The Problem with Disorientation

With repeated exposure to abstract words or other confusing two dimensional symbols such as letters, numbers and punctuation, a dyslexic will eventually disorient to try to make sense of the information, by mentally viewing it from different perspectives. Now their imagination sees something different from their eyes - a distorted perception of letters, words or symbols. These reversals, transpositions and alterations to the text lead to mistakes and frustration.

For some picture thinkers, their imaginations are busy participating in a daydream while they are busy reading. Even though every word can be decoded on the page accurately, picture thinking is not being associated with the words and consequently there will be no comprehension or recall of the text. The reader was disoriented.

When a reader becomes disoriented, the text can be perceived incorrectly, and then mistakes happen like in the example above. Below is the correct quote.

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One of my biggest ‘ah ha’ moments was realizing that what I see in print may not be what someone else sees. I remember watching a student read aloud. His eyes glossed over and he seemed a world away. Then he made mistakes with words that he knew on the previous page. He was disoriented. If only I knew then, what I know now.

- Helen McGillivray