Baixe Gift Dyslexia e outras Notas de estudo em PDF para Bioquímica, somente na Docsity! The Gift of Dyslexia Page 1 of 11 9/24/2009 The Gift of Dyslexia! Dyslexia as seen through eyes of the New Sciences Below is an overview of dyslexia as seen through the eyes of evolutionary biology and the new sciences (genetics and neuroscience). To give you an idea of how many of the greatest minds the world has ever seen have been dyslexic minds, following this article is a list of some of the very famous thought leaders with the Gift of Dyslexia. ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ When viewed though the eyes of the new sciences, our paradigm begins to shift from seeing dyslexia as a disorder to be feared; to seeing dyslexia as an evolutionary gift to be embraced. This paradigm shift allows us to see why those with dyslexia such as Albert Einstein, Erin Brockovich, Walt Disney, Winston Churchill and Charles Schwab are, and have been, such special and important people to the successful social, technical, artistic, business and scientific development of our human species. Later in this paper, we will examine why it is so destructive to allow a dyslexic to see themselves as damaged or incomplete. The very categorization of dyslexia as a “disorder” (instead of a gift) can lock both a child and an adult into lifelong negative and damaging behavioral patterns. This negative view can also inhibit a dyslexic (possibly forever) from accessing the rich gifts their unique genes actually offer to them and the world. The Biological View of Dyslexia Let’s examine why dyslexic genes are so critically important to our species. I’m going to get a little scientific here, but this will give us a better understanding why dyslexics are so vital to the The Gift of Dyslexia Page 2 of 11 9/24/2009 success of our society and why, from a biological perspective, dyslexia is not a disorder, but a gift. First, it is important to understand that evolution does not make mistakes which then persist over many generations. Dyslexia has been recognized for hundreds of years (although until recently, it did not have a specific name) and dyslexic genes have undoubtedly been around since man first appeared on earth. We believe this to be true because the genes for dyslexia have a strong tendency to be inherited and exhibited in the phenotype (meaning the way our genes cause us to interact with the world). How do we know dyslexic genes have a strong tendency to be inherited? Because, depending on the source, it is estimated that an incredible 5 to 15 percent1 of the world population have the gift of dyslexia! To put this number into better context, consider that 7 to 10 percent of the world population has genes for left‐ handedness.2 So as you can see, dyslexic genes are not so rare at all. In biological terms, we call such genes, like the ones for dyslexia, which persist over time and are widespread across the species, hardy. With their dominance and persistence, dyslexic genes exhibit all the qualities of hardiness.3 To make a long genetic story very, very short; this means that through the process of Natural Selection, nature has decided that the genes which code for dyslexia (like the DCDC2 gene) are vital to the survival of our species. They are here to stay. There is no way 5‐15% of the population could carry and pass on these hardy genes if they did not favorably support the continued existence of the species as a whole.4 How Dyslexic Genes Support Species Success So the question is; how exactly do these dyslexic genes support the survival of our species? Before we answer that question, it is important to recognize that each of the 6 billion human brains on the face of our earth act as a powerful intelligence resource; the entire species draws The Gift of Dyslexia Page 5 of 11 9/24/2009 Much like the mismatch John Gray wrote about in his famous book, Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus. (Men and women do indeed have different brain plans which, in turn, cause a lot of miscommunication between the sexes). When examined from this double mismatch context, it’s easy to see how “The System” and its managers could perceive dyslexia not as a gift, but as a disorder. It is my firm belief that the more we understand the biological underpinnings of dyslexia, the faster we will be able to develop learning systems that support the dyslexic way of learning. Because many of the traditional therapists who treat dyslexia are also linguistic‐dominant, this mismatch often extends into the therapy setting. This therapy mismatch also helps perpetrate and extend the idea that dyslexia is a dysfunction. Other Brain Differences While for simplicity’s sake in this paper, we mainly focus on the mismatch between the linguistic‐dominance of the system/administrators and the visual‐dominance represented by the dyslexic brain, recent research shows that there are