Dr. David Metzner

There are many ways that tablets can help children learn, but what about children with dyslexia? Would the tablet help them learn to read better? Here are some of the many ways that tablets can not only help students learn at the same pace as a normal student, but have learn better ways to cope with the challenges that they will face throughout their entire lives.

What is Dyslexia?

Thanks to the media, the most popular learning disability today is Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and every school teacher thinks that they can diagnose the disorder and recognize ADHD symptoms in children. Dyslexia is certainly less known but it is also very common. Dyslexia is much milder learning disorder that prevents a child from reading. It is important to remember that children that have dyslexia rarely experience mental retardation. Many children will have problems with orthographic coding, processing speed, language skills, verbal comprehension, phonological awareness, and auditory short-term memory.

Dyslexia is one of the most common reading disorders. Many of the children that suffer from dyslexia also suffer from another learning disability, making it even more difficult for the child to learn. Children that have dyslexia will have difficulties coming up with rhymes on their own. They will have problem with spelling, guessing words, adding letters to words, omitting letters from words, summarizing stories, reading out loud, and counting the syllables in a word. Parents should spend time understanding specifics of children with learning disabilities and learn how to select the best learning strategies for their children. More…

The unconscious mind is the part of the mind which gives rise to a collection of mental phenomena that is manifested within the mind without the individual even being aware that it is occurring. Some examples of this include:

• Unconscious feelings
• Automatic, or unconscious skills that we perform out of habit.
• Thoughts or perceptions that go unnoticed.
• Hidden phobias and other desires.

The unconscious mind is the main source of the automatic thoughts and night dreams which come to us without any apparent cause. Some of these could even be a repository of memories that we may have long since forgotten; for example a trauma that was experienced during early childhood.  An example of an automatic thought would be a person pondering a solution to a problem, yet fails to do so until one day he wakes up with a fresh idea on his mind that unlocks said problem.

There are actually other terms for the unconscious mind that most people may be more familiar with:

• Implicit memory
• Awakening
• Subconscious
• Hypnosis, hypnogogia, or simply a trance.
• The most common is known as subliminal messages.

More…

Ever since we were small children, we all have been told that sleep is a necessary part of life. We are told to get eight hours of sleep, no less, and for good reason. The brain and the body crave sleep in the same way animals crave food and water. Just as animals are willing to do anything for food and water, our bodies and brains are willing to sacrifice anything for sleep.

Do you know anyone who has fallen asleep while driving? Most of us have, it is fairly common. This can happen due to short unintentional naps called micro-sleep. When people are sleep deprived, they can sometimes slip into short periods of sleep, anywhere from a fraction of a second to several seconds. Just like normal sleep, your heartbeat will slow and you even have the ability to dream.

Unfortunately, it is near impossible to resist micro-sleep and they can often result in danger to one’s self, especially if you are driving. It can even result in death, but the body is willing to risk that for just a small amount of sleep.

A lack of sleep can also cause other issues. For example, it can cause people to become befuddled or disoriented, loose coordination, and in some cases, be unable to retain information. As well, people can also suffer from irritation, depression, and other mental issues if they don’t sleep enough. More…