right about this book。 A book I think those with dyslexia may enjoy but educators not so much。I don't agree with several claims made by the author。 The idea of a fix， the visualisation conundrum， disorientation & altered perception & several other dichotomous observations。I think what really triggered me was the concluding line of chapter 12 （not to mention the title） "At this point， it would be safe to say that the person's dyslexia is corrected"。 Then his claim to autism。 Something doesn't sit right about this book。 A book I think those with dyslexia may enjoy but educators not so much。I don't agree with several claims made by the author。 The idea of a fix， the visualisation conundrum， disorientation & altered perception & several other dichotomous observations。I think what really triggered me was the concluding line of chapter 12 （not to mention the title） "At this point， it would be safe to say that the person's dyslexia is corrected"。 Then his claim to autism。 Then a ridiculous quote from Piaget。 I know Piaget is a highly referenced educational theorist but that doesn't mean he represents best practice。 。。。more
Anna
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Trying to read several books to better understand my son's dyslexia。 This is helpful to understand what dyslexia is like from a dyslexic's point of view。 Trying to read several books to better understand my son's dyslexia。 This is helpful to understand what dyslexia is like from a dyslexic's point of view。 。。。more
Thomas
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I lost it in Kingston University library， or perhaps on the train， anyway I read about a sentence and it seemed OK。
Kristy Moore
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I'm hyperlexic， and can't imagine （nor remember， as I began reading aloud before age 2） looking at words in my native language and not being able to decipher the symbols into concepts and ideas。 （I have poor visual imagination， however。）This book does a good job of explaining to me how dyslexia feels to the dyslexic person。Several of the exercises and techniques described are the same or similar to those done by Occupational and Physical Therapists for my son who has ADHD and PDD-NOS （ASD） and m I'm hyperlexic， and can't imagine （nor remember， as I began reading aloud before age 2） looking at words in my native language and not being able to decipher the symbols into concepts and ideas。 （I have poor visual imagination， however。）This book does a good job of explaining to me how dyslexia feels to the dyslexic person。Several of the exercises and techniques described are the same or similar to those done by Occupational and Physical Therapists for my son who has ADHD and PDD-NOS （ASD） and my daughter who is autistic and speech delayed and shows some tendency towards dyscalculia。 。。。more
Pat Carswell
，
This was recommended as a means of understanding a particular program for dyslexics of all ages touted to assist in their learning difficulties。 I say， touted， because of the skepticism that set in。 Initially， viewing dyslexia as a gift was enlightening， particularly as well-recognized names came up as ‘dyslexic survivors。’ （my term） The early chapters tried to explain the difficulty in diagnosis， the author’s personal experiences， and conclusions about the development and process of the dyslexi This was recommended as a means of understanding a particular program for dyslexics of all ages touted to assist in their learning difficulties。 I say， touted， because of the skepticism that set in。 Initially， viewing dyslexia as a gift was enlightening， particularly as well-recognized names came up as ‘dyslexic survivors。’ （my term） The early chapters tried to explain the difficulty in diagnosis， the author’s personal experiences， and conclusions about the development and process of the dyslexic mind。 When the analysis turned to anecdotal reports and a series of sequential steps to undertake for overcoming reading or other academic problems， the scientific tenet of proof went missing。 The author， whose qualifications are neither medical nor psychological， originated the eponymous universal program， based on his own experiments and results。 What is irking is that the program has been accepted， does seem to show successful results， and is making this man thousands of dollars。 What seems to be a clinical process on the verge of quackery is astounding in its existence， proliferation。 and profitability。 I don’t know what to make of it。 。。。more
Axel Gudmundsson
，
This book took my whole life on a wonderful new path; doing what I love every single day。 It can transform your life too if you let it。My wife is an interior architect and a psychotherapist。 She is also dyslexic， dyscalculic， dyspraxic， and ADHD。 She hated school as a child， and even as an adult she really struggled with simple arithmetic。 She could read， but it was laborious and slow。 When she was in her late thirties a friend told her about this book and she got me to read it， in the hope that This book took my whole life on a wonderful new path; doing what I love every single day。 It can transform your life too if you let it。My wife is an interior architect and a psychotherapist。 She is also dyslexic， dyscalculic， dyspraxic， and ADHD。 She hated school as a child， and even as an adult she really struggled with simple arithmetic。 She could read， but it was laborious and slow。 