ABSTRACT

A fascinating and compelling exploration of the learning process for parents, teachers, and anyone with an interest in education. Reading and writing are fundamentally about the communication of meaning. Yet, when a child has difficulty in learning to read and write, the one area that is never seen as having any relevance is the child's life experiences. The author's contention is that the concept of dyslexia is something that has been invented, rather than discovered, in order to evade the question of meaning and the understanding of the individual. Based on the author's thirty years' experience of both educational psychology and analytical therapy, the book sets out a radical approach to learning difficulties in which the primary assumption is that there will usually be underlying emotional conflicts, tensions, and anxieties. Any learning disability is thus more likely to be the symptom of less-evident, personal difficulties, rather than a problem in itself. The book examines, with examples, typical patterns of personal and emotional difficulty that give rise to learning problems.

part 1|43 pages

Reading Disability

chapter 1|13 pages

The dyslexia muddle

chapter 2|14 pages

Acronyms, non-science, and nonsense

part 2|163 pages

The Neglected Background to Learning Problems

chapter 4|12 pages

First base

chapter 5|13 pages

Feeding, reading, and mental anorexia

chapter 6|13 pages

Emotional health and fitness

chapter 7|14 pages

Family matters: the inner story

chapter 8|13 pages

Family matters: the external situation

chapter 9|12 pages

Secrets, lies, and hidden agenda

chapter 10|12 pages

Autodidacts and the Garden of Eden

chapter 11|11 pages

Go for it! The function of aggression

chapter 12|13 pages

Writing: exposure or self-affirmation?

chapter 13|8 pages

Boring! Attention and interest

chapter 14|11 pages

What is your story?

chapter 15|7 pages

Un-ready adults

chapter 16|10 pages

Dysnumeracy: the “third r”

part 3|14 pages

The Education Issue

part 4|34 pages

Diagnosis for Real Understanding