General – Appears bright, highly intelligent, and articulate but unable to read, write, or spell at grade level. – Labeled lazy, dumb, careless, immature, "not trying hard enough," or "behavior problem." – Isn't "behind enough" or "bad enough" to be helped in the school setting. – High in IQ, yet may not test well academically; tests well orally, but not written. – Feels dumb; has poor self-esteem; hides or covers up weaknesses with ingenious compensatory strategies; easily frustrated and emotional about school reading or testing. – Talented in art, drama, music, sports, mechanics, story-telling, sales, business, designing, building, or engineering. – Seems to "Zone out" or daydream often; gets lost easily or loses track of time. – Difficulty sustaining attention; seems "hyper" or "daydreamer." – Learns best through hands-on experience, demonstrations, experimentation, observation, and visual aids.
Visual, Reading, and Spelling – Complains of dizziness, headaches or stomach aches while reading. – Confused by letters, numbers, words, sequences, or verbal explanations. – Reading or writing shows repetitions, additions, transpositions, omissions, substitutions, and reversals in letters, numbers and/or words. – Complains of feeling or seeing non-existent movement while reading, writing, or copying. – Seems to have difficulty with vision, yet eye exams don't reveal a problem. – Extremely keen sighted and observant, or lacks depth perception and peripheral vision. – Reads and rereads with little comprehension. – Spells phonetically and inconsistently.
Hearing and Speech – Has extended hearing; hears things not said or apparent to others; easily distracted by sounds. – Difficulty putting thoughts into words; speaks in halting phrases; leaves sentences incomplete; stutters under stress; mispronounces long words, or transposes phrases, words, and syllables when speaking.
Writing and Motor Skills – Trouble with writing or copying; pencil grip is unusual; handwriting varies or is illegible. – Clumsy, uncoordinated, poor at ball or team sports; difficulties with fine and/or gross motor skills and tasks; prone to motion-sickness. – Can be ambidextrous, and often confuses left/right, over/under.
Math and Time Management – Has difficulty telling time, managing time, learning sequenced information or tasks, or being on time. – Computing math shows dependence on finger counting and other tricks; knows answers, but can't do it on paper. – Can count, but has difficulty counting objects and dealing with money. – Can do arithmetic, but fails word problems; cannot grasp algebra or higher math.
Memory and Cognition – Excellent long-term memory for experiences, locations, and faces. – Poor memory for sequences, facts and information that has not been experienced. – Thinks primarily with images and feeling, not sounds or words (little internal dialogue).
Behavior, Health, Development and Personality – Extremely disorderly or compulsively orderly. – Can be class clown, trouble-maker, or too quiet. – Had unusually early or late developmental stages (talking, crawling, walking, tying shoes). – Prone to ear infections; sensitive to foods, additives, and chemical products. – Can be an extra deep or light sleeper; bedwetting beyond appropriate age. – Unusually high or low tolerance for pain. – Strong sense of justice; emotionally sensitive; strives for perfection. – Mistakes and symptoms increase dramatically with confusion, time pressure, emotional stress, or poor health.
Professional services described as Davis®, including Davis® Mastery for Dyslexia, Davis® Symbol Mastery, Davis® Orientation Counseling, Davis® Mastery for Attention , Davis® Mastery for Math, and Davis® Foundations for Reading Program may only be provided by persons who are trained and licensed as Davis Facilitators or Specialists by Davis Dyslexia Association International.
For program information, call 707-334-7662 [email protected] Located in Foresthill, California