Dyslexia and eReadingPro

I often get asked about how children with Dyslexia learn to read, and why it can be so difficult for them.

One of the best books I've ever read about Dyslexia is called "Overcoming Dyslexia" by Sally Shaywitz. She explains that individuals with Dyslexia are very 'right-brain learners', and see words as a pictures. This is why the whole-word approach works so much better in these cases, and phonics is so painful.

Like any visual learner, it is much easier to learn how to phonetically decode a word AFTER the whole word is mastered. It's like assembling the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle - it's much easier when you can refer to the entire picture, and know what the final outcome is supposed to look like!

eReadingPro was created using the whole-word approach, FOR the visual learner, and therefore works very well with individuals with Dyslexia. Once the child has mastered the whole word, I recommend sitting down with the flashcard and discussing the letters and sounds that make up the whole word. Have them match letters up underneath the word as they reassemble it. Once they understand what letters make up the word, do the same exercise with phonetic components. You should find that your child begins to recognize words easier, AND understand how the pieces fit together to make up each word.

NDSC 2010 Conference in Orlando...Here We Come!

Our line-up of eReadingPro workshops this year is amazing - you should check it out! I'm so excited for many reasons - but especially because so many people will learn about a method for teaching their children to read that really works!

Today we found out that I will be speaking (and exhibiting) at the NDSC 2010 Conference in Orlando, which is being held from July 16th - 18th.

There is so much for us, as speakers and exhibitors, to learn at conferences, such as what parents are looking for in a product. I like meeting other speakers and learning about what they are doing within the Down syndrome community. I also like meeting other exhibitors and learning about their products. Last year at the NDSC conference in Sacramento we met Maria Dellapina of Specs4Us. Since then I haven't stopped telling people about the amazing eyeglass frames she has created - just for individuals with DS!

I have to say that one of my favorite parts about going to the NDSC conference is when parents come up to me, hug me, and thank me for creating a program that helped to teach their child to read. THAT is what makes my job incredibly easy! It's the joy that comes from their hearts, and that of their family when their child reads the words they see on a page with confidence.

The fact that the conference is in Orlando this year will make it fun too - as I'm just a big kid at heart, and have never been to Disney World. I will drag my husband around, and force him on a few rides while we're there I'm sure. I can't wait to see the ear to ear grins on the faces of the children as they encounter Mickey and Minnie and all the other characters that Disney has to offer!

eReadingPro and teachers

As the founder and creator of a reading program, people always ask me whether I've approached all of the various school boards to get the program used in the schools. My response is that it would be like a little mouse knocking on an elephant's door and saying "look at what I've got!"

So instead, we have marketed our program to the parents of children with special needs - particularly Down syndrome. Why Down syndrome? Well, first of all it is because all of the studies out there confirm that children with Down syndrome are very visual learners and learn best using the whole-word approach to reading, and that was who we originally created our program for. But particularly because kids with Down syndrome tend to be the most overlooked and under-taught group in the school system. Many people still have the sad misconception that children with Down syndrome will never be able to learn to read, and therefore don't spend the necessary time trying to teach them. Others want to teach them, but do not have the knowledge or resources available.

The great news is that we are seeing an emerging trend at eReadingPro, in that the schools are now contacting us! The parents are trying the program and seeing amazing results. The teachers are asking the parents what they've been doing to teach their children, as the results are shining through at school! So as a result, the teachers are pondering over just how many other children they are working with who aren't catching on to reading, and if this child with Down syndrome is learning to read at home with eReadingPro, think of all the other children that can benefit from this system as well!

As a way of opening up the avenues even wider with teachers and schools, eReadingPro has decided to offer a FREE 30-Day Trial of our CD with Printable Flashcards. It is inexpensive to ship, and therefore inexpensive to try! If the school or teacher is not impressed after 30 days, they can simply return it to us and it doesn't cost them anything other than return postage. If they like it however, then obviously they will pay us for the product ($109.90USD).

If you think any of the teachers who are working with your children would be interested in trying eReadingPro, just let me know and I would be happy to contact them myself - or you can give them our website: www.ereadingpro.com.

The Charlotte Clock

I mentioned in my last post a woman named Vikki Horner from the UK, whom I met when presenting an eReadingPro workshop in Gibraltar. The organizers of the workshop were very busy ensuring that us two speakers met in between my workshop presentation and hers. I'm so grateful that we did, and that I have some math materials that I can suggest to people who inquire.

