I have to be honest, having Dyslexia causes my short term memory to be awful. I have been using my "iPhone App" version of "Lumosity". Most of us have seen the silly commercial which comes on TV all the time. It works like a personal trainer with daily training games. They are really addictive, fun, and seem to really work. There is a free version which I have used and the paid version. I highly recommend you try this. If you don't have Apple products they have been working on a version for Google Play App Store.
I was born during the video game boom. My sister played the Atari, and so did I! Next the Nintendo; "Duck Hunting" and "Super Mario Brothers"-- but it wasn't till the "Tom Clancy Rainbow Six" games in my living room did my world change. It was a no brainer than I would fall in love with first person shooter games! It put me into another reality, away from the kids that made fun of me, away from teachers putting me down, away from the everyday troubles of day to day life. Plus they were fun.
My parents first stressed out about the time I spent playing these games, and the subject matter and violence. The fears were short lived after they noticed how it really effected me. I was less stressed out, happier, stayed out of trouble. I never had many friends growing up or even now. I'm not much of a talker and keep to myself. I didn't want to go hang out with friends, because I didn't have any! I didn't get in trouble, because I spent my free time on the computer playing games.
I didn't really make friends until I moved; I changed high school in my junior year. I was the new kid on the block and instead of it being a bad thing it was good. Making friends was pretty easy. After joining a new church with tons of youth my age I ended up in a band and spend all my free time with them.
So now in the present day I still love a good video game to unwind and release some stress. In the United States video games tend to get the blame for teenage violence school shootings and anything bad that happens with our youth. If you look deeper it wasn't the games they played it was the psychological condition they had that was underlying that wasn't addressed or treated.
If your Dyslexic son or daughter likes video games it might not be so bad. I wouldn't recommend violent war games until late teenage years. I would recommend limiting the hours on games because children need to be outdoors and need exercise! All I am saying is they aren't all bad and don't believe the hype.
Dyslexia is a different for everyone that has it. Why? Mainly because no one person is alike, even twins. The outward appearance might be the same but the brain could process data completely different.
NORMAL DYSLEXIA I like to explain Dyslexia to outsider with a funny but useful example. Imagine if you wrapped only one side of a Christmas tree with white lights... left or right side doesn't matter.... this is basically how a so called "normal brain processes data. Using one side mainly over the other. Now take the same tree and put colored lights randomly all over left, right, top and bottom parts of the tree. Turn on just the white lights and you see how the brain lights up in a "normal person". Lets see what a Dyslexic brain looks like; Turn on the colored lights and you will see the huge difference.
What color are your lights????
The problem the teachers or school system says isn't you nor is it your child it's the way the data is received! Teachers that teach to only one side of the brain or as my example showed one side of the tree... what happens to the second side, the side with no lights.
Both sides are used by a Dyslexic person which means the traditional approach to teaching student new material in the school system do not work...If 70% of the students learn the material but 30% don't are we not failing those students!!!
I was 16 years old when I had finally learned I was in fact Dyslexic and the only saving grace I had was a program called " Wilson".
So after watching the movie "Won't back down" (2012), I was inspired to read. I choose to read about my personal hero, Albert Einstein. I enjoy reading his quotes in general but love when he talks about Dyslexia and his school experiences which were common to most Dyslexic people. Generally bad, but a few good people in the middle of it.
Going back to the movie, it was really good. The story reminded me of my story. I cried like a baby in several parts, because it made me remember how rough it was on my parents and how people can be so cruel. They watched me battle for little success in school and would hear the teachers belittle me and call me lazy and it reminds me of the bad teacher in the movie. There is no telling how many of those same teachers I had. I can count on one hand how many teachers really cared. The movie also hit home because like the little black boy, I have walked in his shoes. My mother was a teacher, and she felt like she was doing it all wrong because she couldn't fix me or help me. That is hard to deal with... It's hard to give A effort and end up with a C or even a D. Needless to say my report cards were littered with C,D,and even F's. I can't tell you how many parent/teacher meetings my mom and dad went to; or how many times I passed my grade by the skin of my teeth. I was so uses to failing that it became normal. I became uses to disappointing everyone around me and myself. Sadly this is a lot of the time the life of a person with Dyslexia. I would do anything to change that!
The following is an interview performed by Ofer Chermesh, the founder of Ghotit, the leading writing assistive technology for dyslexics, and Mr. Albert Einstein, the man synonymous with the word GENIUS, and a world famous dyslexic. All of Mr. Albert Einstein texts are exact quotes.
Ofer:Thank you Mr. Albert Einstein for joining this interview. And thank you also very much for being a dyslexic genius. One of the major misconceptions that people have is that people with dyslexia have a lower intelligence. That is ridiculous of course…
Mr. Albert Einstein: “Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I’m not sure about the universe”.
Ofer: Your son Hans Einstein has be quoted as saying that your “ teachers reported that . . . you were mentally slow, unsociable, and adrift forever in his foolish dreams”. How do you describe your experiences at school and with your teachers?
