5) Institutions serve their own agendas.

This post is part of series on 7 Principles every parent should know about dyslexic children.

All human institutions: government, corporations and schools serve their own selfish self interest. This is called politics or the survival instinct. Organizations that fail to look out for there own self interest fail to continue to exist. They may have wonderful ulterior motives, but when individuals with in these institutions threaten the legitimate ideology and psychological stability of the institution - there is a predictable response that the individual most conform to fit the situation. Dyslexic students are by definition unable to conform to fit the model that every other student in the school is able to fit. Thus a dyslexic student feels an incredible amount of stress to conform to the standards of normalcy by learning to read.

If the student is unable to conform they will be viewed by the teachers, staff and other students as a burden. This is not to say there are not exceptions to this rule, but as a parent it is very important that you understand this basic ground rule. You must learn everything you can about how your school works and what options are available, who are the best teachers, who has the best reputation as special ED support person and what legal rights you have.

Rights you have…
1) You have the right to have your child tested to be find out if your child has a learning disability. You do not have to pay for this right. This right is guaranteed by Federal Law.
2) Your child has the right to an equal playing field - The test can discover how to give your child the same access to learning and success that other students have by themselves.
3) Your child has the right to go to school in a safe environment. No child should be treated or identified as different in front of there peers. Dances caps are out!
4) Your child do not have to attend special ed classes with out your agreement. You can always appeal any decision the school makes.

In addition you may have the ability to influence the out come of your child's school year by influencing some basic choices the school makes before the year begins. Assuming your child has been tested and is dyslexic then…

1) Learn how the culture of your schools approach to children with learning disabilities. Ask around – find other children with dyslexic kids – believe me they will know weather you can go in like a lamb or a lion. They will also know who your potential allies would be.

2) Interview next years teachers and talk to parents who have attended there classrooms and choose the teacher your child will be in based on your teachers comprehension of learning disabilities.
3) Give your child an advantage by doing reading with them in evenings during the summer - you do the reading – they see you read and see how fun it is while knowing that your not going to ask them too.
4) Meet with your teacher at every single parent teacher conference. Ask to meet your teacher before school begins – Understand that your child’s teacher is probably very busy right before school starts and they may not want to meet or meet very long. Try to keep this first meeting short and too the point.
5) If the school wishes to place your child in a special ed classroom you have the right to refuse such a transfer and if all else fails you have t right o change schools. LDS children learn better when main streamed then in a focused special ed room.
6) Join the parent teacher association – be a part of your child’s school as much as possible.

When you through all the homework your child needs support with after school in the evening you might be able looking at a full or at least half time job. So why are you not home schooling again?

Good luck let me know how I can help.
http://dyslexicstoryteller.blogspot.com/

Asking for help the Central lesson of Dyslexia

Perhaps the key gift of being dyslexic is that the bedrock reality of learning disabilities is an inability to practice that central story of human experience… denial… denial of my inability to organize without assistance – denial of my systematic mis-spellings and denial of my incomplete memory. I can’t afford any of these denials – I can’t afford to pretend that I can organize, spell or remember with out assitance, because I can’t.

Must people can pretend that they are able to do these things – experts in brain research talk about how the brain is an effective tool for creativity but that organization and memory are not reliable uses for the brain with out using a written system in place. Now I know that many of my readers will disagree with this premise. Think about what I am saying the brain is not an effective tool for memory and organization. Here is the question that got me – what tool are you using to judge your ability to remember and organize things? Don’t believe my word – Read David Allen books.

I would suggest that your brain is not an accurate tool for judging your memory or organizational ability. Try a simple test – write down right now everything you did to day – put it in a envelope and date it one month from today. A month from now right down everything you wrote in the letter and then open the envelope. Make sure you include in your letter every single food or drink that you consumed today – every place you have gone and every person you have spoken too.

I know the what the results of your study will be… and I hope you do as well.