even more brain structure differences between the two groups. It has now been found that the thalamus of the dyslexic brain has a different shape from the average brain. The thalamus is a "processing‐station" located at the center of the brain, a major stop for information transmitted from our sensory organs (touch, taste, sound, etc.) to the higher‐level processing cerebral cortex. Another brain structure difference is brain hemisphere symmetry. The human brain has two hemispheres and recent studies show the brains of dyslexics are much more symmetrical than the average brain. The difference in the thalamus and symmetry of the dyslexic brain forces it to process information much differently than other brains. This difference also exacerbates the mismatch between the traditional educational system and the dyslexic brain; further adding to the stress on the dyslexic learner.6 The Gift of Dyslexia Page 6 of 11 9/24/2009 Danger: Stress and the Dyslexic Brain So what happens when dyslexics are forced to learn in environments which do not fit their brain plan; managed by people whose own neurological makeup is very different from those they are attempting to teach? The answer is stress and lots of it! Imagine waking up each and every day and having to go into a world where you felt you did not fit in and where those in authority saw you as “damaged?” Welcome to a day in the world of a dyslexic. Each day a dyslexic sits in the traditional school system, he or she feels a lot like you might feel sitting in a classroom with someone running their fingernails down the blackboard … all day long! Over time, the double mismatch problem makes the classroom a very hostile place to the visual‐ dominant dyslexic brain; which in turn causes a dramatic, profound and extended biological stress response in the dyslexic learner. This is not good. Why? Let me explain a little about stress and its effect on the brain. When you are in a stressful situation, like a bad relationship, being unhappy with your job or having dyslexia and sitting in a traditional classroom for hours on end, the adrenal glands respond. Under stress, the top of the adrenal gland emits a hormone called cortisol. Research shows that this cortisol‐ hormone‐stress response was not designed to be flooding our bodies and minds for extended periods of time. This critical response is only designed to be switched on for short periods. What happens when the cortisol response floods our bodies and minds hour after hour after hour, day after day, week after week? As the list below illustrates, the effects are not good. The Effects of Stress/Cortisol on the Brain • Cortisol atrophies and withers neural connections. • Extended high levels of cortisol inhibit the creation of new brain cells. The Gift of Dyslexia Page 7 of 11 9/24/2009 • Cortisol negatively affects specialized neurons called glial cells; inhibiting them from transporting nutrients, cleaning up neuron waste and making the insulation that surrounds and protects neural wiring. • Cortisol compromises learning by promoting the negative expression of specific genes, resulting in the creation of neural tangles (cFos Gene), an obstruction of working memory function and a propensity to engage in reckless behaviors. • Extended stress causes negative neurochemical reactions in the brain, producing neural static, which garbles the brain's ability to effectively prioritize information so it can be effectively remembered. • Cortisol destroys the brain's ability to effectively drop into the incubation states where memory is consolidated. • Extended high levels of cortisol also cause a neurological downshift. This phenomenon occurs when, under stress, the blood flow and energy in your brain shifts from the upper and most‐evolved brain centers to your least‐evolved lower brain centers. This in turn compromises both learning and memory and drives impulsive behaviors. Why are most dyslexics so unhappy in the traditional school system? Because all of the above negative stress induced brain reactions are happening to them, as they try to sit still in their chairs. No wonder they complain so vehemently. One of my sons, who’s only marginally dyslexic, explained to me that sitting in language‐based classrooms, hour after hour after hour, felt like getting an ice pick poked in his eye! As parents and administrators, we must ask ourselves…are we willing to expose our precious dyslexic children to these learning environments that are so toxic to the most important organ in their bodies? Do we really want to force our children into learning environments which literally kill the very neurons and neural connections they will need to succeed throughout the rest of their life? The Gift of Dyslexia Page 10 of 11 9/24/2009 4 Things can get somewhat complicated in genetics. An example is that often genes, which code for a good thing, can also code for a bad thing. Take the HBB gene which is found in region 15.5 on the short (p) arm of human chromosome 11 which codes for Sickle Cell disease. Those with only one of the two alleles of the sickle‐cell disease are more resistant to malaria, since the infestation of the malaria plasmodium is halted by the sickled cells which it infests. It is the belief that all hardy genes, even those that may code for a disease, have other functions which add to the positive survival of the species or they could not maintain their hardiness. 