Data data data! Eligibility decisions and progress should be based on more than cold hard quantitative data because there is the equally important qualitative data that is more often than not, completely ignored in the decision making process. Qualitative data can include observations, miscue analysis, writing samples and observations of performance in timed and untimed situations.
After almost twenty years of working with adults and children who struggle with reading and spelling, I have yet to meet two students who presented with the same symptoms and who needed the same instructional plan.
We often get this question: What sets the Dyslexia Training Institute (DTI) apart from other certification programs?Well, excuse us while we toot our own horn for a minute, because we are extremely proud of all the things that set us apart from the crowd. At DTI, our staff has extensive training in the Orton-Gillingham approach, but equally if not more important, we have comprehensive training in Structured Word Inquiry (SWI). Several trainers and tutors in the dyslexia world have training in Orton-Gillingham, but few have training in Structured Word Inquiry. We know that the field or dyslexia and dyslexia intervention is ever-changing and we are always on the cutting edge. Our comprehensive and perpetual professional development for our staff in Structured Literacy approaches and continual field experience providing direct instruction to students of all ages with dyslexia gives our staff a high level of expertise in understanding the the structure of the English language. Understanding this approach guides how we develop our courses and how we provide instruction to course participants so they may gain the deepest understanding of dyslexia, the true structure of the English language and how to teach it to their students. Throw in even more professional development and study of Special Education Law and Dyslexia, Executive Functioning skills and dyslexia in English learners and DTI covers all the bases. We take enormous pride in the quality and breadth of the content and structure of our courses. The proof is in the pudding, just take a peek at the unsolicited comments our participants share with us: Continue reading
Have you heard the buzz about Structured Word Inquiry (SWI)? Are you curious how Structured Word Inquiry answers the call for Structured Literacy for our students with dyslexia? No one can explain it better than Gina Cooke does in the following article, Is This OG?, from Linguist-Educator Exchange. But you must read it, and I mean read it carefully, with an open mind and an understanding that we do the best we can with the information we have at the time. So, what will you do with the new information you are about to acquire?