Dyslexic people learn a little bit earlier the value in writing things down and in asking for assitance from others in completing our daily task list. We are just lucky like that… I guess.

Fighting for Oxygen - Fighting for Life through Definitions.

In politics and life - definitions define the debate - so the importance of being clear about the language we use in talking about dyslexia can not be over estimated. Recently a nice little professional website http://www.dyslexiaresources.com/ visited my little blog and out of politeness I visited there site. I was disturbed to notice that they used words like symptom and treatment when discussing dyslexia.

A disease has symptoms so that you can recognize when you have it. You can get better when you receive treatment and you can get cured. There is no cure to dyslexia - it is the the way you're built. Dyslexic people can not be cured or improved they are made perfect - the way God made them. The problem is not them the problem is everyone else who has decided that literacy written and read is a sign of intelligence. Dyslexic people are in the same category with people who are born blind or deaf.

If I asked you - How do you know some one is Deaf or Blind. what are the symptoms of there blindness what is the treatment? You would laugh at me. So Dyslexic individuals are in the same boat. Now having said that I do believe that their are things you can do to help the dyslexic in your life have better brain functioning - but those steps would work for everybody. You just see better results in a dyslexic.

A dyslexic who is exposed to the idea that dyslexia is a disease will have a false expectation that they are broken and will someday be cured. Dyslexia is who we are - it is our gift, it is our life and it is a reflection of God's manifestation of love on this planet.

We are born in a time when the role of science and belief that progresses is tied or bound to improvements in technology and engineering. Dyslexia is God's way of throwing a wrench in this plan - for we are all those kids who love art, who love the art of science and engineering - who don't test well - who do test well but can't write. We in short are the exceptions to the rule - well any rule. But in particular we are the exception to the rule that says that human behavior can be controlled, bought or sold.

New Take on an Old Argument

After years of watching and wishing for whole language reading philosophy to rise in triumphant success over the other methodologies of teaching reading - in particular the evil phonics. I found myself astonished by a nonpartisan report out of New York University on how different reading styles effect reading speeds.

Processes Add Up To Determine Reading Speed, Study Shows. ScienceDaily. Retrieved November 28, 2008, from http://www.sciencedaily.com /releases/2007/08/070801091500.htm

I would be interested in seeing a comparison of the three system of reading with a dyslexic population. I would suspect that whole language would test higher, but the tests would kill the dyslexic test subjects. Far as I can tell both whole language and word recognition systems seem to suffer from a lack of profit motive in pushing there particular philosophies. Phonics seems to have no shortage of companies making money off of it’s success to such an extent that many of the studies proving it’s success seem a little too well funded. I suspect that reading is like many other skills; those who are exposed to it do it and those that are not exposed to it don’t.

In the mean time, I must admit that perhaps phonics has a greater role to play then I as a non-phonic dyslexic reader care to admit. Or perhaps the greater reliance in this New York University study on phonics in the participants is a reflection of focus on this method of reading in American Schools for the better part of half a century.

Why public libraries are so good for dyslexic children…

When I was seven years old my mother used to take me to the library. As an adult I can imagine that she went as a supplicant to the temple of the great gods of reading. Please hear my prayers let my child see… words on the page.

Perhaps she believed that by spending time around books that I would become enamered of them. All I know is that my first memories of books is invoked whenever I find myself in an old book store, or older library stacks. That sweet smell of well loved books… a gift of my mothers love. She would have me pick among the picture books those collections that I loved the most. I remember carrying books to the counter to be stacked ten deep there for the librarian to check out. These she would read to me every night.

I think that the advantage that libraries have over schools with dyslexic children is that nobody checks at the library to see if you can read. All they care about is that you bring the books back. My favorite books that I borrowed from the library had the coolest pictures. So if you have a dyslexic child take them to the library and have them check out any comics, picture books or other juvenile fiction that they would enjoy.

