Dogma

 After reading the book, SMART BUT FEELING DUMB, I understand why 

people criticize Dr. Harold Levinson as being dogmatic. I am

convinced that Dr. Harold Levinson is really not that dogmatic.
Instead, I feel that Dr. Levinson is passionate about helping
everybody understand what Dyslexia is all about. He believes that he
has an answer to what causes Dyslexia. I get the impression of
sympathy,compassion, and empathy after reading his book. I feel that
he tries so hard to get his points across in a manner that can be
blunt, direct, and passionate that he gets seen as being dogmatic. I
feel that there seems to be a fine line between dogmatic and believing
in something so strongly that can help others. An example is somebody
like the Evangelist Billy Graham who believes so much in the message
of Jesus Christ and Christianity that he feels the need to preach to
the world. He wants to save people because he believes that they will
be damned for not being Christian like him. Maybe he's just
passionate about his ideals or maybe he's dogmatic and doesn't stop to
think that his way of believing isn't the only right way to believe.
Another example is Abraham Lincoln. He was very direct, forward, and
combatant towards the institution of slavery. The Southerners
including especially the slaveowners probably believed that he was
being very dogmatic because he seemed to overlook the importance and
benefits of slavery. People in the North probably believed that
Abraham Lincoln was being a great help to others and being sensitive
to all people in general. The North and South were definitely
divided on the existence of slavery. I am grateful that the North won
the civil war with the South losing or else Blacks would still be
slaves. Adolf Hitler was so dedicated in forcing his beliefs on others
that he murdered millions of Jews, and a lot of people would see that
he was being rather dogmatic. The German people were behind him and
believed that he was a man of vision. The German people didn't drive
him out of power after he invaded Poland and starting murdering Jews.
They kept him in power and let him carry out his plan of Aryanizing
the world. In Hitler's mind, he was doing what he felt was right that
could help the world even though he really he was the one that
ultimately the world needed protection from. Ossama bin laden is
passionate about his idealism, and he believes that he is defending
Islam. Actually, he is defending his fundamentalist Islam, and he has
followers that are even dying for his cause. They feel that he is a
freedom fighter and even a savior. Most of the world believes that he
is very dogmatic, deceptive, and delusional.

As you see, there can be a fine line between being dogmatic and being
passionate about believing in something that can help others. I
believe that Dr. Levinson really wants to help Dyslexics be understood
and get treatment that will help them to live highly productive lives.
After all, many Dyslexics are misunderstood and they are being
erroneously labeled things and not getting the right treatment, and so
their self esteem ends up significantly diminished. He talks about
how there is a conspiracy. He is expressing his own opinions about
the matter, and people have the right to express their opinions. It
is very interesting that people who express their opinions are being
accused of being insensitive, narrowminded, dogmatic, arrogant or even
being a "know-it-all" even though they are just giving their own
input. If a person is being negatively criticized and being accused
of false things, a person has a right to defend himself. I don't know
about you, but I wouldn't be unresponsive and just agree with people
when they are saying things that I feel that are false.

I feel that Dr. Levinson has made valid points about how the inner ear
can cause Dyslexia. He isn't the only person that says that the inner
ear can cause problems with language processing and balance.
Researchers have talked about a possible cerebellar dysfunction
because of clumsiness and lack of automacity in some Dyslexics. The
cerebellum is the region of the brain that is connected to the inner
ear. The ear is an organ that involves not only hearing but
equilibrium too. If the equilibrium is upset, a person can be
unbalanced and can be dizzy. That can lead to cognitive difficulties.
In the book, THE OUT OF SYNC CHILD, the inner ear is explained as a
system that is essential for cognitive functioning and other things
that Dr. Levinson talks about in his book. I have problems that seem
to be related to the inner ear, and other people have those problems
too. Therefore, I am not that skeptical of what Dr. Levinson says,
and I am definitely paying attention to his word. He realizes that
not all Dyslexics are alike. He understands that Dyslexics, not
experts, truly define the Dyslexic Disorder. A lot of Dyslexics get
overlooked because of the experts' criteria. He understands that
Dyslexics frequently compensate for a symptom's quantity typically
revealedd by traditional testing scores but are nonetheless still
Dyslexic. Certainly Dyslexics can have compensated reading ability
after years of special education class and intensive phonics training,
and that is how I was able to compensate to the point that my basic
Reading skills are at the superior level.

Dr. Levinson isn't the only one who notices the significant overlap
with other disorders that include ADHD/ADD, Dyspraxia, Central
Auditory Processing Disorder, Dysphasia, Dysgraphia,and even
psychological and emotional issues. He notices that people with
psychological and emotional problems could actually be suffering
Dyslexics. I find it very sad that people with Dyslexia and other
related disorders are being mistaken for mentally ill. I am not
surprised that learning disabilities are common in Bipolar. If a
person has a learning disability and is being misunderstood and
ridiculed, I wouldn't blame him for being irritable,
moody, upset, bad-tempered and even having behavior problems. I have
lots of compassion, sympathy, and empathy for the learning disabled who
constantly get harassed. You have to experience life as learning
disabled in order to truly understand what a learning disabled person
feels. That is what I believe from experiencing life as learning
disabled myself. I am tired of my Dyslexic Syndrome being
misunderstood, and a lot of people feel the same way. They don't want
to be labeled "stupid","retard","lazy", "neurotic", or other things
that are not valid in their lives. I am very glad that I found out
about Dr. Levinson's book, and I wished that my parents and I knew
about him a long time ago. We could have learned about my Dyslexic
Syndrome and got treatment for it much earlier. Then I wouldn't have
to grow up feeling stupid, flawed, and just plain messed up. I
wouldn't be a victim of shrinks that didn't have a clue about me. I
thank God that I finally learned about my Dyslexic Syndrome and can
get treatment. I wish that all Dyslexics get the necessary treatment
to make their lives better in order to live up to their true
potential.

https://groups.google.com/g/alt.support.dyslexia/c/waV7DbUU3ho