Preschoolers can learn to read and do math – in just minutes a day

MEDIA RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 2, 2008

dEcode for Kids has proven to be simple and effective in teaching kids how to read and do math

June 2, 2008, TORONTO -- dEcode for Kids is a unique program that teaches children between the ages of 3 and 6, earlier is even better, successful literacy and numeracy skills ­ in just minutes a day.

What parent doesn’t want their child to learn early and give them a head start at reading and doing math before they enter kindergarten? Generally speaking, when it comes to teaching their children how to read, parents don’t lack desire but more often it’s the lack of the tools and the time to do it. dEcode for Kids solves both these problems.

"In dEcode for Kids, both the reading and math programs are designed for maximum efficiency which is so important for children at this age whose primary job is to play!" says Leslie Grant (M.Ed.), Director of The Lawrence Park School in North Toronto, which uses the dEcode for Kids programs. "Ten minutes a day is more than enough, and the children really enjoy both the books and the CD programs."

Just about every level of society, inclusive of governments, municipalities, school boards, teachers and parents are recognizing the importance of starting the process of reading and doing math in the preschool years of a child’s life.

Teaching a child to read is considered the key to building self-confidence and instilling the necessary skills to succeed in school and life, according to the Ontario Ministry of Education.

dEcode for Kids is an effective program for teaching pre-kindergarten children how to read, because dEcode for Kids was founded on the same principles as ABC dEcode and 123 dEcode. Both ABC and 123 dEcode were developed through over thirty years of clinical practice with kids and adults struggling with dyslexia, Central Auditory Processing Disorder (CAPD), Learning Disabilities (LDs), and low literacy. These programs have proven to be successful 100 per cent of the time where the student follows the recommended course. The difference is that the full dEcode system, provides more in-depth drilling practice to overcome specific sorts of problems which for most children are not necessary.

With over thirty years of clinical practice, working with hundreds of young children between the ages of three and six, Dr. Debby Chesnie Cooper recognized a need for the very young to have an enticing way to learn about sounds and numbers. The dEcode for Kids curriculum delivers a solid learning foundation in reading for pre-school children and gives them an accelerated head-start in learning to read.

"dEcode for Kids is different than any other program as it is the only reading program that starts at the very beginning ­ with the auditory coding of single sounds," says Dr. Debby Chesnie Cooper, Developmental and Educational Psychologist and Director of The Chesnie Cooper Educational Centre*, leaders in child and educational psychology. "Other reading programs skip too quickly over the early stages of phonetic decoding­ only dEcode for Kids takes all the steps required to truly learn to decode. The dEcode for Kids program, with its careful early attention to auditory coding can even overcome certain mild LDs which may then never manifest in the future for the young learner."

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For further information contact:

Peter Turkington
Strategic Communications Solutions
ON BEHALF OF DR. DEBBY CHESNIE COOPER
Direct Phone: 905.901.9218
Email: pturkington@stratcommsolutions.ca
Web: www.stratcommsolutions.ca

dEcode® for kids inspires and teaches reading and numeracy for preschoolers

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MEDIA RELEASE

April 2, 2008

The premise behind dEcode® is simple – All children can learn, some just learn differently!

April 2, 2008, TORONTO - Everyone needs to learn to read and just about every level of society, inclusive of governments, municipalities, school boards, teachers and parents are recognizing the importance of starting this process in the preschool years of a child’s life. Neuroscientific research also supports this position (see The Early Years study by Margaret McCain and Fraser Mustard).

Teaching a child to read is key to building self-confidence and instilling the necessary skills to succeed in school and life, according to the Ontario Ministry of Education.

However, there are an alarming number of children who enter our educational system without these skills.

“We know that 25 per cent of children enter kindergarten without the skills they need to succeed,” says Shirley Bond, British Columbia’s Education Minister.

Why is it so important to teach pre-kindergarten children how to read?

