Process Paper
Dyslexia. Why did I choose this topic? It’s pretty simple. Dyslexia hit hard at home for me. My little brother has dyslexia. Everyday I see him come home and struggle to read. He is the reason I chose this topic. I want to make a difference in his life. I hypothesized something simple and is thought of a lot. I believed that they would need a lot of help and attention. While that was true, it ended up being up more in depth than that.
To start off my research I went searching the Internet for secondary resources to get a base. On Ehow.com I found an article on how to help children who are dyslexic written by David Stewart. It said” Dyslexic children also need constant encouragement and support to build their self-esteem.” I predicted generally the same thing. It did say something that I really thought was important though. It said”Let him know that it is OK to make mistakes.”Making mistakes is part of learning.Like Albert Einstein said”Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new,” and guess what. He had dyslexia too. Since my parents are very involved with this, it wasn’t hard to find my next resource. My mother read a lot of books on the topic so I read one. It was called The Dyslexic Advantage. It helped me with my research. The book is not totally about my research question but the overall premises had some hiding meaning to my topic. In the beginning of the book it goes over the hidden talent. It also talks about how to bring out the hidden talent. The hidden idea was that in order to help them succeed you have to find their hidden talent and what they are extremely good at. If you do that it will keep their mind off the constant learning and struggle.
After doing some more secondary research I decided to go do my first interview. As I said before my Mom was very invested in this topic so it was not hard to find someone to interview. I decided I would interview and expert. This help me get some base information for a general idea of what is was finding and for better interview questions. I interviewed Dr. Fran Bowman, Educational Specialist. Dr. Fran is the former president of the maryland branch of the International Dyslexia Association. She is the author of “ Bowman’s Orton-Gillingham Plus Guidebook.”
I talked to her about what is the best way to help. The main idea she said was is as “Parents you have to know that they are not stupid, they just learn differently.” Another thing she said is that “Parents always have to be there.” You have to always be at their side and help them get through the hard struggle. I now had an expert’s point of view. Next, I wanted a parents point of view. Since my little brother has dyslexia who better to interview than my mother. She took a sixty-hour course on the Orton-Gillingham method. Since she was a parent and was educated it helped a lot. When I interviewed her she said one of the most important things again is “Parent encouragement and involvement.” As a parent herself she said that if you do not help your child becomes very discouraged. Another thing she said was “ Siblings also play a big role.” You don't want brothers or sisters saying things like “ You’re stupid” or “ How do you not know that.” In general the main vibe I picked up from her is that the biggest help is parent and sibling help.
At this point I had most of my secondary research done. I needed two more primary sources. I decided I would get the point of view from a child with dyslexia. Who better than my little brother, Avi Rhodes. When I interviewed him he said “I like someone always being there and helping me.” He also said “ I like being in a quiet room by myself.” I thought this was helpful in the grand scheme of things. It allowed me to get the point of view from someone that knows the topic better than anyone else.
At this point I needed one more primary source. I found a video on YouTube that was a really a different speed than what I found. It went over little tips and tricks. The woman in the video said that the big idea to helping students was “ Giving them new, cool, and easy ways to learn.” The part that dyslexia affects is the memorization and the sound it make. By giving them tricks it can help them memorize and further their success in reading. What I found odd was that this didn't line up with my other answers.
Throughout my project I had basically found the same answer. So, it was interesting and somewhat interesting that I had found a different answer. As this is a very deep topic, I have only grasped a little bit of the topic. I do feel as if I could continue for many years to come. To put my research to use I think I would use it to benefit our school system and others all around the country. This topic is very important. Almost one in five people have dyslexia. That is twenty percent of our population. Think about what we could accomplish if those people could overcome their disorder. The opportunities are endless.
In conclusion, my research has shown that the best way to help is to be there. The children cannot face this alone and as a parent, teacher or sibling you have to help. Understanding is also important. These children don't choose to be dyslexic, they are born with it. It is your job to help them through this. Finally, my final finding was that giving them new angles or new ways to look at reading itself. I would like to thank you for taking the time to read my paper and have a wonderful day.