Peace

Eric Wolf
http://www.ericwolf.org

Misspelling on the rise... Thank God.

This article on Making an Arguement for Misspelling is a great resource. The author touches on some of the reasons that I believe that dyslexia is caused by- or aggravated by the educational institutions we force are students to participate in.

I totally did not see the misspelling in the articles title - till the spell checker pointed it out to me. Did you see it? Laura Fitzpatrick makes a good argument for why in a living languge we should let creative spellers go there own way. Personally I think some discussion of the cost from nervouse or emotionally inscure dyslexics should be included in the calculations. Spelling nazi's beware your days are numbered! Some how I don';t thing the New York Times will stop proofing there paper anytime soon. sigh...

Dyslexia is...

Going through all the jelly jars in the cupboard to find the one cherry jar.

Strawberry, raspberry, raspberry strawberry blueberry awww cherry.

Opening the jar smoothing a nice slice of jelly toast. Taking a big bite of jelly covered bread....
only to discover that the jar you opened was raspberry all along. In fact that jar of Cherry jelly never existed at all.

PRESS RELEASE: Speaking out in Defense of Scary Stories on the Art of Storytelling with Brother Wolf Show

Saturday, October 25, 2008
For Immediate Release
Contact: Eric James Wolf
Phone: (937) 767-869

Speaking out in Defense of Scary Stories on the Art of Storytelling with Brother Wolf Show

Eric James Wolf, professional storyteller and host of the Art of Storytelling with Brother Wolf Show, is available for print, radio and television interviews to defend the use of the scary Halloween stories in the oral tradition with children.

Scary Halloween stories and ghost stories for children have taken the place of ritual trials of adulthood for teenagers, according to Mr. Wolf. They also serve as a means for adults to warn children away from dangerous places or behavior. Ghost stories and scary Halloween stories in the oral tradition can be age appropriate and satisfying for families. Currently on his the Art of Storytelling shows website he has five interviews available for easy download about the art of telling scary Halloween stories.

Eric Wolf does not condone or support horror or the graphic use of violence. “It is possible, however, by carefully working within the confines of scary Halloween stories and ghost stories for children, to leave our audience psychologically stronger and more emotionally capable of dealing with their fears or the shock of real world disasters,” Mr. Wolf says.

#


Storyteller Eric James Wolf has performed nationally at such venues as the American Museum of Natural History; Bank Street School for Children; Barnard College; Blue Theater - Toronto, Canada; Columbia University; The Fund for the City of New York; Kings Island Amusement Park; New York City Clearwater Festival; New Jersey Liberty Science Center; and The International Performing Artists for Youth.

He is the host and producer of the Art of Storytelling with Brother Wolf, a one hour interview format show. Mr. Wolf has M.S. in Education from Lesley University.

Eric Wolf’s Website
http://www.ericwolf.org

The Art of Storytelling with Brother Wolf Show
http://www.artofstorytellingshow.com/

A list of five episodes on the Art of Storytelling with Children with storytellers speaking on how to use scary storytelling with kids.
http://www.artofstorytellingshow.com/category/scary-storytelling/


To schedule an interview, call…
(937) 767-8696

###

4) Humans are capable of learning on a J curve.

This post is part of series on 7 Principles every parent should know about dyslexic children.

The spark of desire is the one true gift a good teacher can give a student. Everything else is just a matter of access and time. Once exposed to the desire to learn something in the modern age where the internet has made any information that you may need immediately accessible. The only thing missing is your child’s desire to know.

Schools were built during an age when it was necessary to create a uniform cultural identity through compulsory schooling. While nationalist may still argue that for the good of the state individuals should be normalized across a wide spectrum of types and religions – I would argue that in a creative economy that normalization will kill the engine that fuels the governments economic success. Government schooling is killing the drive and the ability of the economy to supply the needs of the state.

