Children with dyslexia

Widely known for an array of professional accomplishments, dyslexia and ADD specialist Angela Gonzales, MD reflects on her personal experience of working with her dyslexic son and how she developed different strategies for helping with children with dyslexia.
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Children with dyslexia

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Have you ever noticed with your child with dyslexia that some days they have really good days where they seem to be on, they can read okay, they pay attention, they get up when you tell them to? And then, there´s other days where they are missing words that they seem to have known the day before. I remember when I used to work with my child, my nine year old. I didn´t know he was dyslexic. And I would sit there and try to go over reading with him again and again and he would always call and the and the and. And I would wonder can´t you tell that those are two different words. And I felt myself getting frustrated because I didn´t have an understanding. What we know is these are very visual, spatial, conceptual thinkers, not verbal. If you are a verbal thinker and someone shows you a word like the, it´s easy to think what that word because all you need to be able to do is hear it. If you are a visual thinker though, you need to be able to think what the meaning of that word and what is the mean. Ask many teachers. They can´t tell you what the means. So if I was to say the word house, many of you can picture a house. If I say dog, you can picture a dog. If I say the word the, do you get a picture? And if you are visual, now you have a blank. You have no meaning in what you are reading. So what you do with your visual style of thinking is you begin to manipulate it and change it and distort it to try and make sense of it. And therein lies the beginning of learning disability. Words will change. Words will jump off the page. Words will be added to the page. Letters will be missing. So what we need to do is to help these individuals perceive correctly first and foremost. Then, we just need to go back and help give meanings to all those words in our English language that don´t inherently have meaning with them.

Widely known for an array of professional accomplishments, dyslexia and ADD specialist Angela Gonzales, MD reflects on her personal experience of working with her dyslexic son and how she developed different strategies for helping with children with dyslexia.

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Angela Gonzales, MD

Dyslexia & ADD Specialist

Dr. Angela L. Gonzales (Dr. Angie) is a Pediatrician, Licensed Davis Facilitator, transformational speaker, and mother of three. Currently, Dr. Angie owns and runs Renaissance Mind in Norco, CA.  Renaissance Mind is a Learning Facility where Dr. Angie uses both her Davis Facilitator License and medical expertise. Through Renaissance Mind, she is able to help clients, educators and parents learn skills and techniques that help overcome the obstacles of learning that accompany the unique thinking styles of those with Dyslexia, ADD/ADHD and Autism Spectrum Disorder. Renaissance Mind programs utilize multiple, non-pharmaceutical, techniques that are tactile, fun, and unique to each client.  The programs also include help with focusing, comprehension, math skills, reading and handwriting skills.  As a transformational and instructional speaker and educator, Dr. Angie has dedicated herself to helping others, of all ages, to find joy and peace in their lives.  Through Renaissance Mind she offers multiple educational courses and workshops that aid individuals on their path to total wellness of mind, body and soul.

Prior to running Renaissance Mind, Dr. Angie received her BA in Physiology from the University of California at San Diego and then went on to obtain a doctorate in medicine from Drew/UCLA School of Medicine.  She completed her pediatric residency at Martin Luther King Hospital and then spent an additional year as Chief Resident to aid in teaching pediatric residents. Following her medical training she worked in Downey, California as a general pediatrician for seven years.  During this time she served on multiple committees both at the clinic and hospital.  

As Dr. Angie's family grew she transitioned her time from the clinic to time with her children, trading her full time practice for part time work covering other physicians’ practices when necessary. As her youngest child’s school experience increased in difficulty, she left medicine to aid in his education. Despite her efforts at homeschooling, her son continued to have learning challenges.  It wasn’t until she found a Davis® Facilitator that her son began to have success in school. She saw the success in her son defined by increasing reading ability, appropriate coping mechanisms and improving self esteem and confidence.  Her son’s success was her inspiration to go back to work, but not as a physician, as a Davis® Facilitator. As she began her journey, providing answers for those with learning differences, she realized that the sum total of the individual was far more than just their ability to learn.  She began to work with the total individual to promote total wellness.  This led her into her other passion: helping to heal the whole person. 

Dr. Angie was born and raised in Los Angeles, California and is a product of the Los Angeles Unified School District. She currently resides in Riverside, CA with her husband of 23 years, her four children (including her nephew) and three dogs.

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Transcription: 
Have you ever noticed with your child with dyslexia that some days they have really good days where they seem to be on, they can read okay, they pay attention, they get up when you tell them to? And then, there´s other days where they are missing words that they seem to have known the day before. I remember when I used to work with my child, my nine year old. I didn´t know he was dyslexic. And I would sit there and try to go over reading with him again and again and he would always call and the and the and. And I would wonder can´t you tell that those are two different words. And I felt myself getting frustrated because I didn´t have an understanding. What we know is these are very visual, spatial, conceptual thinkers, not verbal. If you are a verbal thinker and someone shows you a word like the, it´s easy to think what that word because all you need to be able to do is hear it. If you are a visual thinker though, you need to be able to think what the meaning of that word and what is the mean. Ask many teachers. They can´t tell you what the means. So if I was to say the word house, many of you can picture a house. If I say dog, you can picture a dog. If I say the word the, do you get a picture? And if you are visual, now you have a blank. You have no meaning in what you are reading. So what you do with your visual style of thinking is you begin to manipulate it and change it and distort it to try and make sense of it. And therein lies the beginning of learning disability. Words will change. Words will jump off the page. Words will be added to the page. Letters will be missing. So what we need to do is to help these individuals perceive correctly first and foremost. Then, we just need to go back and help give meanings to all those words in our English language that don´t inherently have meaning with them.