Questions by Suri Charles and my responses

 

“Loneliness does not come from having no people about one, but from being unable to communicate the things that seem important to oneself, or from holding certain views which others find inadmissible.” Carl Jung

 

Suri Charles

Luqman Michel You’ve mentioned that the children you came across and/or worked with couldn’t read because they 'shut down,' yet you also stated that you taught 80 dyslexic children from 2004 to 2019.

1. How do you reconcile these two positions?

2. Are you suggesting that these 80 children had both emotional or psychological shutdowns as well as dyslexia, or were they misdiagnosed as dyslexic?

 

My response:

1.     I have explained what I mean by shut down kids. If you had bothered to read or asked me what I mean by shut down kids, you and I would not have had to waste so much time. Many intelligent kids shut down or disengage from learning to read when confused. Many of these kids are certified as dyslexic by experts.

 

As reported by the former President of The International Dyslexia Association from 2003-2005.

 

“……even if we settle on a middle number, let us say 10%; that still leaves a lot of children who are not dyslexic, whose brains are not wired any different way, who have reading difficulty.

 

We are not supporting the learning of our teachers for them to do what we are talking about.

 

We still don’t have the capacity or the will to change what it is that we are doing with reading early on and so consequently unless we make those significant changes we are not only going to lose the dyslexics but I am also concerned about these other children; these other struggling readers.”

 

As such, I have classified both categories of kids as shut-down kids. They disengage from learning to read.

 

The children who came to me between 2004 and 2019 could not read in English but could read in Malay and some of them were certified dyslexic by dyslexia experts in Singapore, Australia and the US. Some of them did not have certificates and displayed the same inability to read as those certified.

 

2.     Some of the 80 children were diagnosed as dyslexic by experts and I am in no position to say whether they were misdiagnosed. All I know is all the kids who came to me could not read in English.

 

Suri Charles

Luqman Michel 1. Can you explain what do you mean by 'shutdown kids,' and 2. how does this differ from the commonly accepted understanding of dyslexia?

 

My Response:

I have explained this in my answer to the question above. Here is something from The Children of the Code research:

David Boulton:

‘10 times the number of kids who have innately biologically ordered learning difficulties have learning difficulties that are a consequence of what they learned…’

Dr.G Reid Lyon:

Ninety-five percent of those kids are instructional casualties. About five to six percent of those kids have what we call dyslexia or learning disabilities in reading. Ninety-five percent of the kids hitting the wall in learning to read are what we call NBT: Never Been Taught.

 

Suri Charles

Luqman Michel If these children weren't dyslexic, what specific characteristics did they exhibit that led you to label them as 'shutdown kids'?

My response:

Those who came to me with and without certificates exhibited the same difficulties reading in English. Almost all could read in Malay. They had shut down/disengaged from learning to read in English due to confusion. See David Boulton’s quote above.

Suri Charles

Luqman Michel In your opinion, is there any overlap between children who are 'shutdown' and those who have dyslexia, or are they completely distinct groups?

My response:

My response is the same as that of Julian Elliott who for more than 5 decades researched kids who could not read. He said there is no way to differentiate dyslexic kids from those who can’t read. He further added that there was no difference in ways to teach them to read. He then asked why try to differentiate between dyslexics and kids who cannot read.

Suri Charles

Luqman Michel How does "shutdown" kids compare to the cognitive challenges associated with dyslexia?

My response:

I am not a doctor or psychologist. My book and my blog are to guide parents to teach kids who cannot read.

Suri Charles

Luqman Michel in your own words commented on your FB post "it is better to beg than make money conning parents of kids who can’t read".

Given that you've worked with over 80 dyslexic children from 2004 to 2019, can you clarify whether you provided these services free of charge? If not, how do you reconcile charging parents for your services while criticizing others for doing the same?

My response:

I charged for teaching kids until 2019. Then I handed books out, free of charge to parents and teachers when I gave talks to teachers in kindergartens and schools. I started teaching parents overseas free of charge in 2020 because I wanted poor parents to be able to be helped as well.

I did not criticise teachers for charging to teach kids. To make money from parents in the name of therapy and screening is wrong. I test kids free of charge and tell parents after 2 to 3 minutes of testing, the problem the kid has in learning to read.

To tell parents that the brain has a problem processing letters is a lie. Making money by saying such things is wrong.

 

Suri Charles

Luqman Michel Can you elaborate on the methods you used to teach and assess the 80 children? How did you determine they were "shutdown" kids and not dyslexic?