One of the few good arguments that I have heard for running government schools that makes sense to me is that for many children Public School is the one time a day that they get a good meal. I think that's great - let's build a cafeteria in the pubic library and any hungry person can get a modest meal government paid. Or let's run high school and middle school the way many private colleges are run - you take the classes you want to take from the teacher you wish to learn from.

When your child feels competent and emotionally safe they will learn when they are ready. In human development there are windows of opportunity that open up as the child develops – now is a good time for music, now is a good time for stories, now is a good time for character development Each of these windows open and close with a the development of the human being. I'm not saying you can't teach a old dog new tricks, but... it sure is hard.

I have spoken with teachers who teach college level algebra to 5th graders - but the response they get form administration is - What are we going to teach them in 9th grade algebra?

I’m ranting I know - but I am ranting against an ideology of schooling that says that the smartest - and every student is smartest in one subject - whether or not it is apart of the schools official curriculum - example - boys, cars, or comic books. - the smartest students must wait for everyone else - or must conform to culture that says fit in.. oh the exasperation!

7 reasons to Join the Art of Storytelling with Children NING!

In reverse order like a letterman top ten list... http://storytellingwithchildren.ning.com

Drum roll please....

7) You love Eric's podcast and want to make him feel accomplished for the hundreds of hours of work he has invested into the Art of Storytelling with Children Podcast.
6) You never heard of Eric or his podcast and feel sorry for him spending hundreds of hours on his podcast.
5) You love children (not in a weird way) and love to write and share about storytelling with children..
4) You want one more website with a decent google page rank to list your storyteller website and increase your visability on google.
3) You love to tell stories to children on the amateur level and want to belong to a storytelling networking community - and the professional storyteller NING is a little intimidating.
2) You recently had bad accident and are trapped in a full body cast unable to escape from your hospital bed except through the internet.
1) Your a social networking addict

Seriously though consider joining now because you love telling stories with children...
http://storytellingwithchildren.ning.com

Incase you missed it Eric Wolf's Website
and Eric wolf's Storytelling Podcast

3) All populations are not uniform.

This post is part of series on 7 Principles every parent should know about dyslexic children.

I have outside of my door – in the hall a cartoon that I treasure. It shows a field with a tall tree to the left. There is a man in a suit n’ tie and he is sitting on the right looking at a line of creatures. A monkey, an elephant, a bird, a penguin, a seal, a dog and a fish in a bowl are sitting in a line on the left of the picture in front of the man. The man is smiling as he says – “For a fair exam everybody has to take the same tests – The first test will be to climb that tree.”

In all animal and human populations individuals are not uniform. They react individually to environmental stress and individuals grow at different rates due to genetic and environmental factors. If your child is one of the 10% of humans who learn to read at the age of ten when all of their peers learn a the age of 8 they may feel some pressure to confirm to what is considered “normal”. As parents every where know – normal can be set or changed very quickly by the environment we are in and by the friends we keep.

By allowing for your child’s individual response to pressure you are giving them permission to learn at there own pace. To state the obvious who cares if they can’t read yet – if they want to learn to read they will to the best of their ability. When you look at the next principal you will see why this is not as dangerous or risky as it appears to many parents and educational experts.

Your child is an individual so why are you placing him within systems that require he or she be one a face in the crowd. The schooling system of education was based on four widely divergent models combining together to create the American School system as we know it today. First the monks in the monasteries with in the idea of diligent and repetition to learn a task defined the highest of educational standards - for the 14th centaury anyway. Secondly the American government under the pressure of hundred of thousands of immigrants needed a way to quickly create a cultural common experience in a country that was filled with people who wanted to make it on there own. Third the American Factory system of the 19th century industrial age required workers who could fit into the mold and follow instructions. In the beginning and of this century the progressive social movement and the conservative social movement sought to support the development of American moral values by controlling the content of what is taught in schools today and for the last hundred years.

