Hard Words
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New Dyslexia Legislation in Congress!!
Dyslexia found in high numbers in prisoners...
A study found that 80 percent of inmates in the Huntsville, Texas, state prison were functionally illiterate, and 48 percent of those were dyslexic.
Watch the news clip here including information about a prison reform bill to
EVALUATE PRISONERS FOR DYSLEXIA!
Thanks to the brilliant Ameer Baraka!
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What We Do
- Connect parents concerned with the limited dyslexia services in public schools.
- Partner with parent advocacy and education resources to help obtain appropriate services for students.
- Educate parents and teachers on processes at District, State and Federal levels to improve literacy standards.
- Provide information and resources to enable parents and teachers to identify, educate and support students at risk of dyslexia using science-based educational approaches.
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Presentations for Administrators
- What is dyslexia and how it affects students, symptoms and the emotional impact of illiteracy,
- The cost of failure to teach reading.
- Assist in the coordination of structured literacy teacher training programs.
- Offer training for school psychologists enabling them to identify dyslexia early.
- Advocate for structured literacy programs for regular students in an effort to raise standards of reading throughout the school district.
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Our Goals: Knowledge is Power
- 20% of the population have dyslexia
- Implementation of science-based educational approaches stops the emotional and life-threatening impact of illiteracy,
- Reduce the end-cost of failure to teach reading.
- Assist in the coordination of structured literacy teacher training programs.
- Advocate for structured literacy programs for general education students to raise the standard of reading throughout the school district.
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The Cost of Failure to Teach Reading
- 3 out of 4 people on welfare cannot read.
- 75-85% of people in prison cannot read.
- 20% of the population have dyslexia.
- Early identification, teacher training and proper implementation changes lives and improves standards of living.
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Reviews
Parent of a 9 year old student:
"Your help gave me the confidence I needed to bring up such topics of dyslexia in our school systems . She gladly attended a meeting with myself and the administrators in my school district. She helped push them in the right direction in getting our teachers trained to a higher standard for our children. Her approach was both professional and persuasive. As a result our school district is proactively involved in getting teachers trained in Orton-Gillingham. Thank you Helen for being an advocate to help push our districts in the right direction."
Read more reviews and find out more HERE.
Contact Us to Bring a Presentation to Your School District Administrators
In many cases school administrators do not fully understand dyslexia or the science of reading. It is worthwhile organizing an initial meeting with just the head/director of the Special Education Department at your school district and outline the following:
A School Presentation includes information on:
The Issues:
If the Director of your School District does not understand the science of reading, you will certainly have to seek legal advice.
Find out about their philosophy by asking this simple question:
How do children learn how to read?
If they answer building phonemic awareness, phonics or direct explicit sequential approach (your'e good to go!).
However if the answer is they learn to read through reading or they may say through guessing the words (this is a BELEIF and has no basis in reality for 95% of students and you need legal advice as your school district does not base their programs on proven evidence).
A School Presentation includes information on:
The Issues:
- What is dyslexia and how it affects students, symptoms and the emotional impact of illiteracy.
- History of whole word v's phonics, the politics and socio-economic dynamics that make it difficult for regular students to learn how to read in most of our public schools.
- Science-based educational approaches that enable to students to decode and encode (read and spell).
- The impact of illiteracy on individual students, their families and their school education.
- The cost of failure to teach reading for communities and the country as a whole.
- Assist in the coordination of structured literacy teacher training programs.
- Coordinate school psychologist training to identify dyslexia early.
- Advocate for structured literacy programs for regular students in an effort to raise standards of reading throughout the school district.
- Improve reading levels at school districts (average reading level for American adults is currently 5th grade, National Assessment of Adult Literacy, 2016).
- 3 out of 4 people on welfare cannot read (National Association of Adult Literacy, 2016).
- 70-85% of people in prison cannot read to a basic standard or are completely illiterate (NAAL, 2016).