When she was in her late thirties a friend told her about this book and she got me to read it， in the hope that I would follow the instructions in the book and help her overcome her dyslexia。 I read the book and was intrigued， but I thought it sounded too good to be true。 It claimed that I could transform in my wife's dyslexia from a burden into an asset in less than a week！ It didn't help that the author was American - a lot of snake-oil has been "invented" in the USA。 So I DIDN'T follow the simple instructions in the book - not until my wife took me to a public lecture by the author Ron Davis， and I had the opportunity to ask him all the hard questions the book had raised in my mind。 He responded to my scepticism with the simple and humble authority of someone who KNOWS from direct experience。 Ron Davis is an autistic and dyslexic genius， who didn't learn to speak in sentences until he was 17 years old。 He was functionally illiterate until his late thirties， when he discovered the key aspect of what is now known as the Davis methods。 This enabled him to read his first ever book - cover to cover - in one night。 His life was instantly transformed， and ever since he has been on a mission to empower others to do the same。These methods have now transformed the lives of tens of thousands of dyslexic， dyscalculic， dyspraxic， an ADHD children and adults all over the world - including mine and my wife's。 You see， after seeing my wife overcame all her learning challenges I decided to join Ron Davis on his mission; I trained as a Davis Dyslexia Facilitator， and I have been fortunate enough to spend my every working hour transforming lives and raising awareness about this amazing method of learning。 Apart from marrying my wife and adopting my daughter， this has been the best decision in my life。 In my training I discovered that I "have" ADHD。 This explained why I had always been late to every appointment I had ever made; why my life was full of unintended consequences， despite my best efforts to think things through; why school was so easy for me （yes）， and why I preferred to learn hands-on。 Why I am so creative and curious。 Every single piece of my life made sense when I came to this realisation。 Even the choice to leave my psychotherapy training to become a Davis Facilitator was due to my ADHD。 Like so many with ADHD， I love instant gratification， and that is what a Davis programme gives me every single day - instant results， constant sense of achievement and making a difference。 Thank you Ron Davis for your huge gift to humanity - the Gift of Dyslexia。 。。。more
Nicky
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This was the first time I'd ever known anyone describe dyslexia as anything other than a problem。 It started me on a journey to really knowing myself and finding out as must as I could about dyslexia。 This was the first time I'd ever known anyone describe dyslexia as anything other than a problem。 It started me on a journey to really knowing myself and finding out as must as I could about dyslexia。 。。。more
Jeffrey Ballein
，
This book helped me understand better how to recognize and help those that struggled with this。
Dorotea Kos
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0。00000001
Kayla Wilson
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While some research has been done， the vast majority of this book is junk science that was disproved even at the time of publishing in 1994。 Don't bother reading it。 While some research has been done， the vast majority of this book is junk science that was disproved even at the time of publishing in 1994。 Don't bother reading it。 。。。more
Joyce
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There appears to be some controversy around this book。 Those who rate it poorly seem to do so based merely on the fact that the theory that Davis posits is not supported （or referenced） by scientific data。 Those who rate it （and the program itself， elsewhere） well do so because they or someone they love have personally experienced the program or the effects described in the book and can affirm it first-hand。 I think it's a great theory。 It opened my eyes， as a Grade 3 teacher who has very poor v There appears to be some controversy around this book。 Those who rate it poorly seem to do so based merely on the fact that the theory that Davis posits is not supported （or referenced） by scientific data。 Those who rate it （and the program itself， elsewhere） well do so because they or someone they love have personally experienced the program or the effects described in the book and can affirm it first-hand。 I think it's a great theory。 It opened my eyes， as a Grade 3 teacher who has very poor visual-spatial reasoning， to the way some of my students might be learning and how I might better teach them。 And if it is not backed by anything but experience -- that of Ron Davis and thousands more dyslexics who have benefitted from his theory and counseling program -- so what？ Experience should not be discounted simply because it has yet to be proven scientifically。 It would be like hiring one candidate who has lots of degrees but less experience versus hiring someone who gained a lot of knowledge through experience， but not through school。 Davis' experience has benefitted lots of dyslexics。 His book has benefitted me to see things from a different perspective。 Pun fully intended。 。。。more
Michelle Rogers
