Product reviews for The Little Book of Dyslexia

This may be a -˜little book' but it is about a big subject and has great heart and a penetrating mind. It is a very useful book that is as much about the whole issue of learning as it is about dyslexia.

Joe Beech combines his personal story, a succinct account of the theory and research associated with dyslexia and a significant degree of practical recommendations that cannot fail to be of immense use to everyone who has experience of dyslexia -” as subject, parent or teacher.

The way Joe tells his own story endears him to his readers and commands human attention to this most human of challenges both to learning in our social and educational systems and to how we should regard a specific group of learners, numbering over two million people in this country alone. He charts his own experience from early childhood through to his expereinces in higher education -” a story of obstacles triumphed over, and how those obstacles could and should be significantly reduced by those who manage learning systems.

The first five chapters introduce the reader to the subject itself, explaining the potential genetic origins of dyslexia and the questions it raises about the way that we think about learning and some of the many obstacles there are to learning within our social and educational systems. The three chapters dealing with the period of early years through to secondary school help us to get inside the mind of a child experiencing dyslexia and the typical response of the system to such a child. The -˜system' includes teachers and parents in particular for it is the personal response of the adults whom the child encounters who can profoundly influence whether learning for a child experiencing dyslexia becomes a pathway among many possible pathways, or a steep incline with ever-growing obstacles to be cleared in an increasingly isolating climate.

Joe charts the story with a light touch in which he offers us insights laced with humour and occasional irony as he helps us to understand how this particular challenge to learning can be effectively managed. His inference that we need to know our ACBs (deliberately a little ironic) -” Assessment, Classroom practice and Behaviour -” so that adults, particularly teachers and parents, can help move the learning of children with dyslexia forward and themselves develop a useful and practical level of understanding, has a powerful impact on the reader. He de-mystifies the subject, making it immediately accessible to anyone who wants to understand it and respond to it.

In spite of the plain and very accessible writing on the subject and its intensely practical nature, this is a book founded on through and rigorous research as the references and end-notes illustrate -” offering a rich field for further reading.

From the earliest chapter he finds simple ways of explaining and illustrating what the printed environment might look like through dyslexic eyes even with a spell-checker on the computer to hand (or eye).

One might forgive anyone who has fought their way in life through a -˜disability' for exuding a sense of resentment at how little help is often available from the system and the populace at large. There is no hint of resentment or bitterness in this book, indeed it is laced with bits of humour even a little fun=poking at self. He writes early on 'My favourite mistake however was writing defecate rather than deficit! You have to be able to laugh at yourself, sometimes dyslexia is funny!'

The illustrations are particularly evocative and somehow create a feeling of empathy towards the person, young or more mature, working out how to manage this distinctive set of challenges.

One very serious point about this book is that it explores aspects of learning in general. What is written about dyslexia is about all aspects of what we have come to call -˜special needs'; and what we can learn from thinking about meeting special needs applies to the whole potenitally vexed question of how all of us learn. To read this book is to further deepen one's understanding of learning. To understand dyslexia and how to manage it is to grasp more about the management of learning for all children and indeed all adults. That is perhaps the most remarkable thing about this -˜little' yet very big book.

Or perhaps there is one other thing that is most remarkable. It is that it is an example of amor vincit omnia. Joe's story is one of being loved and of loving -” the key ingredients of how he has come thus far in his life managing challenges that are that bit steeper than those which we normally face. It is clear that this is due in no small part to the love he has experienced especially from his family. Equally he approaches the subject in a loving way -” love for those like him who have engaged with this particular challenge, love of learning, love that he shows through the insights he shares in the book, and the love which has drawn him to a career in education himself -” something he hints that many people find remarkable.

This is not remarkable in the way one might think. It is not because one might imagine someone with dyslexia ill-equipped to become a teacher but because of the great contribution that someone like Joe can make to the education system. This is what is evident by the time one gets to the end of the story.

This is a must-read not only for anyone who has met dyslexia -” in their own approach to learning or in a child or childern they know -” it is for anyone who has an interest in learning and how it is best facilitated, whoever the learner might be. If you are interested in learning and being a more effective learner on a personal level, read this book.