The Ugly Duckling..

The ugly duckling was a famous fairytale written by the Danish poet and author Hans Christian Anderson. The story tells of a homely little bird born in a barnyard who suffers abuse from his neighbors until, much to his delight (and to the surprise of others), he matures into a beautiful swan, the most beautiful bird of all. The story is beloved around the world as a tale about personal transformation for the better. This tale has been translated in 44 different languages. Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Greek, Japanese, Spanish to name a few.

The tale begins when a mother duck's eggs hatch. One of the little birds is perceived by the duck’s neighbors as a homely little creature and suffers much verbal and physical abuse. He wanders sadly from the barnyard and lives with wild ducks and geese until hunters slaughter the flocks. He then finds a home with an old woman but her cat and hen tease him mercilessly and again he sets off on his own. He sees a flock of migrating wild swans; he is delighted and excited but he cannot join them. Winter arrives. A farmer finds and carries the freezing little bird home, but the foundling is frightened by the farmer’s noisy children and flees the house. He spends a miserable winter alone in the outdoors but, when spring arrives, he is welcomed into a flock of beautiful swans for he has matured into one of them.

The author later confessed that the story was "a reflection of my own life". Andersen himself was a tall, ugly boy with a big nose and big feet, and when he grew up with a beautiful singing voice and a passion for the theatre he was cruelly teased and mocked by other children"

There are a lot of children even today, who are considered as ugly ducklings, and I particularly want to emphasize of children suffering from dyslexia. I would like to begin with a short list of possible dyslexia symptoms in children.

• a noticeable difference between the pupil's ability and their actual achievement.
If you notice that a child who appears to be average or bright when they are talking to you is struggling to read, spell or cope with math/s, this may be the strongest indicator that they may be dyslexic. It is very common for dyslexic children to be quite able, especially in the areas of creativity (art, drama, drawing, etc.) and physical co-ordination (physical education, swimming, sports, model-making, etc.).

• a family history of learning difficulties;

• difficulties with spelling;

Spelling is the activity which causes most difficulty for dyslexic children. Noticing spelling errors in short, simple words is the way in which most dyslexic children first come our attention.

• confusion over left and right;

• writing letters or numbers backwards;

You will have noticed some children who mix up 'b' and 'd', or even 'p' and the number 9. These letters are the same in their mirror image, and cause regular confusion for a dyslexic person

• difficulties with math/s;

• difficulties with organizing themselves;

• difficulty following 2- or 3-step instructions.

'Go to Mrs. Brown and ask her if Peter Smith is in school today. Oh, yes, and ask if I can borrow her dictionary' - such an instruction is just too much! It involves both sequencing and memory skills, and you would be very surprised to see a dyslexic child return with the dictionary and information about Peter Smith! Dyslexic children love to take messages as much as any other child, but it has to be a less complicated instruction

No two dyslexic children are exactly alike, and the above symptoms are just the more common ones. The list is not exhaustive, and not every dyslexic child would show all of these signs. However, if a child is having difficulties with spelling and writing, and has some of these signs, it may be time to think about the possibility of a professional assessment.

• A Description of One Child's Dyslexia Symptoms - detailed outline by a teacher of one dyslexic child's difficulties with reading, spelling and copying from the board.

• David's difficulties - one dyslexic child's symptoms - difficulties with self-confidence and writing.
• Lowered self-confidence in one girl - Alice, who does not want to go to school, and who is getting bad reports. (Lower down the page).

• ABC's to helping the dyslexic student in the regular classroom - Frequently in the regular classroom dyslexic children suffer. Due to lack of understanding of the students learning process the educator may see the student as slow and unmotivated. These misconceptions may lead to low self-esteem of the dyslexic student. Once there is understanding of the dyslexic student and the learning process there are some ways to help the dyslexic student in the regular classroom.

In the End I would like to mention some of the Famous Swans. Yes, these are famous celebrities who were dyslexic, but overcame their inabilities to transform themselves from ugly ducklings to to Beautiful Swans..!!

Orlando Bloom - Bloom was raised in the Church of England. As a child, he managed to get through The King's School Canterbury and St Edmund's School in Canterbury despite his dyslexia. He was encouraged by his mother to take art and drama classes

Tom Cruise - He has said that Scientology, specifically the L. Ron Hubbard Study Tech, helped him overcome dyslexia.

Steve Jobs – CEO of Apple Computers. The brain behind the I-pod, I-phone, and I-pad.

Walt Disney- American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon, and philanthropist.

Thomas Alva Edison - American inventor, scientist, and businessman who developed many devices that greatly influenced life around the world, including the phonograph, the motion picture camera, and a long-lasting, practical electric light bulb.

John Lennon - his school reports were damning: "Certainly on the road to failure, hopeless, rather a clown in class wasting other pupils' time.

Erin Brockovich-Ellis - American legal clerk and environmental activist.

Salma Hayek, Pablo Picasso, Lionardo Da Vinci, Magic Johnson, Jon Lennon, Alexander Graham Bell, John F Kennedy and our dear author Hans Christian Anderson himself.