Reading Out of the Box helps change lives

Martha MacLean hopes to teach her child with Down syndrome to read using a new program developed by two women from Ontario.
MacLean is co-chair of the P.E.I. Down Syndrome Support Group.
Her daughter, Margaret, will be six in December. Because she was born with severe heart defects, Margaret's development has been delayed.
MacLean said she welcomed the opportunity to have the program's founders, Denise MacDonald and Karen Evershed, present a workshop at Murphy's Community Centre in Charlottetown Saturday.
"As a parent of a child with special needs, you always think you should be doing more," she said. "I like the whole idea that (the program is) set out from day
to day. I don't expect (Margaret) to turn around and be this amazing reader, but maybe she will be. I'm going to try."
MacDonald said she and Evershed wanted to develop a program that would make a difference in the world.
The concept of the program, called Reading Out of the Box, is to teach written words in a clear, precise and repetitive manner, said MacDonald, who has a background in psychology and education.
"A huge percentage of children born with (learning difficulties) are visual learners, and as so, it's important for them to see the whole word first," she said.
"What a visual learner really needs is to have a visual reference of what that word represents."
The kit comes with a number of flash cards with words written on them in big, bright red letters.
The program takes 14 months. Children begin by learning single words and eventually work their way up to sentences.
It also comes with a schedule for parents to follow so they aren't overwhelmed and so they can stay on track and continue to help their children's reading skills improve, MacDonald said.
"The program says, 'Here's how to teach your children to read,' " she said. "You don't have to have a university degree, you don't need to be a teacher. Everything that you need is in that box and it will walk you through it. It's a fool-proof system."
Evershed used a similar flash-card approach 25 years ago to teach her daughter, who has Down syndrome, to read.
She's now 26 years old and can read very well, Evershed said.
"She's an amazing writer. She volunteers at our local school too and helps students with reading difficulties."
The two Peterborough, Ont., women took what worked with Evershed's approach and coupled it with current research in the field to create their program.
MacDonald said the visual words shown to the children are words that can be associated to something, like a colour or a name.
"It's like planting a seed in their memory and they can retrieve that information when you show them a word."
Reading Out of the Box has been available for two years, and so far the feedback has been "phenomenal," she said.
"Parents love it, they can't get enough. We've had people come to our workshops and say this has been life changing. They say it's given them hope."
For more information about Reading Out of the Box, check out www.outofthe
boxreading.com