History of Davis methods

In 1980, at age 38, Ron Davis overcame his own severe dyslexia when he found a way to quickly eliminate common perceptual distortions. For the first time in his life, he could read and enjoy a book without struggling. After independent clinical research and working with experts in many fields, Ron Davis perfected his program for correcting dyslexia in adults and children.

In 1982, Ron Davis and Dr. Fatima Ali, Ph.D, opened the Reading Research Council Dyslexia Correction Center in California, achieving a 97% success rate in helping clients overcome their learning problems. In 1994, the first edition of the book, The Gift of Dyslexia was published, and a year later DDAI was launched and began formally training others to provide the same program.

How do Davis® Programmes work?

Ronald Davis theorizes that dyslexic, dyscalculic and AD(H)D individuals are picture thinkers who experience perceptual disorientations in the senses of time, vision, hearing, and/or balance and coordination. Davis Programmes provide a solution based on two key elements:

• A method for controlling perceptual disorientation.
• A method for eliminating the causes for perceptual disorientation.

Resolve the disorientation

Fortunately, it is very easy to stop the disorientation. All we have to do is teach the student how to recognize when they are disoriented, and then how to use their own mind and awareness to turn off their disorientation – or, in other words, to become “oriented.” This is typically done through Davis Orientation Counselling®, followed by the facilitation of other internal tools that allow the client to manage their stress and energy levels.

Working with clay

Using Davis Symbol Mastery® and concept mastery, clients eliminate the confusion caused by written symbols and words or key concepts by modelling them in clay. Through this creative process in 3D, the individual personalises and ‘owns’ the elements that have previously caused confusion, allowing them to master words and concepts easily.

Balance and coordination

Throwing and catching exercises reinforce visual and spatial perception.

Reading exercises

The Davis Reading Exercises are especially effective for learners who do not respond to phonic-based instruction. They rapidly improve fluency in reading and remove the need for excessive effort and concentration that commonly reduce reading stamina

How long does it take?

The Davis methods are easy to learn and, since they involve a skill that people with a visual-spatial learning style are good at – using their imagination – they usually catch on very quickly.

A Davis programme will typically take 30 hours working one-to-one with a licensed facilitator. It is usually delivered in 5 consecutive days, although this can be adjusted to take into account school and working hours.

How soon do you notice the effects?

Sometimes, especially with older children and adults, the results from a Davis Programme are extremely dramatic, resulting in an immediate improvement in their learning skills and ability to focus. This is because for these individuals, their disorientation has been the major barrier to progress. They may have already had years of education or tutoring; once disorientation is resolved, all their past experience clicks in to place, and progress is typically extremely rapid.