Laughton King is a retired psychologist whose contribution tothe progressive dismantling of what is commonly called ‘dyslexia’ comes from his70+ years as a ‘dyslexic’ person, and from 35 years as a psychologist workingwith children experiencing learning difficulties. Laughton’s difficulties withreading meant that he did not rely on the insights and conclusions of academicsand scholars. Instead, through observation of his own and other's learningprocesses, he established his own understanding of this unfortunately commondifficulty.

 

School was a nightmare for Laughton. He couldnot decipher the language of the teacher and was confused that other kidscould. His classroom failings led to social and behavioural failings, and forthese he was labelled and blamed. In turn, his acceptance of the blame leddirectly to deep, prolonged depression.

 

Laughton describes his eventual self-diagnosisof dyslexia at age 45 years as like emerging from a dark cloud but lacking anysense or understanding of its causes or functional dynamics. Subsequentobservations of thousands of children, their families and their teacherseventually led to practical insights regarding dyslexia as a daily life issuein a person’s interfaces with society through the various stage of life.

 

Alongside his long career as a psychologist,educational psychologist and mediator, Laughton is the author of threeself-published works that represent the evolution of his understanding of thedyslexic mind: Reaching the Reluctant Learner: A Manual of Strategies forTeachers and Parents (2006), With, Not Against: A Compendium of PositiveParenting Strategies (2008), and Dyslexia Dismantled (2010).