What I didn't mention in my last post was a creation of Vikki's called the 'Charlotte Clock'. The clock was created to provide children with as many different ways as is possible to learn how to tell time. The concept begins with teaching the 5-minute blocks of time, and then the 1-hour blocks, gradually working into the fractions that enable the 'before' and 'after' the hour readings of time. The clock comes with a number of different 'faces' that can be used on the clock along with a resource pack for teachers.

The Charlotte Clock is a terrific invention that can be used for ALL children learning to tell time. However, it was specifically designed for Vikki's daughter who was born with Down syndrome, and struggled with the very abstract aspect of telling time.

What an amazing resource - I wish it was around when I was learning to tell time!

Math Made Easy

While in Gibraltar presenting an eReadingPro reading workshop recently, I was fortunate to meet with Vikki Horner of Maths Extra Limited. Vikki was scheduled to speak the evening after I spoke, hosted by the Down Syndrome Support Group of Gibraltar.

Often after I have presented my reading program, parents ask if I also have any recommendations they can use with their children for math. While often offering a handful of strategies they may incorporate, I had yet to suggest a particular program.

However, after meeting Vikki, I believe I now have a math program that I would recommend. Maths Extra is a multi-sensory approach to the first years of mathematical instruction.

The system allows the student to:

• See pattern in numbers
• See connections between numbers
• See structures within numbers
• Picture base ten structures

The use of various multi-colored apparatuses is the key to this system, and is based on some Montessori concepts, but particularly on the Structural Arithmetic Programme by Dr. Catherine Stern. The system begins with 'no number' puzzles, 'naming the plastic shapes' and then gradually works into introducing the actual numerals. It is a very gradual but systematic process - much like eReadingPro!

It is a system that Vikki used with her daughter Charlotte, who was born with Down syndrome, and was struggling with counting and the meaning of numerical concepts. Having such success with Charlotte, Vikki went on to introduce this system across the UK. Today she is an international speaker and presenter - which is how I came to meet her in Gibraltar.

Ireland and Gibraltar

I recently returned from a dual-country trip to Ireland and Gibraltar with eReadingPro. Reading workshops were organized in both countries, with the first one in Dublin, Ireland, and the second in Gibraltar.

The workshop in Dublin brought in 73 participants, and included parents and educators all looking for a way to teach their child(ren) to read. It was a packed room at the Dublin West Education Centre! Special thanks to Marie Brady, a special education teacher in Birr, County Offaly, who organized this workshop with the assistance of Eileen Fitzgerald of the Dublin Branch of Down Syndrome. They both did an amazing job! There is clearly a need for our program in areas like Ireland, and it was wonderful to be welcomed with such a large group.

From Dublin I went to Gibraltar to present a workshop there to the Down Syndrome Association of Gibraltar. Annette Zammit and Jane Payas also did an amazing job organizing this workshop within just two short weeks. I was introduced by the Director of the Ministry of Education, and given a very warm welcome to Gibraltar. Everyone was very friendly and helpful, and I was even able to see most of Gibraltar (it's only 3 miles x 2.5 miles in size!) during my short stay there. Dr. Paul Lyons of Bishop Fitzgerald Middle School even invited me to visit his school and meet some of the children they will be using eReadingPro with. It was a beautiful experience! Vikki Horner, a numeracy advisor for Maths Extra Limited presented a workshop the day after, and I was fortunate to meet with her prior to my departure. For all those parents looking for a math solution for their children with Down syndrome look no further. I will be blogging about Vikki and her program in the very near future, so watch for it!

NEW CD With Printable Flashcards!

Finally! No more writing flashcards!

We have just released our newest eReadingPro CD with Printable Flashcards that allows EVERY flashcard in our program to be printed right from your home or work computer. In fact each flashcard can even be shown to your child right from the computer if you would rather not print them off!

This new CD contains the full Instructional Guide, labels, 659 flashcards, AND all images for the original 14-month program. Everything is printable onto 8 1/2" x 11" card stock and Avery label sheets. The cost is only $99.95USD plus shipping. It is also available in other currencies.

For those individuals who purchased an eReadingPro eBook in the past and would like to upgrade to the new CD, we will offer you a $25 credit towards the new CD. Simply contact us with your registered username and password for the eBook and we will take $25 off the total cost!

Christmas is only weeks away, and this new CD would make an excellent gift!