If you are unsatisfied as I am with my philosophical examination of modern schooling. There are Encyclopedias written on the history of the American Educational system – if you are new to those tomes – let me suggest for you a very quick and insightful read by John Gatto - Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling.

Just so you know - I keynote on this topic the philosophical and historical realities of the school system with a M.S. in Education.

Fasting for the fourth day today….

A health fast – a kidney cleanse using the Dr. Shultz methodology and products. I feel great – but have much less sleep needs. Drink more fluids in the last four days than I normally drink in a week. I appreciate water on a whole new level. Locally we bought this really cool reverse osmosis water filter last month and I no longer have to purchase my distilled water.

Here’s the thing I have been fasting on and off for health, spiritually and general wellness for years. I have fasted on mountain tops, in temples and on NYC street corners. I am have gone with out water for 48 hours (very dangerous) – Food for seven days (not dangerous at all really) and a whole year without eating any wheat, meat or dairy.

A lot of people panic at the thought of not eating. As a trained survivalist I know that food is fairly low down the list. Things like breathing and staying hydrated come first - in fact you really don’t need to eat another bite unless or 3 or 98 for at least thirty to sixty days from right now. Of course fasting can be more nuanced then that – health fats should be carefully considered and then done anyway.

I know that when I fast for health with all the herbal teas and juice flushes that I feel great! My mind and my ability to focus goes up and my need for sleep goes down. I am still dyslexic the basic nerve patterns have not changed, but I am more able to function on a daily level. Best of all I feel really good about life – I have a smile on my face and I am thrilled about what is going on around me.

I did a 30 cleanse last year? Maybe two years ago and it ignited my soul fire to burn so bright and clear. IF you are parent of a child – remember that nobody should be forced to fast – so keep that in mind when planning any radical departure in your current approach to health in your family. We want to have a good time loving our bodies and taking care of ourselves. We don’t want our children to grow up thinking that food is the cause of their problems – though it is true that diet can be a key effect in your child's ability to adapt to their LDS.

How about this for map of the USA on Election day?

This is off topic but very interesting - there is a real possability that the Electoral colelge will tie on election day.

Now wouldn't that be interesting?

A radical proposal.

What if we don't need to learn to read and write anymore?

What if modern video or audio technical ability has created a world where writing is obsolete.

I mean really in a video age does anyone who doesn't want to have to learn to read or write have too?
Of course those who think this will be excluded from this conversation by their practice.

Just wondering....

Hope you have been able to listen to all 7 of the Ira Glass interview clips....

Ira Glass on Storytelling

I feel like this is a real gift to storytellers everywhere.


He really has a good points that all storytellers and writers everywhere.


Just to bring us back to storytelling

The mind is not a dumping ground (Part B)

If your child is exposed to pornography or other forms of digital violence the mind of your child will reflect that digital violence with physical and emotional chaos. Set your boundary of what is acceptable violence wisely and early in life. Yes the average child's mind is capable of incredible amounts of flexibility, but the dyslexic child is already has a lot on there plate why add more?

Remove access to violent video games, television programs or DVD’s. Place Internet accessible computers in common space for easy adult supervision. I am always shocked at how unaware adults and women in particular are of how close pornography is to there child’s easy exploration and curiosity. Internet controls are a must for any computer supervise. Computers with Internet access must be i public spaces and must be check regularly for inappropriate use.

Give yourself permission to not talk about adult emotional subjects with your child. This is incredible important not only in the avoidance of intellectual ideas that involve guilt or other depressing self sabotaging ideas, but also in the avoidance of using your child as dumping ground for your emotional storms. I am surprised by this because in my family it was not considered appropriate, but I horrified to discover as an adult that my family was the exception not the rule. Many children are placed it eh terribly uncomfortable position of being forced to comfort or play parent for there parents at a young age. If you find your self compaiing to your child about any aspect of your life - I woudl suggest this stop - just stop. Yea share your life iwth them - but leave out the emotional worries and troubles of being an adult. Especially if they are dyslexic or other wise Learning Disabled.

