fall 2001 academic language therapy association dedicated to … · 2019-10-11 · 2 alta...

By Martha Sibley

If each of you could have been at ALTA Board’s annual plan-ning retreat in August, you would have gained a deep appre-ciation for the officers and directors whom you elected last

spring! As we enjoyed Valerie Tucker’s gracious hospitality ather “5T Ranch” in Argyle, Texas, the committees reported effi-ciently, and board members attended to the business of yourorganization with probing questions and deliberate discussion.Each person was intent upon upholding our standards andbeing good stewards of our resources while moving toward thefuture. Forward-looking plans were made to extend our influ-ence and strengthen ALTA’s resolve to constantly improve pro-fessionally, so we can always do what’s best for the children.

The most fascinating thing for me during the day was tolook around the quadrangle of tables and realize that the 18 attendees represented a widerange of areas, training centers, and teaching situations. The Board has truly taken on anational scope, and represents a wide spectrum of our membership. In addition, I was trulyamazed as I pondered the vast amount of talent, intelligence, and creativity in the room.

Some of that unusual ability to create was shown by Nancy Redington and her commit-tee who have researched the Spelling Bee history and materials in order to put together akit to guide local groups in challenging their students. They have done a spectacular jobon a formidable task, and I think you will be pleased. As soon as it is available, you willbe told how to obtain a kit for helping your teachers as they plan their own local event.

Another illustration of the many ways in which board members apply their talent toALTA’s endeavors is the work by Melanie Royal and her committee. They have spentmany hours analyzing and refining the examination and registration process. They haveresponded to requests and suggestions made by many of you and are attempting to makethe process as efficient and “friendly” as possible. They are also working closely with theCenters’ Council to schedule a choice of dates in a variety of locations to make it moreconvenient for newly trained therapists to become certified.

Much is being accomplished by you and your colleagues! I hope each of you is having apleasant and productive year! ✍

Inside thebul•le•tin

• Is There Life AfterDecodingPage 3

• Fluent Reading: WillIt Ever Happen?Page 4

• Reading Harry PotterPage 7

• Another First for AustinPage 9

• Milestones4

President’s Message

w w w. A LTA r e a d . o r g

Academic Language Therapy Association®

Dedicated to the remediation of written-language skills.

bul•le•tinF a l l 2 0 0 1

The bul•le•tin is a triannual publication of theAcademic Language Therapy Association (ALTA),and is free to its membership.

Martha Sibley,

ALTA President

ALTA assumes no responsi-bility for errors or omissions.To submit news items or arti-cles, which are subject toediting for space and style, orfor advertising or other infor-mation, contact:

Joanne WhiteEditor

Madeleine CrouchExecutive Director

ALTA13140 Coit RoadSuite 320 LB 120

Dallas, TX 75240-5737972/233-9107 ext. 204

Fax 972/490-4219Hopeline 1-866-283-7133

toll free

2 ALTA bul•le•tin/Fall 2001

ALTA Board MembersMeet for Retreat

Officers 2001-2002Martha Sibley, PresidentKay Peterson, President-ElectPauline Hartley, VP/MembershipConnie Peters, VP/ProgramsJoanne White, VP/Public RelationsJill Remick, SecretaryLinda Stringer, TreasurerElizabeth Cantrill, Historian

Board of DirectorsGinger BohacJudy BrupbacherSandra BurrowsElsa Cárdenas-HaganRae CromeensMary DahlgrenEdith Hogan Alice LehtonenGina MitchellJeanine PhillipsNancy RedingtonPat Sekel

Past PresidentsJamie WilliamsSherry MalphursCorinne TycherAvril GreenbergPeggy ThorntonNell CarvellBarbara FoxElizabeth Cantrill

Committee ChairsKathy Gilman, Continuing EducationEdith Hogan, Ethics and GrievancesDiana Bass, ExhibitsLinda Stringer, FinanceJoanne White, NewsletterffffffffMelanie Royal, Registration ExaminationNancy Redington, Spelling Bee ProjectKaryl Gindling, Telephone HelplineAlice Lehtonen, Website HelplineRae Cromeens, Website

Centers CouncilLiaisonsValerie TuckerPauline Hartley

T he group thatc o n v e r g e dupon Valerie

Tucker’s “5T Ranch” inAugust brought enthusi-asm and friendship tothe planning table. Aftersome time for visitingand getting reacquaintedover juice, coffee, andbreakfast snacks, theofficers and board mem-bers settled into a day ofintense discussion and decision-making. Committee reports reflected many hoursof background thought and preparation to bring to the board updates on currentefforts, ideas for new projects, and recommendations for action.