- 85% of students that are listed as "LD" (learning disabled) are in fact suffering from untreated dyslexia;
If the Director of your School District does not understand the science of reading, you will certainly have to seek legal advice.
Find out about their philosophy by asking this simple question:
How do children learn how to read?
If they answer building phonemic awareness, phonics or direct explicit sequential approach (your'e good to go!).
However if the answer is they learn to read through reading or they may say through guessing the words (this is a BELEIF and has no basis in reality for 95% of students and you need legal advice as your school district does not base their programs on proven evidence).
Make a World of Difference
Present at Your School Board of Education Committee Meeting:
Download the Presentation Packet
ADVOCATE FOR A CHILD AT YOUR SCHOOL DISTRICT:
Education Consumers Foundation
Presentation Packet on Dyslexia for Schools:
What is Dyslexia ?
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Our Achievements:
School Psychologist Training!! (June, 2018)
Thank you to everyone who supported the Peconic Teacher Center in Southampton to hold this important training event; 18 local school psychologists were trained how to identify dyslexia in children as young as six years old. They now understand how to identify the 20% of students who have dyslexia and how critical it is to get them the support they need before second grade! They were trained in a battery of tests which included the Feifer Assessment of Reading. Feifer addresses four specific subtypes of dyslexia (which really expedites remediation).
Educational Training!! (August, 2017)
Thank you Peconic Teacher Center (Southampton) for holding Orton Gillingham Training in 2017. Three School Districts across Long Island have also trained teachers in multi-sensory approaches....or hired tutors for students who were not receiving services!
That makes a total of 28 teachers trained so far!
Education Law and Policy - Lobbying at New York State and National Level
Thank you to everyone who supported the Peconic Teacher Center in Southampton to hold this important training event; 18 local school psychologists were trained how to identify dyslexia in children as young as six years old. They now understand how to identify the 20% of students who have dyslexia and how critical it is to get them the support they need before second grade! They were trained in a battery of tests which included the Feifer Assessment of Reading. Feifer addresses four specific subtypes of dyslexia (which really expedites remediation).
Educational Training!! (August, 2017)
Thank you Peconic Teacher Center (Southampton) for holding Orton Gillingham Training in 2017. Three School Districts across Long Island have also trained teachers in multi-sensory approaches....or hired tutors for students who were not receiving services!
That makes a total of 28 teachers trained so far!
Education Law and Policy - Lobbying at New York State and National Level
- Read our news article, "New York State Recognizes Dyslexia on School IEP's" (Sag Harbor Express, 2017)
- Read our news article, "A Conversation with Helen and Harry Roussel" (Sag Harbor express, 2017)
- The current definition of dyslexia in Education Law is incorrect, misleading and counterproductive (it is listed under head-injury!). Support Assemblyman Fred Thiele's bill to define dyslexia Bill # A07639.
- Thank you Senator Marcellino for introducing the bill to define dyslexia # S05867 to the Senate
- Dyslexia Awareness Day Albany 2017
- Read our news article "Dyslexic Kids Make Their Case in Albany" (East Hampton Star, 2016)
- Dyslexia Awareness Day Albany 2016
- Hill Day Washington DC 2015
Number of Students Advocated for On Long Island so far:
99% Success Rate: Only One School District Refused to Provide Specific Services to Teach a Child with Dyslexia How to Read
Number of Public School Teachers Trained:
Number of Psychologists Received Training to Understand Dyslexia:
Make a Donation So that We Can Educate School Districts & Help
Underprivileged Children Learn How to Read on Long Island
Yet Another Study that Proves that Phonics is Critical in Establishing Fundamental Reading Skills (June, 2018)
Beyond the Reading Wars: How the Science of Reading Can Improve Literacy
credit: International Dyslexia Association / Carolyn Cowen (info-images)
What All Teachers Need to Know:
Click HERE and HERE
Sign Our Petition to Ensure All Students Learn to Read at School:
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