Say I love you to your child or teenager even if they look horrified. Say i love you a lot. because they should hear it every day of there life from somebody - why not you?

If your child is especially stressed out by there take them to your local city park and throw a ball, Frisbee or whatever other excuse you can come up with for them to be outside away from the literate world. Three weeks backpacking for teenagers is a great prescription for self-confidence. A weekend in the country with no TV, radio, video games or internet is a great way for the whole family to be de stress. Warning: A weekend in the country in an ideal place is not a replacement for a real relationship and can be an opportunity to realize how far from being in the moment your family has moved.

The mind is not a dumping ground (Part A)

Your mind reflects your environment and if you or your child is dyslexic you need to give the dyslexic mind every edge that it can get. Control or limit the amount of television, cable or movies that contain violent or horror content. Your trying to give the dyslexic mind a calm and tranquil world to be in. Dyslexic people live in an unstable world were left is right and time is unstable. If possible limit the expectation of adrenaline states.

I am addicted to sci-fi and spy movies. My parents were obsessed with murder mysteries. They taught me to love the adrenalin state that is created in the body when watching a video program. I am sure that many people reading this never considered the alternative, don’t have a television, DVD player or computer in the home until your youngest child is at least ten or eleven. This will set the pattern for the rest of there life.

But wait – I can hear the outcry – but my children will be excluded when all the other children talk about this movie or that youtube! Maybe – most likely they will just watch it at their friend’s house. At your house you will supply them with board games, paints, paper, pencils, crayons and a thousand other doorways into the imagination. Your house will be source of joy and imagination. Also of course boredom and complaints – but boredom is the sign of a free mind. Take it for what it is a compliment.

For more on the effect of TV on human culture check out
Four Arguments for the Elimination of television by Jerry Mander
As described in Wikipedia (Short)
As published in Mother Earth News (Long)

A letter to my daughters (and all the daughters of the world.)

I have reached an age where I find myself concerned by the foolish optimism of youth in pursuit of true love. I have begun to dismantle the minefields of my youth and crawl through the wreckage in hopes of finding some gems to share with my children. Here are seven great gifts of building lasting and meaningful relationships with men. I hope they help you in pursuit of your dreams. I have learned them the hard way so you don't have too.

1) Truth has its just rewards. Don't be afraid to express love – because guys are dense and we just don’t notice that you care. Women are socially more aware then your average guy. Perhaps the biggest lesson of my short life is this. I have seen too many people settle for what they think they deserve and never express their true heart's desire. Life is too short to remain unspoken and what is the sense in being in the production anyway if you not going to have a main part?

2) The first five minutes of your relationship define the rest of your relationship. If he treats you like shit – he is never going to stop. He might pause, but the pattern will return. If the guy treats you disrespectfully on the first date – it’s not going to change. Move on... you are more important then any of that crap so just say no to assholes. To see how much a guy cares about you, watch what he does not what he says. Honestly a man will say anything and do anything when sex is involved. So why trust what he is saying. Watch how he acts. Does he express interest in you? Does he listen to you? Does he show you respect when around other people?

3) Nice guys are usually quiet. If you want to be with one - you are going to have to be more forward then you are comfortable with. An emotionally stable person is less aggressive, less pushy and in general nice to be around. When you fall for a nice guy and you have followed point one above, then you will need to do the parent test. What are their parents like? When you get married (or just settled living together comfortably) you will be surprised how quickly your boyfriend's personality reverts to the pattern of his early childhood parental example. Yes - they can escape the pattern - but are they really trying? You know - are they doing the work to unlock family emotional baggage or do they arrive in your long term relationship baggage intact?

4) If you’re serious about being in a good meaningful relationship, buildup your intention of what you want. Most people don’t do this, they don’t spend any time thinking about they want in a relationship and they end up with suffering the logical consequences. Buildup this intention when you are not dating so that you can have clarity for what you’re looking for in the next relationship.