“Textbooks make too many assumptions and move too quickly, as they assume learning has already taken place by the time the child enters grade one and that students have learned all the previous facts needed to move forward,” says Dr. Debby Chesnie Cooper, Developmental and Educational Psychologist and Director of The Chesnie Cooper Educational Centre*, leaders in child and educational psychology. “I discovered this fact twenty-five years ago when I met a child who didn’t respond to traditional methodologies, and when I couldn’t find curriculum that supported this position, it led me to developing ABC dEcode®, 123 dEcode®, and ultimately dEcode® for Kids.”

Seventy-four per cent of children who are unsuccessful readers in the third grade are still unsuccessful readers in the ninth grade (Journal of Child Neurology, January, 1995).

And at least 50 per cent of adults have weak numeracy skills, according to ABC Canada.

With over thirty years of clinical practice, working with hundreds of young children between the ages of three and six, Dr. Debby Chesnie Cooper recognized a need for the very young to have an enticing way to learn about sounds and numbers. The dEcode® for Kids curriculum delivers a solid learning foundation in reading for pre-school children and gives them an accelerated head-start in learning to read.

“In dEcode® For Kids, the way the sounds and symbols are emphasized and contrasted makes it very easy for very young children to grasp and master the concepts and have success with reading,” says Leslie Grant (M.Ed.), Director of The Lawrence Park School in North Toronto, which uses the dEcode® For Kids program. “The dEcode® For Kids Math program, the children really understand what the numbers represent. Both programs are designed for maximum efficiency, which is so important for children at this age whose primary job is to play!”

“It brings out the natural tendency of children to find pleasure in imitation and repetition, and is simpler to implement than any other program,” says Dr. Debby Cooper. “It turns repetition into learning and is unlike other programs which begin where dEcode® for Kids ends.”

“Ten minutes a day is more than enough, and the children really enjoy both the books and the CD program,” says Leslie Grant.

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For further information or interviews contact:

Peter Turkington / Strategic Communications Solutions / ON BEHALF OF DR. DEBBY CHESNIE COOPER / Direct Phone: 905.901.9218 / Email: pturkington@stratcommsolutions.ca

Treat the problem, not the symptoms

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MEDIA RELEASE

January 24, 2008

Underachieving students and high drop-out rates are a literacy problem, not a racial one

January 24, 2008, TORONTO - There has been much research done linking low literacy with high drop-out rates.

Recently, a concerned TD Canada Trust published a report which stated that low literacy rates are hampering life skills and affecting business. It also stated that if left unaddressed, other issues may arise which lead to increased high school drop out rates, crime and unemployment.

That high drop-out rates due to low literacy exist should not be a surprise. According to The Movement for Canadian Literacy (MCL), low literacy is also closely linked to poverty, poor health and unemployment.

There was a time when there were lots of good jobs for people who couldn't read, but those days are gone. Today a person who can't read has trouble just finding work of any kind. As a result, people who cannot read, fall outside the norms of society with alarming frequency.

Seventy per cent of the people in jail in North America read at the two lowest literacy levels, which means they read nothing, or only well enough to understand the directions on a pill bottle.

While the Toronto District School Board's consideration to start an Afro-centric school could benefit the community by instilling an increased appreciation for culture, instilling pride of heritage, among other things, it will do little to reduce drop-out rates because drop-out rates are not a racial issue, but one of literacy. Low literacy rates affect all cultures and socio-economic classes as evidenced by The Movement for Canadian Literacy (MCL) which estimates that 9 million out of 36 million Canadians lack the literacy skills needed for daily living.

"The problem is low literacy, but to correct it we must deal with the root cause - ineffective teaching methodologies," says Dr. Deborah Chesnie Cooper, Developmental and Educational Psychologist and Director of The Chesnie Cooper Educational Centre*. "For years the teaching methodology used by the educational system was Whole Language, but they admit now, that it was faulty at best."

Seventy-four per cent of children who are unsuccessful readers in the third grade are still unsuccessful readers in the ninth grade (Journal of Child Neurology, January, 1995).