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A pretty good book describing dyslexia and one correction approach for struggles that result from this processing style。 It was easy to read and fairly clear and concise。 I really enjoyed how the author worked to describe dyslexia through his own experiences and those of clients he had worked with。
Christina
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I gleaned a lot of helpful information from this book but parts of it were difficult for me to understand。 I don’t think I would feel comfortable implementing the various assessments and procedures without additional study on the topic。 This was my first book on dyslexia， so perhaps things will be clearer as I continue studying the topic， although I am curious what other professionals will say about their different techniques， theories， and recommendations。
run。mama。run
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I thought the first part of the book was interesting。。。but personally I am not able to read the last half and understand how to do the exercises that will help with Dyslexia。
Rachel Smith
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Excellent book。 My children have dyslexia and I like to read as much as I can about it。 I recommend this book！
Annette Spratte
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Das Buch war echt ein Augenöffner und wird uns die nächsten Wochen begleiten。 Bin gespannt， ob es hilft。
Janet M
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This was a bunch of psycho babble nonsense。 :-/
Corey
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I’ve recently learned that one of my children is a high functioning dyslexic。 I’m so excited to try these techniques and try to help her overcome any issues she has from dyslexia， but I’m also terrified I’ll somehow do it wrong and make things worse！ I also appreciate the importance of recognizing the “gifts” of dyslexia and better understanding how the way my kiddo processes things differently can be advantageous。 That will help me to encourage talents and skills that she can excel at。 （I also I’ve recently learned that one of my children is a high functioning dyslexic。 I’m so excited to try these techniques and try to help her overcome any issues she has from dyslexia， but I’m also terrified I’ll somehow do it wrong and make things worse！ I also appreciate the importance of recognizing the “gifts” of dyslexia and better understanding how the way my kiddo processes things differently can be advantageous。 That will help me to encourage talents and skills that she can excel at。 （I also found the connection to autism， ADD and ADHD very interesting。 There’s a list （in the back） of recommended books for overcoming those disorders through training techniques rather than just medicating everyone。） 。。。more
Lilly Hall
，
The thing I found most interesting about this book is the number of famous people that had dyslexia。 It was interesting the ways that they experienced dyslexia。 There are many different ways that people experience dyslexias。 It was interesting the way that they coped with it and the way that it showed through them。 Yet no-one thought they had a disability。 For those people， it shined through them and everyone thought they were so talented。I would say that the gift of dyslexia is a good book that The thing I found most interesting about this book is the number of famous people that had dyslexia。 It was interesting the ways that they experienced dyslexia。 There are many different ways that people experience dyslexias。 It was interesting the way that they coped with it and the way that it showed through them。 Yet no-one thought they had a disability。 For those people， it shined through them and everyone thought they were so talented。I would say that the gift of dyslexia is a good book that shows the way that people deal with dyslexia and the way that they should deal with dyslexia。 It shows the ways that it can help and what can hurt。 I think that this book was good but nonfiction is already something that I don’t nearly like。 Ronald Davis actually made a compony that was revolved around this book。 。。。more
Heather Doolittle
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I think this book is misleading and even harmful in regards to dealing with dyslexia。 I would not recommend it to anyone。
Kari C
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Read this to help Logan。 I’ll come back and give it more stars if it actually works
April
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I thought that this was a good book to read。 My son was just diagnosed with Dyslexia and not knowing much about it。 It was a good book to learn some things on dyslexia。 I would recommend this book。
Amyiw
