Janet Silvera
WESTERN BUREAU:
TWENTY-FIVE years ago Dr. Barbara Matalon of the University of the West Indies spoke about learning disabilities in Jamaica. Not many persons at the time, knew that dyslexia affected the ability to read and write.
Some of the greatest creators, such as Leonardo Da Vinci and Einstein were dyslexics. Many Jamaicans suffer from the condition, but unless educators are trained to perceive the disability, it's not easily recognised.
What are some of the characteristics of a dyslexic? It should be noted that not all dyslexics have the same patterns, so some of these items may not apply. But if a few or more apply to you, seek professional advice.
If you crawled on your stomach instead of crept as a baby, you were slow in learning to walk and talk, you were considered clumsy as a child, you were poor in athletics and remained poor after putting great effort into sports, you may be dyslexic.
Flair spoke with the parent of a dyslexic child, Mr. Trevor Swaby of Savanna-la-Mar, Westmoreland. "We noticed he was slow in almost everything, he wrote very badly and for him to read a paragraph he had to read it five or six times".
He describes his son Trevor Jr. as being extremely intelligent, very aggressive and becomes angry very easily. Before he discovered the condition, Mr. Swaby says his son was flogged quite a few times by his teachers when he was in primary school. "He was given a very hard time".
The proud father didn't give up on his son, and with a lot of patience and love, young Swaby was successful in his GSAT examinations.
Patience is a necessity when dealing with a dyslexic and many teachers in local schools appear neither to have the patience, nor the knowledge to deal with the condition.
However, there is hope for children in Westmoreland. A literary arts centre called Dance Drama English and Language Arts Preparatory (DELA), which is the brainchild of Mrs. Rosie Palmer has already helped over 40 adults and children with the disability.
Mrs. Palmer who is a trained teacher, has studied the disability unofficially at the Adult Dyslexia Organistion of Brixton, London, England has been doing a great job with adults and children in the community.
She is aware there are not enough facilities in the nation's classrooms and a lack of awareness.
"This is a perceptual disorder, which often shows itself in the orientation of letters and words that the child is trying to learn," she said.
She said signs of confusion with left and right hand orientation is known to affect between 4 and 20 per cent of the world's population.
The Adult Dyslexic Organisation in Westmoreland has been offered the international test by its developer Ian Smythe. But they are faced with the annual problem of funding.
If you are plagued with mood swings, become bored easily, are very creative, probably an inventor or you are better in science and mathematics than other subjects, you could be dyslexic.
This is the follow-up to last week's feature titled: Dr. Garth Vaz - dyslexic physician. We hope you found it instructive. In response to your calls, please note the following.
Several teachers now have degrees in special education and are better equipped to diagnose children with learning disabilities including dyslexia. The Special Education Unit and the Child Assessment & Research in Education (CARE) Centre at The Mico Teacher's College on Marescaux Road is a good place to start.