One board member commented that she had never realized how much time andeffort went into the work of ALTA, and that she had come to appreciate those whobegan and supported the organization in past years. Another comment in passingreflected upon her recognition that the newsletter is an important way to keepinformed about the ongoing work of members scattered across the United States.

The committees responsible for membership issues reported a successful first audit onCEUs as well as progress toward refined and enhanced steps for the examination regis-tration process. They brought a recommendation to encourage the centers to plan forexaminations to be given in more locations, with a greater choice of dates available. Thiswill make it more convenient for graduates of training programs to attain certified sta-tus and become members of ALTA. Melanie Royal, who has led this committee, report-ed that response from individuals has brought this and other issues to the attention ofcommittees, and input from members has been a valuable part of decision-making.

The committees in the public relations group have been busy preparing forexhibits at the IDA conference, responding to questions over the telephone andweb site, planning the newsletter, and keeping the web site current. Since ALTA

has changed hosts for theweb site, this committee,chaired by Rae Cromeens,has had a mammoth jobduring the last fewmonths. This part ofALTA’s work provides amajor service to the com-munity as well as tomembers.

ALTA Treasurer Linda Stringer, Vice President of

Programs Connie Peters, and board member

Elsa Cárdenas-Hagan listen intently as pressing

issues are discussed.

ALTA Board President Martha Sibley, President-

Elect Kay Peterson, and web site committee

chair Rae Cromeens work on strategic planning

at the annual ALTA Board retreat. See Retreat on Page 5

Future Exam Dates

October 6, 2001 - Wichita, KS

June 12, 2002 - Lubbock,TX

R yan received Orton-Gillingham instruction whenhe was in the first and second

grade. When he continued to have acad-emic problems in the third grade, his par-ents took him for an additional psycho-educational evaluation. This testingrevealed significant improvement inspelling, word identification, word attack,and word comprehension: however, hewas still below his intellectual potential influency, written expression, and passagecomprehension. Ryan’s parents’ search fora therapist and my eagerness to usePractices for Developing Accuracy and

Fluency, authored by ALTA Qualified Instructor Suzanne Carreker, brought us together.

Ryan is a delightful ten-year-old boy who agreed to be my guinea pig as I learned a new skill.He thought it was an intriguing concept and eagerly assumed the role. We agreed to meettwice a week during the school year for sessions of an hour and a quarter in length. We usedthe Practices for Developing Accuracy and Fluency Manual as our main source book becauseit provided the stories we needed for our work on fluency. His fluency rates were as follows:

Grade Level First Reading Fourth Reading

2.8 92 wpm 100 wpm

97% accuracy 100% accuracy

3.6 111 wpm 134 wpm


3.7 80 wpm 139 wpm


3.7 133 wpm 159wpm


4.5 89 wpm 148 wpm

96% accuracy 97% accuracy.

An additional bonus to the selected fluency stories was their narrative as well as expositorynature. We used these particular stories to increase Ryan’s ability to visualize what he reads.We manipulated cards to answer the questions Who, What, When, Where, and Why afterwe read the narrative text. For the expository text, we made a card pyramid with the mainidea, the supporting ideas, and the details. These cards were a natural link to writing sincehe was then able to use this information in writing a summary of the stories he read.

The composition instruction supplemented the information in Multisensory Grammarand Written Composition also authored by Suzanne Carreker. Ryan responded well tothis instruction. An interesting result occurred during the last week of school, whenRyan’s class was allowed to go to the computer room to play self-selected computergames. Ryan’s selection was a grammar game. Studying grammar had a positive impact

ALTA bul•le•tin/Fall 2001 3

Is There Life AfterDecoding? Ginger Holland, CALT, Qualified Instructor

COMMITTEES

Continuing Education Kathy Gilman, ChairMembersJudy BrupbacherMary DahlgrenKaryl GindlingLois GrundyStacey MahurinGinny McCreaPat SekelLana Stripling

Ethics and Grievance Edith Hogan, ChairMembersMargery DeLaneyJean FortuneRuth Ann Jewel

Exhibits Diana Bass, ChairMembersCindy HipesJoAnn HortonHelen MacikGina Mitchell

Finance Linda Stringer, ChairMembersJudy CarterPauline HartleyJan HershbergerSandy Morgan

Newsletter Joanne White, ChairMembersElsa Cardenas-HaganBarbara Fox Pat SekelJudy Thornton

MembershipPauline Hartley, ChairMembersCharlotte ForemanKim Spitzer

Programs Connie Peters, Chair

Public RelationsJoanne White, Chair

Registration/Examination Melanie Royal, ChairMembersPauline HartleyEdith HoganJeannine PhillipsPat Sekel

Spelling Bee Project Nancy Redington, ChairMembersOpal Andrews

Telephone HelplineKaryl Gindling, Chair

Website Helpline Alice Lehtonen, ChairMembersDianne BokelmanMonica Castro

Website Rae Cromeens, ChairMembersAnita BruckJeannine PhillipsBarbara Fox

ALTA Qualified Instructor Ginger Holland is proud

of Ryan’s progress in written composition skills.

