My roommate (J. Deigert) is dyslexic, and would like to share experiences with
other language-impaired grexers on problems and solutions and just how these
things affect your life.  Dyslexics (or at least this one) have trouble with
sequences, of which words are spelled, at least in English.  There are said
to be no Chinese dyslexics, as the words are all pictures.  Sequences of 7
characters are too long to keep in one's head at once.  Telephone numbers have
to be read aloud in two parts.  Words are read as a few letters at a time,
or the first couple letters plus the last couple letters plus a guess at the
middle (which results in some odd words at times).  Sequential events are
supposedly controlled by the left half of the brain in most people, and by
the right half in many dyslexics.  It is the same sort of problem as trying
to write left-handed if you are right-handed.  It can be done, but slowly and
with not too good results.  Deigert reads Books on Tape, from the Library for
the Blind and Dyslexic (formerly for the Blind and Physically Handicapped,
until they realized over half the readers were dyslexic).  Writing is also
a problem.  Words are written the way they sound, and unstressed vowels are
a particular problem.  The solution to reading is books on tape, and to
writing is a roommate who can spell.  Dyslexic handwriting (at least in this
case) is semilegible, so that even the writer has to guess at the meaning.
Dyslexia is diagnosed as above-average intelligence with way-below-average
reading and writing abilities.
        We would like to hear from anybody else with any sort of language
problem involving reading, writing (including physical problems), hearing and
speaking (aphasia).  We met one Grex-spouse who reads lips - are there others?
How do the problems affect different areas of your life?  How well can they
be compensated for?  What computer aids are there?  We were told that, in
addition to computers that will read books aloud for you, there are devices
which will take dictation.  What other sorts of mechanical aids are there?
How does reduced hearing affect one's life?  What is the proper way to speak
understandably to someone with reduced or no hearing?  Are there grexers
without larynxes?  Or who have had a stroke?  Or friends of relatives of
Grexers with language problems?  (Not including ordinary spelling difficulties
- Deigert will spell the same one syllable word three different ways in one
paragraph, and plays Scrabble with 2 and 3 letter words only).  Anyone out
there who types with less than 10 fingers?  Or has trouble reading small print
and has found a way to compensate?  Neurological, vision, hearing and physical
problems of any sort that interfere with language use?

11 responses total.

Stuttering - what situations or sounds cause it, how can you (the speaker or
the listener) help?  Lisping - I was diagnosed by my high school speech
therapist as having a lisp, after she made all of us read aloud.  The lisp
disappeared as soon as she tried to work with me.  I think I am just nervous
speaking in groups (a group is about four or more people).  A friend was
tongue-tied speaking to strangers but had no trouble giving speeches
(monologs) on the debate team.  The speech process is complicated.

If anyone with an impairment wants to remain incognito, you could sign on as
a newuser.  Please share your experiences - you are not alone, and it would
be educational for all of us.

This item is now linked. (item 90 in Language and item 18 in
Disabilities)

Thanks Mike.  Is your conference still active?

Sort of, if you consider one responce in five months active.  Seriously,
the conference has never been as active as I had hoped.  However, several
very good discussions have taken place since the start of the cf.  I am
afraid I do not participate in grex as much as I used to, and I suspect
this is part of the reason this conference is nearly dormant.  When I do
log onto grex I have noticed what seems to be a trend towards everybody
conferencing in agora and less in other conferences. A number of the
conferences I used to participate in have only one or two active topics,
whith very few responses even over a several month period.

Hi Mike, I find that the same question will get far more responses in
Agora than in some other conference.  You might try entering a disabilities
related item in agora.  We are all relatively less able than many other
people in some respects, as I found out when my partner (dyslexic) and I 
attended an event at MLK day on disabilities, where five of us showed up
three of whom were facilitators, and we ended up talking about not his
but my disability (light sleeper) and one of the facilitator's struggle
with kleptomania.  And another of the trained facilitators had chronic
fatigue syndrome, much worse than dyslexia or sleep problems.  You never
know what problems people are dealing with if you don't ask (except of
course for some of the more obvious physical disabilities).

Does anyone in the language conference have any language or other
disabilities that they would be willing to share info on?  One of my close
friends stutters when nervous, for instance.

I also sufferer of dyslexia I was lucky and diagnosed when i was ten but my
father who also suffers didn't know until I was diagnosed.  I have talked to
many other people about it (mostly orally :) ) any they all seem to althow
having the disability excel at something at the same time.  I seem to have
a certian knack for logic which I can use to my advantage in the field of
computers.  Althow It gives me an advantage because I can easly understand
computer code , the rest of the world works in english which means i have a
hard time working in a group.  I do find it hard to write and type but I feel
it gives me determination to overcome it in some way.  One of the things that
really destroyed my writing I think was a teachers inability to accept that
I was dyslexic and clas me a lazy and a nucance then help.  I wonder if anyone
else has had this attatude taken about their disability (noticable or not).

For Translation use ACME Dyslexic to English Dictonary :)

If you typed all of the above yourself, your typing and spelling are superb
compared to Jim's.  He also likes computers and will spend hours reading over
manuals or running programs, but there are problems with entering the wrong
characters.  ANd he is wonderful at fixing anything mechanical (without
looking at the repair manual, that just confuses him except for pictures).
I will have him tell you more when he comes back from whatever he is fixing
at the moment (a freezer, I think).  Jim's teachers at Washtenaw Community
College, since they knew he had been tested as dyslexic, always gave him twice
as long for tests.  I will ask him about high school attitudes.

Jim's response:  I am surprised.  Computer code I also find difficult, not
in reading it but I can't find typos.  Or at least it takes me a long long
time.  My high school teachers always told me I could do better, probably
because my grades did not match my intelligence tests.    I was always given
extra time but it didn't help much, it allowed me to pass.  People who live
with dyslexics says it is like living with a disaster about to happen. 
Knowing that things are going to come out backwards, or late, or never.  (Jim
also does not hear half of what I say, he is involved in what he is doing.)

I read something recently that said that difficulty in copying down a
name that someone spells rapidly to you is a symptom of dyslexia. I
have always found that difficult. I have no difficulty with things coming
out forward, or on time, or consistently, however. There must be a wide
range of competency in each of the innumerable facets of mental function.
It is probably too simple to say a person is dyslexic or not.

We recently met someone who I think has been using a wheelchair since birth
and seems to have neurological problems which make it difficult to coordinate
fine muscle movements, including things like writing and speaking.  He showed
us how he uses his WebTV with a remote control.  To search for a word on the
web, you call up a keyboard on screen, then do arrows to reach the letter you
want, and click on it.  It takes a while to spell out a word.  He also
exchanges email with a lot of friends.  Does anyone else have experience with
computer usage by people with motor or other disabilities other than
blindness?  Scott showed us his computer that understands speech, sort of,
if you are really patient with it, and some day may be good enough to help
out dyslexics.

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