Overcoming Dyslexia: A New and Complete Science-Based Program for Reading Problems at Any Level,   ISBN:9780679781592

Customer Rating: 

Shaywitz packs this book with tons of information on dyslexia including the science on how the dyslexic brain learns. She also includes the best ways to teach reading for dyslexia and the importance of keeping the student's sense of worth intact. She reminds us that people with dyslexia are bright, creative individuals who simply learn in a different way. I love her positive view of dyslexia and her desire to be an advocate for all those who struggle. This is an excellent book and I recommend it to anyone who wants to understand dyslexia. This should be required reading for all elementary teachers who are bound to have students with dyslexia in their classes.

Despite my high praise for Shaywitz's work, I do disagree with a few of her ideas. She seems to think parents aren't capable of teaching their kids to read which is absurd. She thinks it is best left to experts. I agree that we need to do our research to be prepared to help students with dyslexia, but parents are in the best situation to give their children the one-on-one attention that they need.

Shaywitz also pushes the idea that young kids need intensive phonics. While it's fine to play with phonics at an early age, I disagree with intensive tutoring that young. While Shaywitz consistently says it's never too late to help with dyslexia, she also repeatedly says kids are at a great disadvantage if they don't learn to read until later. I understand why she believes that and I can even agree to some extent. But kids who learn to read later are not at a disadvantage if they have been raised and educated in an environment where they have not been ridiculed, where they have had rich exposure to language and reading, and where they have parents who are advocates in helping them be successful.

Shaywitz's book is filled with vital information for all parents and teachers who want to help their struggling students succeed. I truly enjoyed reading her ending where she shared the stories of people who have used their dyslexia to help them enjoy passionate and successful lives.

Customer Rating: 

This book is powerful. If I had known about this book years ago maybe my son would be a reader by now and would not have had to go to a literacy center! This book give a lot of useful information, plans, strategies. Things that I have never had for my son. Nor have I understood what was going on in this head. This book is not only important for parents to read, educators should also read it!

Customer Rating: 

This is a very informative book, written in an easy to read style. It gives an excellent definition of dyslexia, the history of how it's been treated in the past, the exact location of the cause of the problem in the brain, and how best to treat it now. We know so much more about it since the advent of functional magnetic resonance brain imaging. This a great book for teachers, parents, and adult dyslexics themselves.

Customer Rating: 

I cannot improve on what other reviewers have written but this is a solid book with lots of good information. It provides more theoretical base and less practical suggestions than I was expecting but it is a good starting point.

Customer Rating: 

This is a great resource for both parents and professionals in that it explains the nature of dyslexia in easy to understand terms based on neuropsychological research.