Re: CHAT: dyslexia

On 29 March, Yoon Ha Lee wrote:
    (Quoting me:)
>>     But, from a clinical point of view, I'd be careful before
>> generalizing
>> results like these. People are taught to read using different methods,
>> and even in the same classroom, different kids use different
>> strategies to assimilate what they will be graded for. And once a person
>> is "up to speed" and reads quickly, it isn't apparent what strategy
>> (or mix of strategies) he/she is employing.
>>     Thus, a reader of a language with a Latin-based orthography
>> might just be using the same reading strategies
>> as a reader of logographs, in which case there would be no difference
>> between them, regardless of how the lang is written.
>
>Okay.  I'll pass that on to my curious friend.
    In my previous post, I forgot to mention something else
your friend might like to consider. Reading is not a simple thing.
Many cognitive skills must already be in place before the first
word can be read. Serious dysfunction in any of these skills
can disrupt, among other things, the acquiring of the ability
to read.
    In other words, the term "dyslexia", IMHO, is just a cover-term meaning
"trouble with reading". When considering the "why"
of the problem, many factors must be taken into account, and the
exact set of causes will probably vary from person to person.
Some might favor a logographic solution; others might work against
it .
    Visual perceptual problems, for example, might make complex
graphics harder to grasp while not causing so much trouble for
the simple graphics of an alphabet. Or, then again, as Steg
pointed out:

>  <snip>    "dbp" which can easily be mistaken for each other...

and complex logographic designs might actually be easier to
read due to more likelihood of finding areas of unique
patterning with which to differentiate them! It all depends upon each
person's individual
set of disabilities (and, of course, the degree to which the
skills are dysfunctional: there's a lot of difference between a mild
dysfunction and a severe one in each affected skill! )

>I wonder what reading strategy I use.  :-p  My sister and I were once
>given a reading-speed test in middle school in which they gave you a
>certain amount of time to read a passage; you had to stop when they
>called time and answer questions on the passage (presumably if you didn't
>finish the thing, you wouldn't be able to answer some of the questions).
>I think you might also have had to note where you stopped.  We were both
>amused because we could read the dratted passage twice in the allotted
>time....
I don't know, but it cetainly sounds effective!  :-)

Dan Sulani
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likehsna rtem zuv tikuhnuh auag inuvuz vaka'a.

A word is an awesome thing.

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