"It would be easy to blame the students for their lack of progress, and many mistakenly do, except for the fact that over 85 per cent of Canadians are either average or above average in intelligence, so the students are smart enough to understand - they just can't read well enough to understand what they read," says Dr. Debby Cooper. "However, with early detection and successful remediation, teaching of basic reading skills is possible and can lead to effective change - I know this to be true because throughout my 30 years of practice working with those with low literacy, dyslexia and Learning Disorders (LD's), I've seen success first hand."

Every child has the ability to learn, but some just learn differently.

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For further information or interviews contact:

Peter Turkington / Strategic Communications Solutions / ON BEHALF OF DR. DEBBY CHESNIE COOPER / Direct Phone: 905.901.9218 / Email: pturkington@stratcommsolutions.ca

Can medication cure all ills?

MEDIA RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 20, 2007

Maybe not – Dr. Chesnie Cooper focuses on remediation

September 20, 2007, TORONTO - Attention Deficit Disorder, or as it's currently known, Attention Deficit/Hyperactive Disorder, is a medical condition affecting approximately three to five per cent of the population according to the National Institute for Mental Health (NIMH).

However, many more children are being medically treated for AD/HD than this statistic implies.

• Children who have been in remedial programs for years.
• Those who have had occupational therapy recommended to them.
• Kids who have been told that they have ADHD, and been put on medication, only to discover that there's little or no improvement.
• Occupational or speech and language therapy isn't yielding the necessary results.
• The prescribed medication doesn't help, the child is angry and there are behavioural problems at home around the issue of homework.

These children have been misdiagnosed.

Due to the similar symptoms, it is not uncommon for Central Auditory Processing Disorder/Deficit (CAPD) to be diagnosed as ADHD, behavioural difficulties, language and communication disorders, autism, dyslexia and learning disabilities.

The term Central Auditory Processing Disorder/Deficit or just Auditory Processing Disorder/Deficit is new to many people. Even for those parents, educators and professionals who are aware of this term, it is difficult to understand exactly what it is, how significant it can be, what the behavioural symptoms are and how it affects individuals academically, socially and in work situations.

In defining CAPD, The American Speech Language Hearing Association (ASHA) 2005 includes the word "central" because part of the definition includes difficulties within the central nervous system.

The definition refers to difficulties in the processing of auditory information in the central nervous system (CNS) as demonstrated by poor performance in one or more of the following skills: sound localization and lateralization, auditory discrimination, and auditory pattern recognition.

"If an incorrect diagnosis occurs, the individual may either receive medication aimed at a medical issue, or receive therapy for behavioural issues, neither of which addresses the basic underlying auditory problem," says Dr. Deborah Cooper, Psychologist and Director of The Chesnie Cooper Educational Centre. "CAPD is not a medical problem. There is no pill that will cure it. CAPD can cause frustration, both with the individual and within the family, but family and behavioural therapy will not cure it either. Only appropriate remediation will."

Upon hearing the label CAPD, many parents are puzzled, since "auditory" represents hearing. Most people assume the term "auditory" deals only with the process of accurately detecting the presence of sound and its physical attributes.

However, it is possible for a person's hearing to test normal, and still have difficulty understanding conversations when background noise is present or when the individual they're speaking to is talking too fast.

This proves that hearing of speech goes well beyond the ear. The situation mentioned above can be explained as a breakdown in the translation system from the ear to the brain.

Once correctly identified with CAPD, the results are often similar to that of Johnny's, a student of The Chesnie Cooper Educational Center who was at the bottom three per cent of reading capability, and after a year and a half, can read anything he wants. "Thank you, Mommy, 'cause now I'm just like all the other kids. And I can read."

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For further information contact:

Peter Turkington
Strategic Communications Solutions
Public Relations Specialists
ON BEHALF OF DR. DEBORAH COOPER
& THE CHESNIE COOPER EDUCATIONAL CENTRE
Direct Phone: 905.901.9218
Email: pturkington@stratcommsolutions.ca
Web: www.stratcommsolutions.ca