My response:

You don’t read the links I supply and ask the same questions for which answers are in the links. Read the link I supplied where I told you how I assessed the kid from Australia. I am not going to write down the whole thing for you again.

The method I use to teach any kid to read is to teach them to unlearn the wrong sounds of letters they had learned. The causes of why kids can’t read in English are in my first book published in 2018 and how I teach is in my second book published last year. Buy a copy each from me at a low price instead of buying them online.  

Suri Charles

Luqman Michel how do you propose educators and specialists address the significant challenges faced by children with reading and writing difficulties, whether due to shutdown or dyslexic?

My response:

Teach them to unlearn the wrong sounds of letters and teach them the correct sounds and they will learn to read in less than 4 months of 2-hour lessons per week. Did you read my post on the kid with a Psychological Assessment Report from dyslexia experts recommended by Gleneagles? He was a certified dyslexic. I weaned him after 3 months.

Schools should screen each kid who comes into grade one to assess if he has learned the sounds of letters wrongly before stepping into school. I have explained all these in my blog.

Suri Charles

Luqman Michel 1. What teaching strategies did you find most effective for the 80 dyslexic children you worked with?

2. How do these align or differ from current best practices in dyslexia education?

My response:

Teaching strategies. Same response as above. I use all the tools available. I created my own method which is effective. I teach the correct letter sounds and ask kids to memorise 5 HFWs in my first lesson and they read the first lesson that has only 11 sentences within 1 hour. They go home with their self-esteem restored.

I don’t agree with dyslexia advocates who continue misleading parents into not teaching letter names; not memorising high-frequency words; the method of teaching kids to memorise HFWs.

 

Suri Charles

Luqman Michel last but not least,

What is your goal in challenging the existence of dyslexia, instruction methodology, teaching approaches, researchers' findings etc.? Are you seeking to improve education practices, or is there another motivation driving your position?

My response:

Challenging the existence of Dyslexia – I challenge anyone to tell me the difference between dyslexic kids and those who can’t read. No one knows how to differentiate them.

Instruction methodology – I don’t remember challenging instruction methodology. I have said numerous times in my blog that thousands of teachers all over the world successfully teach kids using various methods. However, I would not say that only OG, Barton, Wilson, etc. works. Any method of instruction that works is acceptable.

Teaching approaches – The same answer as above. Teach any way you like provided you teach the correct sounds of letters.

Research findings – Many teachers and researchers are blindly accepting research reports. They don’t think. I have quoted Daniel Kahneman in my blog on research reports. I know what he says to be true.

The theory that phonological awareness deficit was the cause of dyslexia lasted for 40 years until I debunked that theory. If you don’t read the links I supplied I can’t re-write everything for you. Writing this has already taken me more than one hour. Should I charge you for this education?

 

The Art of Thinking Clearly by Rolf Dobelli says:

Avoid Confirmation Bias: People tend to seek information that supports their existing beliefs while ignoring evidence that contradicts them. Actively seek opposing viewpoints to form a balanced perspective.

Here is a reply by Suri Charles on Facebook:

 Suri Charles

Luqman Michel I did read the links you shared previously, including the most recent one, and I have also reviewed your response to my first question.

You mentioned, 'I have explained what I mean by shut down kids. If you had bothered to read or asked me what I mean by shut down kids, you and I would not have had to waste so much time. Many intelligent kids shut down or disengage from learning to read when confused. Many of these kids are certified as dyslexic by experts.'

However, your explanation seems to veer off into unnecessary rambling. Once again, it appears that you are stuck in old, unhealthy thinking patterns, which ultimately makes this discussion unproductive.

While your response attempts to clarify your perspective, it comes across as defensive and somewhat dismissive of my efforts to engage with the topic. Although you’ve highlighted your explanation of 'shut down kids' and provided additional context, a more constructive approach would have been to acknowledge my questions or concerns, rather than implying that I didn’t take the time to understand.

A more productive approach would have been for you to succinctly reiterate your point while inviting further dialogue or directly addressing any misunderstanding. Unfortunately, the tone of your response may unintentionally hinder collaboration and a meaningful exchange. Given this, I do not find it worthwhile to waste my precious time in continuing to engage further in this discussion.

I responded as follows: 

I spent more than an hour answering your questions and you talked about the tone. I gave you all the details and asked if you had further questions or comments. I asked you for a Zoom meeting. But you insist that I write pages on everything I have already written. Which question did I not address? If you do not want to learn from other people's experience I can't help you. I wish you well.

 

If you had read the links I shared then why do you ask me how I assess kids who can't read?