Jan. 15, 2009
WV Is Home of First Autism Approach Facilitator on East Coast
Special to Huntingtonnews.net
Charleston, WV (HNN) -- Davis Dyslexia Association International, well-known for training and licensing professionals to provide correction programs for dyslexia, has announced it is now training professionals to provide programs for autism. Gale Long, of New Horizons Dyslexia Center became one of the first to complete the licensing process in October 2008. Davis Autism Approach is designed for individuals with high functioning autism.
As a child, Ronald Dell Davis had a form of autism that today is called Kanner’s Syndrome. At about age 9, he began to individuate. It was not until age 18 that he learned to speak in sentences, and age 38 that he corrected his dyslexia. From the experimenting that he used to learn to read on his own, he developed the Davis Dyslexia Correction® Program. There are now nearly 500 facilitators licensed in the world to provide these programs. Just this year, Ron Davis began training professionals to provide the Davis Autism Approach Program.
The first step of this program is an initial meeting and consultation to establish rapport and determine the suitability of the program for the client. Then, a three-phase program is implemented. The program can take anywhere from a few weeks to a few months to complete, depending on the client’s ability to progress through the program. In its current implementation, Davis Autism Approach appears to be most effective with children and adults who are high functioning, verbal, and willing to interact with others.
The Davis Autism Approach has three phases: Individuation, Identity Development and Social Integration.
During the “Individuation” phase, the Davis Facilitator will provide the person with specific tools that can be used to achieve some form of orientation. Orientation is a mental state during which the person experiences accurate and consistent perceptions of their environment. The autistic individual may take some time to experience and achieve this mental state, but the ability to orient is something that can be learned and improved with practice.
Ronald Davis has described his own childhood experiences as follows:
"Way before I started working with autism or had any understanding of it, I referred to myself as having come from a void. My sense of the void was not as existing as an individual, but as existing as both nothing and everything at the same time. There was no sense of being an individual, so there was no “me”. There was nothing to have a sense of identity. Without a “me”, there was no basis for memory or knowledge."
Individuation is the process by which an autistic individual stops being “everything and nothing” and becomes just one thing — one’s own body and self. This occurs naturally once the person is able to experience orientation.
Once the person has experienced individuation, the next phase is development of a core identity, the foundations of individual personality. With the Davis program, this means building the knowledge that will be a foundation for the unique identity of the autistic person.
The final aspect of working with an autistic individual is facilitating the individual into society. If autism is recognized as a failure to develop appropriate social skills, then autism is not corrected until the social skills become appropriate.
One of Gale’s students described his changes as follows:
"Before doing the program, my world was blurry. Now I perceive everything more clearly. My parents and friends no longer have difficulty understanding what I say. I’m able to be more responsible for things in my life."
The Davis Autism Approach will be presented in an upcoming book written by Ronald Dell Davis sometime next year. Mr. Davis’ first book, The Gift of Dyslexia, has sold nearly a half million copies in 18 languages. His second book, The Gift of Learning focuses on methods for correcting ADD/ADHD, math and handwriting problems.
Gale Long has been a licensed Davis Dyslexia Program Facilitator at her New Horizons Dyslexia Center office since 2000. She will be located in the same office in Elkview, WV, and has changed the name of her business to New Horizons Dyslexia and Autism Center. She is accepting new clients both for autism and dyslexia programs.
ABOUT NEW HORIZONS DYSLEXIA AND AUTISM CENTER
Gale Long, at New Horizons Dyslexia and Autism Center now provides Davis Autism Approach as well as Davis Dyslexia Correction Programs. She has been licensed to provide the Davis Dyslexia Correction Program since 2000 and has worked with nearly 200 clients For more information, visit www.davisautism.com, or you can contact Gale at: autismwv@aol.com, call at (304) 965-7400 or toll free at 1-888-517-7830.
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WV Is Home of First Autism Approach Facilitator on East Coast
Special to Huntingtonnews.net
Charleston, WV (HNN) -- Davis Dyslexia Association International, well-known for training and licensing professionals to provide correction programs for dyslexia, has announced it is now training professionals to provide programs for autism. Gale Long, of New Horizons Dyslexia Center became one of the first to complete the licensing process in October 2008. Davis Autism Approach is designed for individuals with high functioning autism.
As a child, Ronald Dell Davis had a form of autism that today is called Kanner’s Syndrome. At about age 9, he began to individuate. It was not until age 18 that he learned to speak in sentences, and age 38 that he corrected his dyslexia. From the experimenting that he used to learn to read on his own, he developed the Davis Dyslexia Correction® Program. There are now nearly 500 facilitators licensed in the world to provide these programs. Just this year, Ron Davis began training professionals to provide the Davis Autism Approach Program.
The first step of this program is an initial meeting and consultation to establish rapport and determine the suitability of the program for the client. Then, a three-phase program is implemented. The program can take anywhere from a few weeks to a few months to complete, depending on the client’s ability to progress through the program. In its current implementation, Davis Autism Approach appears to be most effective with children and adults who are high functioning, verbal, and willing to interact with others.
The Davis Autism Approach has three phases: Individuation, Identity Development and Social Integration.
During the “Individuation” phase, the Davis Facilitator will provide the person with specific tools that can be used to achieve some form of orientation. Orientation is a mental state during which the person experiences accurate and consistent perceptions of their environment. The autistic individual may take some time to experience and achieve this mental state, but the ability to orient is something that can be learned and improved with practice.
Ronald Davis has described his own childhood experiences as follows:
"Way before I started working with autism or had any understanding of it, I referred to myself as having come from a void. My sense of the void was not as existing as an individual, but as existing as both nothing and everything at the same time. There was no sense of being an individual, so there was no “me”. There was nothing to have a sense of identity. Without a “me”, there was no basis for memory or knowledge."
Individuation is the process by which an autistic individual stops being “everything and nothing” and becomes just one thing — one’s own body and self. This occurs naturally once the person is able to experience orientation.
Once the person has experienced individuation, the next phase is development of a core identity, the foundations of individual personality. With the Davis program, this means building the knowledge that will be a foundation for the unique identity of the autistic person.
The final aspect of working with an autistic individual is facilitating the individual into society. If autism is recognized as a failure to develop appropriate social skills, then autism is not corrected until the social skills become appropriate.
One of Gale’s students described his changes as follows:
"Before doing the program, my world was blurry. Now I perceive everything more clearly. My parents and friends no longer have difficulty understanding what I say. I’m able to be more responsible for things in my life."
The Davis Autism Approach will be presented in an upcoming book written by Ronald Dell Davis sometime next year. Mr. Davis’ first book, The Gift of Dyslexia, has sold nearly a half million copies in 18 languages. His second book, The Gift of Learning focuses on methods for correcting ADD/ADHD, math and handwriting problems.
Gale Long has been a licensed Davis Dyslexia Program Facilitator at her New Horizons Dyslexia Center office since 2000. She will be located in the same office in Elkview, WV, and has changed the name of her business to New Horizons Dyslexia and Autism Center. She is accepting new clients both for autism and dyslexia programs.
ABOUT NEW HORIZONS DYSLEXIA AND AUTISM CENTER
Gale Long, at New Horizons Dyslexia and Autism Center now provides Davis Autism Approach as well as Davis Dyslexia Correction Programs. She has been licensed to provide the Davis Dyslexia Correction Program since 2000 and has worked with nearly 200 clients For more information, visit www.davisautism.com, or you can contact Gale at: autismwv@aol.com, call at (304) 965-7400 or toll free at 1-888-517-7830.
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