5 I am greatly simplifying here to make a point; because of the diverse and different forms of dyslexia many experts call dyslexia a syndrome (a collection of symptoms that characterize a specific condition). In other words, dyslexia can take many different forms and still be called dyslexia. What does seem to be universal is that virtually all dyslexics with language/reading/writing/spelling difficulties prefer to process information in the visual cortex and through experience. 6 Structural Brain Differences in Kids with Dyslexia; By Gordon Sherman, Ph.D. A good article explaining brain differences, on the Great Schools web site, Go to http://www.greatschools.net and type in the name of the article in search box. 7 Some children with dyslexia struggle to read because their brains aren't properly wired to process fast‐changing sounds, according to a brain‐imaging study published in the journal Restorative Neurology and Neuroscience (online October 16). The study found that sound training via computer exercises can literally rewire children's brains, correcting the sound processing problem and improving reading. According to the study's first author, Nadine Gaab, PhD, of the Developmental Medicine Center Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience at Children's Hospital Boston, the finding may someday help clinicians diagnose dyslexia even before reading begins, and suggests new ways of treating dyslexia, such as musical training. ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ Thought Leaders with the Gift of Dyslexia Actors & Entertainers: Anthony Andrews, Marlon Brando, Orlando Bloom, Tom Cruise, Brian Conley, Bob Hoskins, Eddie Izzard, Fred Astaire, Harry Belafonte, George Burns, Ben Elton, Dave Foley, Harrison Ford, Danny Glover, Tracey Gold, Whoopi Goldberg, Susan Hampshire, Dustin Hoffman, Keira Knightley, Jay Leno, River Phoenix, Sylvester Stallone, Billy Bob Thornton, Lindsay Wagner, James Whale, Robin Williams, Henry Winkler, Loretta Young, Liv Tyler, Zoe Wanamaker, Johnny Depp, Ruby Wax and Keanu Reeves. Chefs: Jamie Oliver, Marco Pierre‐White, Rick Stein, James Martin, Ed Baines, Jean‐Christophe Novelli and Sophie Conran. The Gift of Dyslexia Page 11 of 11 9/24/2009 Artists, Designers & Architects: Tommy Hilfiger, David Bailey (photographer), Leonardo da Vinci, Pablo Picasso, Auguste Rodin, Lord Richard Rogers, Simon Menzies, Tomas Starzenski, Jørn Utzon (architect who designed the Sydney Opera House), Andy Warhol and Mark Wilkinson. Athletes & Sportsmen: Sir Jackie Stewart (race car driver), Muhammad Ali, Duncan Goodhew (Olympic swimmer), Bruce Jenner, Magic Johnson, Carl Lewis, Greg Louganis, Johnny Herbert, Sandy Lyle Golfer, Paul Merson and Sir Steve Redgrave. Inventors & Scientists: Ann Bancroft (artic explorer), Alexander Graham Bell, Thomas Edison, Albert Einstein, Michael Faraday, Wright Brothers, Sir Isaac Newton and Henry Ford. Business Leaders & Entrepreneurs: Sir Richard Branson, Guy Hands, Lord Phillip Harris, Bill Gates, John T Chambers (CEO, Cisco Systems), William Hewlett (Co‐Founder, Hewlett‐Packard), Charles Schwab, Peter Stringfellow, Ted Turner (President, Turner Broadcasting Systems), F.W. Woolworth, Theo Paphitis and Simon Woodruff. Filmmakers & Directors: Nicole Betancourt (Emmy‐winning filmmaker), Walt Disney, Lynda La Plante, Robert Benton, Steven Speilberg and Quentin Tarrantino. Composers, Musicians & Vocalists: Beethoven, Mozart, Damon Albarn, Cher, Noel Gallagher, Brad Little, John Lennon, Nigel Kennedy (violinist), Bob Weir (Grateful Dead guitarist), Toyah Wilcox, Harry Belafonte, Lee Ryan (member of Blue), Robbie Williams and Mika. Political & Military Leaders: Winston Churchill, George Bush, George W Bush, Dwight Eisenhower, Benjamin Franklin, Michael Heseltine, Andrew Jackson, Thomas Jefferson, John F. Kennedy, Nelson Rockefeller, Woodrow Wilson, George Washington, Thomas Jonathan, 'Stonewall' Jackson and George Patton. Writers: AA Gill, John Irving, Hans Christian Andersen, Jeanne Betancourt, Agatha Christie, Edgar Allen Poe, Bernie Taylor, W.B. Yeats and Benjamin Zafamiah. Law & Justice: David Boies (attorney), Erin Brockovich (investigator), Jeffrey H. Gallet (judge) and Nelson Rockefeller (former Governor of New York). Media & Fashion: Jerry Hall, Meg Matthews, Sophie Dahl and Jodie Kidd. (Source: http://www.xtraordinarypeople.com/celebrity/21/Kelly‐Hoppen/)