5) Try to find guys who are a part of your social network or belong to a community. The average man is more aggressive and stronger then the average woman. (Obvious) However few people realize that it helps men to keep their aggression in check when they know that there is a social network or community keeping a silent eye on their relationship. Whether it is your high school graduating class, the village gossips, or your church choir. It really helps to build long-term relationships when the guy has to explain his actions to people outside the relationship. This means that you may want to look for guys inside certain social networks – church, school, village, nonprofits etc… Facebook does not count.

6) There are two disturbing tendencies with young women. They have tendency to attract assholes for dates and they have difficult time being alone. I wish you luck at overcoming these two realities of modern life. The truth is that given the modern internet world there is no reason for anyone – beautiful or not - to hang out with an asshole or be alone unless they want to. Given that the population of the USA is 304 million and that 150 million are guys, there are millions of guys in your age range. I think you might be better served by saying no to the assholes – as for how to identify them, I send you to point 2 above.

7) Do your homework - know yourself. Go to counseling – know God - grow up - find a faith - become deeper then everyone else you know. Move past the consumer blame-based culture we call America into the depths of adulthood. Practice using I statements whenever possible. For example - I feel, I want, I love, I care – instead of you statements – you – whatever. Join women’s circles and find strong positive women to hang out with. Quite smoking, at least cut back on the drinking. Take a self-defense class. Look in the mirror – straight in the eye and say “I love you” once a day till you believe it.

I have thought about this a long time and I hope you find these points helpful. Just know that you have the gift and the power to create the world you live in. I know that you may have spent the first 18 years of your life being told what you can not do - but just remember that you are of an age where limits are where you set them, not where others tell you they are.

One of your Fathers,

Eric Wolf
http:www.ericwolf.org
http:www.artofstorytellingshow.com
http://dyslexicstoryteller.blogspot.com/

The body and the mind are attached.

Returning to my main topic of dyslexia let’s focus on one of the seven ideas I wish Americas would adopt in working with there dyslexic children.

I don’t really understand why the human race seems so attached to the idea that the brain is not attached to any fixed place and time. I think it may be our fear of mortality - that by recognizing that we are in fact in body with a digestive track that we are in fact mortal. Maybe it is our desire to think that as a race we are different then the animals that coexist on this planet. If a monkey ate what I considered a healthy diet as a child –donuts and Pepsi – the monkey would get very sick. Perhaps we are also searching for the magic elixir of life that will fix all problems, when in fact we just need to eat more greens and fruit – well all to more greens like say – 70% of our diet. Dyslexia is in the brain you can;t cure it - but you can improve the over all functioning of the brain.

If you are serious about supporting your child’s ability to think in a line then you need to look a their diet.

1) Remove all cane sugar and white flour from their diet. Sugar and white flour are two of the greatest evils that have every been created by mankind. I would love to tell you all about how I avoid them, but the truth is very different sugar is in everything and white flour is devilishly useful. Be strong when it comes to your children and your self. Change takes years of work so start today.

Sugar and white flour have been processed so that they are missing key micro nutrients that your child probably desperately needs. In addition the body strips it’s self of other vitamins to digest and process the sugar and white flour. Add to this that soil in many places is short on zinc, copper and magnesium and you get flour and sugar hat is short on digestible zinc, copper and magnesium. So you get people who are short on zinc, copper and magnesium.

This seems so obvious to me as to be ludicrous to even mention – but most people today don’t even take zinc supplements let alone test there body for heavy metal poisoning - Lead Mercury or the Tri Benzine's.

2) Replace these things with whole unprocessed foods in a balance format. What your child eats is what they become. Green and Fruit should be 70% of the diet. Even cooked greens are not good enough. It may seem impossible to get a child to eat fresh greens – however the secret seems to be Goddess Dressing available nation wide in most super markets. Any salad covered in goddess dressing is readily consumed by my youngest daughter for the last eight years. Yes you can still give your child omega 3 suplements - but really with out the basic building blocks what is the point of aiming high?