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In the end， some of the methods might work with some dyslexics。 It is mental visualization and in some manner meditativeThis should be anecdotal evidence of how the dyslexic brain works by a Asperger denier with dyslexia。 He actually says that he "had autism"。 Then points that many of the stories of PD （potential dyslexic） were actually him as a child。 I'm only halfway through and there are points that are correct but so much that is just not。 I'm a dyslexic， noticed and tested my first year of In the end， some of the methods might work with some dyslexics。 It is mental visualization and in some manner meditativeThis should be anecdotal evidence of how the dyslexic brain works by a Asperger denier with dyslexia。 He actually says that he "had autism"。 Then points that many of the stories of PD （potential dyslexic） were actually him as a child。 I'm only halfway through and there are points that are correct but so much that is just not。 I'm a dyslexic， noticed and tested my first year of college and yes， many kids are labeled dumb as grade schooler。 My 2nd grade teacher did this， told my parents I was "slow" and should be held back。 Then the standardized testing came out （In the 70s and were called the IOWAs） which proved her very wrong。 This is not always the case but today teachers do notice more when children are having issues with following along。So fast foward 25 years and my son is diagnosed as a dyslexic （which here they say is not correct terminology， ok I get that they want to be more precise on what is causing the dyslexia） which means， dys （that is not working） lexia （language）， in some way language doesn't work for you。 He had 3 areas。 Unluckily this is noticed in 2nd grade and fought about for a year before intervention。 It worked for him to go from not reading at the beginning of 3rd grade to being slightly slower but high comprehension graduate。 Why， sound to combination of letters recognition， orton gillingham。 I already hear this author maligning this though I am only a little over 1/2 way through。 This was nearly 18 years ago。 I read Overcoming Dyslexia: A New and Complete Science-Based Program for Reading Problems at Any Level and learning that the brain pathways could be remapped， that MRI actually showed the right side （non-language side） all lit up for dyslexics while reading and not for the normal kids （what is normal）。 Yes， some of what he says makes sense， the brain is too busy but not the way he describes it。Fast forward to 12 years ago， and I noticed my daughter having the same symtoms but this time I started looking by the age of 2。 We put her into early language intervention （public）， then hands on montessori for a year。 She had caught up talk wise and started to be right with the other kids in recognizing sound letter combinations。 She still had a serious language slow down though in thought processes to organize thought。 Yes， thoughts are all over the place in dyslexics， I don't agree with the author as to the why。 So trying to put sentences together or heaven forbid on paper， took a lot longer。 Today we have a middle schooler that might need a little extra time but tests very high in all her subjects。Having experienced dyslexia （not autism） though myself and my 2 children， I just keep shaking my head at a lot of what is in this book so far。 。。。more
DK Simoneau
，
Luckily I read the Dyslexic Advantage first and had the understanding that dyslexia has quite a spectrum of strengths and weaknesses。 But if you were to read only this book and use it as your textbook version of what dyslexia is and ways to work around it you would be missing tons。 I cannot relate first handedly to the types of issues that prevail in this book。 It did seem to relate to some things I have had understood in relation to certain dyslexia weaknesses and thus the solutions may very we Luckily I read the Dyslexic Advantage first and had the understanding that dyslexia has quite a spectrum of strengths and weaknesses。 But if you were to read only this book and use it as your textbook version of what dyslexia is and ways to work around it you would be missing tons。 I cannot relate first handedly to the types of issues that prevail in this book。 It did seem to relate to some things I have had understood in relation to certain dyslexia weaknesses and thus the solutions may very well be helpful to some。 But it certainly isn’t an end all for every kind of dyslexic case out there。 Proceed with caution。 It may or may not be helpful。 。。。more
Emily
，
A must-read for parents who suspect their kids have dyslexia。
Bridget Hanks
，
I struggled with a rating on this one。 I read it to try to understand my husband better and it really didn’t work。 He does a much better job of explaining his own mind than Davis does （duh）。 It wasn’t a particularly compelling or interesting book and I struggled to get through it。 I couldn’t wrap my mind around how dyslexics process information because it’s so different from my own process。 I skimmed the second half of the book。 So why four stars？ Because this worked for my husband and changed h I struggled with a rating on this one。 I read it to try to understand my husband better and it really didn’t work。 He does a much better job of explaining his own mind than Davis does （duh）。 It wasn’t a particularly compelling or interesting book and I struggled to get through it。 I couldn’t wrap my mind around how dyslexics process information because it’s so different from my own process。 I skimmed the second half of the book。 So why four stars？ Because this worked for my husband and changed his life。 If you’re dyslexic or are trying to help someone who is， this may click with you/them the way it clicked with my husband， so I highly recommend it。 I’m not dyslexic， so it really didn’t click with me。 It just gave me a headache。 。。。more
Deb Buck
，
The book is easy to read and insightful， but I only skimmed the back half of the book as it is procedural and I didn't feel overly useful for us。 The book is easy to read and insightful， but I only skimmed the back half of the book as it is procedural and I didn't feel overly useful for us。 。。。more
Emmet MacDonncha
，