Waterbury Program Offers New Approach to Beating Dyslexia
Thursday, September 30, 2004
Stamford Advocate [CT] and Associated Press

"Ready for the chips?" asks Rosemary West, a tutor at the Valley of Waterbury 32nd Degree Masonic Learning Center.

Alberto Minnocci, 11, of Waterbury, answers, "Yeah!"

He excitedly dumps out a cup of colored plastic chips onto the table and listens to West read a list of words. He puts a chip into the cup every time he hears the long "I" sound, practicing phonemic awareness.

"High." He drops the chip in. Clunk. "Cycle." Clunk.

"Repair." He hesitates and looks at West, who tells him to sound out the word. Alberto, still gripping the chip, repeats the word, emphasizing the two syllables. He doesn't drop it.

"Good," West says.

This is Alberto's favorite part of his lesson at the center.

"I like anything that involves a game, " he says.

Alberto, an energetic and charismatic seventh-grader at Our Lady of Mount Carmel School, is one of 22 students with dyslexia in the Waterbury area who receive free one-on-one tutoring at the Masonic learning center.

Dyslexia is a learning disability with neurological and genetic causes. People with dyslexia have difficulty decoding and recognizing words. Many are poor spellers.

Common characteristics of the disability include confusing the letters "p," "d" and "b," omitting sounds at the end or beginning of a word, and incorrectly sounding out words. As a result, comprehension suffers.

Most people with dyslexia have an average or above average IQ, but their reading difficulties hamper academic success.

"As frustration mounts, the difficulties in reading, writing, and spelling can surely wear at one's self-esteem and schoolwork may become very problematic," Cheryl Sharkis, the center's director, said.

That's one reason the Scottish Rite Masons created the program in 1994. The Masons are a national fraternal organization that has adopted dyslexia as its major cause. After years of planning and preparation, the Waterbury center, the only one in Connecticut, opened in February 2002.

The center used the Orton-Gillingham approach, which incorporates phonics-based multi-sensory learning techniques to bring students up to speed with their reading, writing and spelling skills.

The structured lessons focus on creating connections between what words look like, sound like and feel like to form.

There is also a big emphasis on review, Sharkis said. At the beginning of each lesson, each child reads through a custom card pack containing words, blends and vowel sounds that he or she has already mastered.

"We give them tools to break apart the English language so they have a better grasp," Sharkis said.

"Where do you hear 'ew'?" West asks Alberto during the session, "Drew."

He answers, "At the end."

"Blew."

"At the end."

"Chew."

"At the end. I'm so smart."

West replies, "Yes you are."

"We've come a long way," West says.

Alberto started on level one when he entered the program in June 2003 and is now on level three.

Alberto's mother, Luci, says she notices a big difference in Alberto's attitude and work since he's been in attending the center.

"He takes his time sounding words out," she said. "His spelling has gotten better. When he came here, he struggled with the word 'the.' Now he can spell 'dictionary."'

Alberto says, "I'm really proud of that."

The center not only provides free tutoring to the students, but also free training for its tutors. The yearlong training includes 45 hours of lectures and 100 hours of supervised hours with a student, Sharkis says. They also must hold a bachelor's degree.

The tutors come from various backgrounds and ages.

"It's nice for retired people who want to earn a little extra money and gain great experience," said Lewis Vander Eyk, chairman of the board of governors of the Waterbury chapter of the organization.

Although most of the funding for the program comes from the Masonic Fraternity, other local organizations and people donated money, equipment and resources. Some even have sponsored students by donating $5,000, the cost of tutoring a child for a year.

Of 22 students who currently attend the center, 11 are from Waterbury. Students between the ages of 6 and 18 are admitted into the program on a first-come first-serve basis.

"I love it here," Luci Minnocci said. "They're friendly, knowledgeable and accommodating. (Alberto) loves coming here."

Copyright © 2004, The Associated Press