Dyslexia. Why did I choose this topic? It’s pretty simple. Dyslexia hit hard at home for me. My little brother has dyslexia. Everyday I see him come home and struggle to read. He is the reason I chose this topic. I want to make a difference in his life. I hypothesized something simple and is thought of a lot. I believed that they would need a lot of help and attention. While that was true, it ended up being up more in depth than that.
To start off my research I went searching the Internet for secondary resources to get a base. On Ehow.com I found an article on how to help children who are dyslexic written by David Stewart. It said” Dyslexic children also need constant encouragement and support to build their self-esteem.” I predicted generally the same thing. It did say something that I really thought was important though. It said”Let him know that it is OK to make mistakes.”Making mistakes is part of learning.Like Albert Einstein said”Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new,” and guess what. He had dyslexia too. Since my parents are very involved with this, it wasn’t hard to find my next resource. My mother read a lot of books on the topic so I read one. It was called The Dyslexic Advantage. It helped me with my research. The book is not totally about my research question but the overall premises had some hiding meaning to my topic. In the beginning of the book it goes over the hidden talent. It also talks about how to bring out the hidden talent. The hidden idea was that in order to help them succeed you have to find their hidden talent and what they are extremely good at. If you do that it will keep their mind off the constant learning and struggle.
After doing some more secondary research I decided to go do my first interview. As I said before my Mom was very invested in this topic so it was not hard to find someone to interview. I decided I would interview and expert. This help me get some base information for a general idea of what is was finding and for better interview questions. I interviewed Dr. Fran Bowman, Educational Specialist. Dr. Fran is the former president of the maryland branch of the International Dyslexia Association. She is the author of “ Bowman’s Orton-Gillingham Plus Guidebook.”
I talked to her about what is the best way to help. The main idea she said was is as “Parents you have to know that they are not stupid, they just learn differently.” Another thing she said is that “Parents always have to be there.” You have to always be at their side and help them get through the hard struggle. I now had an expert’s point of view. Next, I wanted a parents point of view. Since my little brother has dyslexia who better to interview than my mother. She took a sixty-hour course on the Orton-Gillingham method. Since she was a parent and was educated it helped a lot. When I interviewed her she said one of the most important things again is “Parent encouragement and involvement.” As a parent herself she said that if you do not help your child becomes very discouraged. Another thing she said was “ Siblings also play a big role.” You don't want brothers or sisters saying things like “ You’re stupid” or “ How do you not know that.” In general the main vibe I picked up from her is that the biggest help is parent and sibling help.
At this point I had most of my secondary research done. I needed two more primary sources. I decided I would get the point of view from a child with dyslexia. Who better than my little brother, Avi Rhodes. When I interviewed him he said “I like someone always being there and helping me.” He also said “ I like being in a quiet room by myself.” I thought this was helpful in the grand scheme of things. It allowed me to get the point of view from someone that knows the topic better than anyone else.
At this point I needed one more primary source. I found a video on YouTube that was a really a different speed than what I found. It went over little tips and tricks. The woman in the video said that the big idea to helping students was “ Giving them new, cool, and easy ways to learn.” The part that dyslexia affects is the memorization and the sound it make. By giving them tricks it can help them memorize and further their success in reading. What I found odd was that this didn't line up with my other answers.
Throughout my project I had basically found the same answer. So, it was interesting and somewhat interesting that I had found a different answer. As this is a very deep topic, I have only grasped a little bit of the topic. I do feel as if I could continue for many years to come. To put my research to use I think I would use it to benefit our school system and others all around the country. This topic is very important. Almost one in five people have dyslexia. That is twenty percent of our population. Think about what we could accomplish if those people could overcome their disorder. The opportunities are endless.
In conclusion, my research has shown that the best way to help is to be there. The children cannot face this alone and as a parent, teacher or sibling you have to help. Understanding is also important. These children don't choose to be dyslexic, they are born with it. It is your job to help them through this. Finally, my final finding was that giving them new angles or new ways to look at reading itself. I would like to thank you for taking the time to read my paper and have a wonderful day.