BEAT ADULT DYSLEXIA IN 2009 - written by Allen Harp

BEAT ADULT DYSLEXIA IN 2009
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TOOLS FOR THE DYSLEXIC: LEARNING TO NAVIGATE THROUGH A NON-DYSLEXIC WORLD WHEN YOU VIEW THE WORLD COMPLETELY DIFFERENTLY
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As a biology major in college writing out DNA sequences, I regularly flipped the amino acids for others not only getting it completely incorrect, but it made my professors wonder how I could possibly continue with a degree in biology. I would answer questions in a "jumbled" fashion and yet the teachers never understood what was happening in my mind. Personally, I believe teachers will sometimes overlook dyslexia because it takes more energy out of their class schedules to help a student learn. Even though I understood biological and chemical principles, the way I thought about math problems so differently that it made it hard for me to communicate my thoughts about a given topic with my chemistry or biology professors. While dyslexia torments and greatly frustrates the people that suffer with it, employers and those that live with the dyslexic are equally frustrated because of the way the dyslexic mind flip flops much of the information the dyslexic comes in contact with. This is a sad truth of our educational system as many teachers will not work harder to help all of their students. Yes, it was incredibly frustrating, but I also learned how to deal with my dyslexic moments so I could speak and write correctly for him. When I got into high school math, I had trouble writing numbers in a format where I would remember which number was in which line making it increasingly difficult for me to find the correct answer to the problem.

PUBLIC SPEAKING
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Think about everything that you say and compile the sentence in your mind before speaking it. If you are obviously thinking about what you say, the individual you are speaking with will be impressed and will find that you are a "careful" individual, more professional and smart. Sometimes, in a dyslexic moment, I will be thinking so fast, I will not stop to think about what I am saying. Perhaps you want to speak quickly because it seems impressive when others do it? Many individuals believe if they speak something quickly, he or she will impress their boss or other individuals he or she is speaking with.

VERB AGREEMENTS
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Do not be afraid to correct yourself if correcting yourself means you are conveying yourself in a correct fashion. Most individuals will be impressed with the idea that you understand correct verb usage and have the confidence in yourself to correct yourself. The first is what was discussed in the last section; slow down when you are speaking so you can compile your thoughts and construct a good sentence that will convey your message to another person.

WRITING
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Also, if you find that you are not catching everything yet are still making mistakes, you may need to enlist a friend, loved one or professional editor to check your dyslexic mistakes. When writing letters, papers or memos, the same holds true. Make sure you check everything you write carefully.

TAKING STANDARDIZED TESTS
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By analyzing, you test in these two ways, you will understand what needs to happen in the future when taking this type of exam. Then continue on to the next question. Sample Question: The feral cat population is heavy in certain parts of the country. (A B C D) When you go to fill in the answer, double check it against the question making sure you have in fact filled in answer A. So, how can you combat these aspects of a standardized test, (not reading into questions and checking make sure you have filled in each and every answer), by carefully checking your work. Without analyzing prior tests, you will never understand where you went wrong and will incidentally not understand how to correct these issues for future exams. Dyslexics do this on a regular basis without knowing they did this, and are furious with his or her self when they inadvertently got the wrong answer. Do numbers 1-5 correspond with the answers you think you recorded? Make sure before you continue. Second, when you get to the end of the page of your answer booklet, recheck all of the answers you have recorded for that page. If you can see the instructor prior to taking the exam, (about a week before), ask to see some sample questions.

INSTRUCTIONS
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The bottom line for combating dyslexia simply is getting into the hang of rereading, proofreading, double and triple checking everything you say or do. In addition, simple tasks of left and right can be exceedingly difficult for me when I am driving to a location different then how the directions have me approaching the location. I find that my flip flopping nature has not changed, but with the tools I have put in place, I have been able to figure out quickly what I did wrong to fix it efficiently. What I wasn't realizing at the time was that I was jumbling the instructions in my mind. Also, looking at a map before you venture out will also prove to be useful and even more helpful is a GPS unit to read directions to you as you drive. It took another person who could look at the instructions objectively to show me where I was going wrong. You should find the tools that help you the most because it will only make your life easier.