Explains what reading disabilities are, coping strategies, and helpful technology for reading and writing.

“A success story . . . proof that one can rise above the disease and defy its so-called limitations on the brain.”—Daily Beast Despite winning the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 2008, Philip Schultz could never shake the feeling of being exiled to the "dummy class" in school, where he was largely ignored by his teachers and peers and not expected to succeed. Not until many years later, when his oldest son was diagnosed with dyslexia, did Schultz realize that he suffered from the same condition. In his moving memoir, Schultz traces his difficult childhood and his new understanding of his early years. In doing so, he shows how a boy who did not learn to read until he was eleven went on to become a prize-winning poet by sheer force of determination. His balancing act—life as a member of a family with not one but two dyslexics, countered by his intellectual and creative successes as a writer—reveals an inspiring story of the strengths of the human mind.

Draws on recent scientific breakthroughs to explain the mechanisms underlying dyslexia, offering parents age-specific, grade-by-grade instructions on how to help their children.

The author interprets reading difficulties and dyslexia in terms of PASS (Planning-Attention-Simultaneous-Successive) processes, which are the four main processes of knowing and thinking that replace the traditional views of IQ and redefine intelligence. The PASS theory is used to explain reading problems that are not explained by a traditional IQ assessment.

A must-have guide for any parent or teacher of a child struggling to learn to read, this essential resource begins by answering the question "What is Dyslexia?" The authors have masterfully selected and distilled the most significant research in the field to provide clear and detailed explanations of the: 1) widely accepted research-based definition of dyslexia; 2) identification and treatment of dyslexia at various stages of development; 3) emotional consequences of reading difficulties; 4) current research on the role of genetics and the brain; 5) essential elements of effective reading instruction; and 6) treatment options for the most severe cases of dyslexia and other reading problems.

This prevalent reading problem has puzzled medical researchers and parents alike for 100 years. The latest evidence indicates that dyslexic children have trouble breaking words into constituent sounds, which makes it harder for them to connect speech with letters of the alphabet.