MA Educators invited to Literacy and Phonemic Awareness Seminar to be held in April

Feb. 21, 2011 - PRLog -- Reading with TLC, a company that offers a multi-sensory program on phonemic awareness and phonics with proven success as a supplement to the core reading curriculum in Pre-Kindergarten through grade 2, and as an intervention program for students of all ages, will present a two-day seminar in collaboration with the Massachusetts Speech Language Association (MSHA) and the Massachusetts Branch of the International Dyslexia Association (MABIDA).

The seminar will be held on April 7-8 at the Conference Center at Massasoit College, 770 Crescent Street (Route 27) in Brockton, MA; sessions will run from 8:45 a.m. to 3 p.m. each day.

Reading with TLC program authors and co-directors Nancy Telian and Penny Castagnozzi will donate their services, presenting the seminar for the two premier non-profit organizations that are collaborating in an effort to help close achievement gaps in literacy for Massachusetts students.  

“We’ve been using the Reading with TLC program in our center with both children and adults and it has made all the difference in the world for those who struggle with word association,” said Dr. Pamela Hook, Clinical Professor in the Communications Sciences and Disorders Program at Massachusetts General Hospital’s Institute of Health Professions.

“This inaugural collaborative effort of the MSHA and the MABIDA is exciting on many levels, and in particular its focus on strengthening the relationship between speech language pathology and reading skills,” said Dr. Hook, who is also President of the Massachusetts Branch of the International Dyslexia Association.

Fees for those attending the April 7-8 seminar have been lowered and further discounts are available for members of the MSHA and/or the MABIDA.  Educators are encouraged to take this opportunity to join one or both of these professional organizations, not only to take advantage of the member discounted rate for the seminar, but also to access the many benefits of membership associated with the MSHA and the MABIDA.

All monies collected through the April 7- 8 seminar fees will be equally donated to the MSHA and the MABIDA.

Telian and Castagnozzi, as principals of Reading with TLC, are corporate members of the International Dyslexia Association. Telian is a member of the Massachusetts Speech Language Association and served as editor in 2010 of the organization’s quarterly newsletter, The Voice.

“We felt it important to ‘give back’ to these remarkable organizations that have elected to come together to co-host this important two-day seminar,” said Penny Castagnozzi.  “This event sends a message of collaboration between the fields of reading and speech pathology and underscores their significant connection in terms of literacy.”

For more information or to register, please visit the Reading with TLC website at www.readingwithtlc.com.  In order to take advantage of the member discounted rate for this event, educational professionals are encouraged to join or renew their memberships to MSHA https://www.mshahearsay.org/symposia/signup.html  and/or MABIDA. http://www.dyslexia-ma.org/members.html

Recognized as a building block of successful reading, the Reading with TLC program seeks to underscore findings by The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development indicating that prevention and early intervention with appropriate methods in grades K-3 decreases the number of special education referrals and that for 90 to 95% of poor readers, early intervention can increase skills to average levels.

“The MABIDA has been using the Reading with TLC program in our center with both children and adults and it has made all the difference in the world for those who struggle with word association,” said Dr. Hook.

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About Reading with TLC offers research-based, clinically proven methods and materials, and provides professional development opportunities for those training phonemic awareness, phonics, and sight word acquisition. This unique program was developed with a team approach by sisters Nancy Alemian Telian a speech and language pathologist, and Penny Alemian Castagnozzi who has a background in elementary education. Comprised of Lively Letters and Sight Words You Can See, Reading with TLC is utilized in all three tiers of the Response to Intervention model of instruction. This creative program is used throughout the U.S., and globally. The explicit, multi-sensory approach is effective with all types of learner. The methods and materials consistently yield quick, dramatic gains in the critical skills for reading and spelling, while the fun factor makes it an enjoyable experience for students and teachers alike. For more information call 781-331-7412 or visit readingwithtlc.com.