Spelling is an important skill - and can lead to many frustrations for some of our children - and adults, too! Yet, there is a simple strategy which can effectively and quickly help many of these "poor" spellers.
Robert Dilts - one of the prime NLP leaders - recognised that good spellers nearly always go through the same strategy, and he has organised this so that anyone can be taught to use it. The best part is, that it only takes a few minutes to learn.
Watch the eyes of a good speller, you will notice that they look up or straight ahead, while spelling a word. Now look at the eyes of a poor speller - and you will notice that their eyes roam around, never finding a fixed point.
If you ask a good speller how they do it, they will often say it "looks" right. They usually create a mental image of the word - and then just read it off. But this may be done quite unconsciously - and very quickly. Poor spellers often try to work it out by the sound - but, as we all know, English is complicated language, and makes it own rules.
People too, can vary in exactly how they access information, and some basic knowledge of NLP ensures that the best advice is given. However, there is little more rewarding than the child who was failing at school, rushing up to you and telling you they can SPELL!
The story of a little boy I shall call Tommy comes to mind. He was missing a lot of school, which he hated, and claimed he was bullied. In fact, closer questioning found that he couldn't spell at all well, and was embarrased by this. Our first session didn't help. so we tried again and a month later, on my return to that clinic, young Tommy was jumping up and down in the car park, eager to tell me, "I can spell. I can spell". He was due to go to secondary school after the holiday, but he broke his arm, and I thought this would provide him with the perfect excuse for not going to school. In fact he did go - he didn't miss a day except for his hospital visits.