Mr. Albert Einstein: “Most teachers waste their time by asking questions which are intended to discover what a pupil does not know. Whereas the true art of questioning has for its purpose to discover what the pupil knows or is capable of knowing”.
Ofer: Any insights for dyslexics who are struggling with their studies at school?
Mr. Albert Einstein: “Education is what remains after one has forgotten everything he learned in school”. “The important thing is not to stop questioning.”
Ofer: You know, Ghotit, the company I have founded offers a unique spelling and grammar checker. It offers a solution that I as a heavy dyslexic have been dreaming about my whole life. What guidance can you provide for Ghotit?
Mr. Albert Einstein: “Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.”
Ofer: Developing an intelligent spell checker that offers word suggestions based on the context of the sentence has taken a longer time then expected?
Mr. Albert Einstein: “When a man sits with a pretty girl for an hour, it seems like a minute. But let him sit on a hot stove for a minute and it’s longer than any hour. That’s relativity.”!
Ofer: So what do you see in the future of Ghotit?
Mr. Albert Einstein: “I never think of the future. It comes soon enough.”
Ofer: Any business recommendations for Ghotit?
Mr. Albert Einstein: “Try to become not a man of success, but try rather to become a man of value.”
Ofer: Any final words?
Mr. Albert Einstein: “Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving”.
(This was the interview which was repost myself but I claim no rights to this conversation.)
American's growing interest with Doomsday is a little scary. This hot topic has only gotten bigger during 2012 predictions and the TV shows like "Doomsday Preppers". The Americans that are claiming these predictions are true seem to be dealing with some kind of paranoia disorder. That is my thought, but I'm a writer, not a medical professional. Through all the crazy paranoid ideas, there are some good pro-active ideas that can be useful.
The idea of being ready before something happens isn't all bad. No I'm not talking about the end of the world. I'm talking about an emergency scenario, for example, hurricane storms, power outage, breaking down on the side of the road, or whatever. As a single man my thought process was much different than a married man with a child. No I'm not talking about dating or chasing down the ladies. I'm talking about family security; the ability to protect what I love the most!
How do I even do that? Where do I begin?
My first mistake was jumping on Google, and being hit in the face with tons and tons of bad advice. My background in survival skills was amateur at best. I do have a good amount of backpacking experience (in groups- never been solo). I do read a lot of information about how to do things which might come in handy. As for physical security, I have an advanced level of skills set. I have tons of martial art experience along with advanced firearm training and law enforcement training. I think that area is covered.
What I needed help with the most is if I put together an emergency bag, would goes in it? I purchased and read a book called "Build the perfect bug-out- bag" by Creek Stewart. It's a great guide on how to pack a backpack and simple survival skills, perfect for what I needed to learn.
First things first, Creek states remember the 3's!!! In extreme weather, you can survive for 3 hours without shelter. You can only survive for 3 dayswithout water, and lastly you can only survive 3 weekswithout food.
Next are the main focus areas: Fire, Shelter, Water, Tools, and First Aid.
The sub topics/focuses are: Picking a Good Bag, Water filters, Foods, Clothing, Shelter, Fire Making, First Aid, Hygiene, Tools, Light, Communication with outside world, and Protection for others.
Here is what my bag looks like.
Content List:
Day Bag: Coleman Twitch Exponent
22" machete, Survival knife (Cold Steel), SOL survival kit, first aid kit, Mult-Tool, Rain protection, Optics, Bar of Soap, Anti-Bac Gel, Cooking Pot, Knife Sharpener, 48 ounce bottle, metal bottle, Wise food, Water tablets, Para Cord, Freezer Zipper bags (quart, 1 gallon and 2 gallon), full change of clothes, fire starter, matches, water filter system.
I wanted to post this for you guys. It was more for fun than something serious I would continue to do unless you guys like it. So without further delay, the first video of me on my blog. Enjoy, I hope you like it.
After a long journey, my goal was finally reached. On December 15th 2012, I obtained my first college degree. During this process I had some really great instructors and some really bad ones as well. I was even told by the college staff to give up and just go find a job. Sadly that wasn't the first time I have heard that so I brushed it off. The path for me was littered with road blocks, but I never stop fighting.
(My mother and father)
(My wife, son, and me)
(My 2nd mom and wife step-father)
Before I began my last semester, I had to meet with the dean of the English department. She told me because of a grade I made almost ten years ago I would fail the English class I needed to graduate. I pleaded with her and told her if she gave me a chance and let me take the class I would make an "A" and come back and show her. After a lot of hard work and long papers I obtained that "A" and went to her office to show her. Three trips later I finally met with her and showed her what she thought was impossible, wasn't!
I did learn some things about myself. I found I hated science classes and don't like or dislike math classes. I love English classes, or any class that requires me to write. I think its because every class I have had to do a lot of writing I have made straight A's!
I have a few more classes to take before I transfer to another college to finish my college education. I have finally obtained my lifelong dream!
This degree isn't just for me, it’s for my family. It’s for all the people that supported me, and all the people that have Dyslexia or learning differences that did not think they could do it. I can honestly stand before all of you, proud and say it was hard, and a battle but it was NOT impossible!