3) Have your child rotate foods so that the body has time to recover from allergic reactions to food.. (Food rotation is easier the at first it appears – rice on Monday couscous on Tuesday, Whole four bread on Wednesday and Thursday is Corn Bread with no wheat flour….) Most healthy children only need to rotate processed foods and not vegetables or fruits.

Considering that back ten thousand years ago our ancestors lived off a wide variety of foods. They almost never lived only on one substance – as for example wheat. Many children are allergic to wheat, sugar milk or even – food coloring. Just to get started. Try this blog post on Food rotation

4) If you are serious about supporting the stress levels the normal dyslexic child encounters in a school environment consider adding to their life a super food or green food supplement. I consume Super food a product by Dr. Shultz – a herbalist in California.
https://www.herbdoc.com/store/Scripts/prodList.asp?idCategory=12&h=1
This is in unpaid endorsement – so if the good Dr would care to send me a few bottles I would be thrilled – ahh no? O'well I endorse anyway.

5) Last note – here are a few other things that have heard work well with dyslexic or ADD children.. a colon cleanse, regular visits to a chiropractor, Chinese herbalist and an acupuncturist.

I am interested in any positive experiences you have as a reader - leave me a comment and tell me what you think of my little tirade about the body and dyslexia…

Why storytelling?

Recently Katharine Hansen, PhD asked me two questions about storytelling for here to include on her blog. Never being one to write much – I thought I would use the answers on my blog….

1. What inspired you to "cross over" and explore the applied side of storytelling, e.g., your interview with Denning?

All oral storytelling is by definition applied… stories and storytelling with out context and culture to hang it on - is television. Television can’t be confused with the oral tradition. Storytelling requires at least two participants a listener and a speaker to have a face to face interaction. In a storytelling the listener is participating in the co-creation of the story by the active use of their imagination and their response - physically, mentally and spiritually to the story.

Oral storytelling is the nuts and bolts of the sales process. Media and sales people who ignore this skill set do so at their own peril. Whether for world peace or pure entertainment, we are going to need to make the case that storytelling is useful in all forms of human relationship. To make that case we most demonstrate empirically that storytelling is entertaining, useful and applicable to the real world.

In the modern media culture many artists consider themselves storytellers – they are making an error in describing themselves in this way. Storytelling is the application of the story to the open canvas of the human mind while changing the colors to better suit the particular conditions and needs of that day.

Oral storytelling in it’s highest from is a breath from the divine and a service to all of creation. Any art form that leaves no room for the imagination in the minds of the audience is not storytelling – but something far more insidious. We leave an oral storytelling event with the feeling that the world is bigger then we can dare to imagine.

To listen to the Steven Denning interview…
http://www.artofstorytellingshow.com/2008/01/12/steve-denning-the-knowledge-based-organization/

2. You blog about your struggle with dyslexia. Briefly, how has this struggle affected your development as a storyteller?

I have a mind that does not work. Poor me – I’m over it – I have learned – no I was forced to compensate by the very nature of the structure of my mind. I could not read, I could not write – all I had as a child was the words in my mouth and the space between my ears. But in the end I don’t believe that dyslexic people are better speakers then non-dyslexic people – Dyslexic people are forced to learn to great lessons early in life that are a great advantage as we grow older.

1) You can’t do it all. You’re going to need help.
2) Your mind is a great device for creativity – not a good place to store things.

This blog post is written by dyslexic person about his experience being dyslexic and has been intentionally left uncorrected except for a Microsoft word spell check.

Creative commons 3.0 non-derivative license please include the following links.
http://www.artofstorytellingshow.com/
http://www.ericwolf.org
http://dyslexicstoryteller.blogspot.com/