Dolphins and Learning

Deborah Jepsen | February 8th, 2010

Watch this video and see how these amazing dolphins have developed a new way to catch fish!

Dolphins learn new ways to thrive and survive and so can children with learning disabilities. Children can also adapt to their environment if they are given the right resources and skills.

Davis (1997), talks about dyslexia as a ‘gift’ -- a natural ability or talent. He lists several characteristics and abilities that most dyslexics or students with learning disabilities share:

Using the brain’s ability to alter and create perceptions
Being highly aware of the environment
Being more curious than average
Thinking in pictures rather than words (a much faster process)
Being able to think and perceive multi-dimensionally (using all the senses)
Being able to experience thought as reality
Vivid imagination

Through assessment, I often find that children who struggle with a particular cognitive function tend to excel in other areas.

This can be particularly frustrating for parents -- watching their child struggle to read, when they know they are talented in other areas.

Educational Assessment is the first step to understanding a child’s difficulties. Intervention and counselling should then follow.

Suffering from dyslexia, a developmental delay or a learning disability does not necessarily have to hold your child back.

Like the dolphins who adapted to their environment and invented a new way to round up fish, a young person can effectively learn to adapt, and even thrive, in the classroom.

Reference: Davis, R, D. (1997). The Gift of Dyslexia. Ability Workshop Press: New York