Subject: FYI: New software is making it possible for children to overcome reading and writing disabilities.
From: Ginette Perkins (ginettep@seals.org)
Date: Mon Mar 26 2001 - 10:15:40 PST
Why Janie Can Read.
By: Christine Santo
02/01/00
FamilyPC
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New software is making it possible for children to overcome reading and
writing disabilities.
When Catherine Harmon of South Bend, Ind., was 4, her parents worried that
she had a hearing problem because she didn't always respond when they spoke
to her. Though Catherine's hearing turned out to be fine, her parents
worried again when she failed to learn to read in 1st grade. Catherine, like
more than 2.5 million other kids in this country, has learning disabilities
(LD) that make it hard for her to read, write, and process information.
Luckily for the Harmons (and for all those other kids), research into how
children learn has fueled a software revolution. Studies have shown that in
order to read, write, and learn, children need strong phonological awareness
and auditory processing skills. In other words, a child must be able to
recognize and manipulate speech sounds, and hear the difference between such
similar words as "bad" and "bat," which can be helped by using special
software programs. But children with LD aren't the only ones having a tough
time honing these skills: The National Institutes of Health, estimates that
60 percent of all children struggle with reading because of weak
phonological-awareness skills.
After being told that her daughter would never read, Linda Harmon enrolled
Catherine in Scientific Learning's Fast ForWord program
(www.scientificlearning.com), an extremely intensive curriculum (100 minutes
a day, 5 days a week) that claims to retrain the brains of children with LD.
The four- to eight-week program uses software-based games, exercises, and
acoustically modified language sounds. "By her third day in the program,
Catherine could hear a rhyme for the first time in her life," says her mom.
"By the tenth hour, she could segment words, sounding out the word
`flubber.' I thought it was a miracle."
There are other, less intensive, options as well: Scientific Learning and
Cognitive Concepts developed game-based software that children can use to
increase their phonological awareness early on. The titles, Away We Go!
(www.scientificlearning .com; $49) and Earobics (www.earobics.com; $59), aim
to prevent reading problems before they start.
Catherine Harmon is proof that these types of learning software programs
work: She now enjoys school, reads slightly above her grade level, and hopes
to be a writer someday.
RELATED ARTICLE: Homework for Parents
Is your child at risk for a learning disability? To find out, take the Fast
ForWord Parent Questionnaire www.scientificlearning.com/
html/families/intquest.html), and check out these articles from LD Online:
Early Warning Signs of Learning Disabilities
www.Idonline.org/Id_indepth/ general_info/ccld_early_warning.html
Commonly Asked Questions About Learning Disabilities
www.Idonline.org/Id_indepth/ general_info/ccld_common_questions.html
What to Do If You Suspect Your Child Has a Learning Disability
www.Idonline.org/Id_indepth/ general_info/ccld_suspect.html If these
resources raise your suspicions, have your child evaluated by a licensed
speech pathologist or audiologist.
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