See Decoding on Page 5


A therapist was once overheard tosay, “What gets me up everymorning is knowing that I have

the tools to teach any student to decode.What keeps me humble is the need for strate-gies to help them become fluent readers.” Afluent reader reads with a rapid, prosodic flowthat mirrors spoken language. His or herreading is fluid and accurate, with appropriatespeed, phrasing, and intonation. Fluency sup-ports comprehension, makes reading enjoy-able, and is often difficult to develop. Wetherapists know that lack of fluency is one ofthe last vestiges of a dyslexic student’s difficul-ty in learning to read. While fluency may bedifficult to develop, it is not impossible.

Automatic word recognition is essential forfluency. A recent study by Neuhaus andSwank (in press) suggests that automatic let-

ter recognition is directly related to and is thekey to automatic word recognition. Studentsmust overlearn the names of the letters.Thorough knowledge of letters leads to therapid recognition of words. Although letterfamiliarity is influenced by frequency ofoccurrence in the language and is individual-ly determined (i.e., how much or what a stu-dent reads), Neuhaus and Swank recom-mend that careful attention be given to lettersthat occur with less frequency in the language(e.g., j, q, v, w, x, z). These letters need to beoveremphasized in letter-naming practices.

A Rapid Recognition Chart (Carreker,1999) is an easy-to-use, effective activityfor reinforcing letter names. The chartconsists of five rows of six squares. In eachsquare is a letter. The focus of the chart issix letters. Each row contains the same six

letters in a different order.The therapist points toeach square in the firstrow and names the letterin each square. The thera-pist then points to eachsquare in the first rowagain as the studentnames the letters in thesquares. After this warm-up, the student names let-ters for one minute as thetherapist quickly points toeach square in order onthe chart, starting withthe top row and workingdown and across eachrow. The student may beable to complete the chartseveral times in a minute.At the end of one minute,the student calculates thenumber of letters named.Progress can be graphed.

Evidence suggests thatreading single wordsquickly can result in

improved speed and accuracy of text read-ing (Tan & Nicholson, 1997). The RapidRecognition Chart may be used for singleword reading. Instead of six letters thechart focuses on six irregular words (e.g.,said, are, were, was, they, their) or six reg-ular words that share a common pattern orcontain contrasting patterns (e.g., hen, her,nod, nor, fit, fir). These words are repeatedin each row of the chart in a differentorder. Using the same procedure asdescribed above, the student reads as manywords as possible in one minute. Both theletter and word recognition charts may beused as part of fluency training.

The National Reading Panel (2000) iden-tifies repeated reading as one of the mostconsistent techniques for increasing wordrecognition and fluency. The rereading ofthe same text several times provides therepeated exposures needed for a reader toform adequate orthographic memories ofletter patterns and words (Torgesen,Rashotte, & Alexander, 2001). The articleby Ginger Holland in this issue demon-strates how repeated reading can be usedduring fluency training to develop auto-matic word recognition and prosody.Prosody is the attention to the features ofspoken language that can be imitated inprint (e.g., phrasing, intonation).

Text that a student is able to read with at least90 percent accuracy is suitable for fluencytraining (Adams, 1990). Decodable text pro-vides the most beneficial practice for a dyslex-ic student as he or she practices the sound-symbol patterns that have been taught.Meyer and Felton (1999) reviewed desirablerates for oral reading fluency. Generally, a stu-dent in mid-second grade through fourthgrade should aim for an oral reading fluencyrate of 100 words per minute (wpm) ±15during fluency training. For fifth grade andbeyond, an appropriate goal is between 120

Fluent Reading:Will It EverHappen? By Suzanne Carreker, CALT, Qualified Instructor

See Fluent Reading on Page 5


and 150 wpm. The Holland article describesthe calculation of accuracy and fluency rates.

Comprehension is an important componentof fluency training. The goal of fluency train-ing is not simply speed. The goal is speedwith prosody and understanding (Torgesenet al., 2001). As a student works on fluency,comprehension activities ensure that the stu-dent is extracting meaning from the text,which is the ultimate goal of reading.Additionally, comprehension is importantbecause it stimulates the recognition ofwords. Comprehension activities that canaccompany fluency practices are described inthe article in this issue by Mary Lou Slania.

When a reader instantly recognizes the words ona printed page, he or she can attend to meaning.Appropriate phrasing and intonation render aperfect imitation of spoken language to the read-er and aid the melodic flow of reading andunderstanding. Although it seems as if it will

never happen, fluency will develop with prac-tice, persistence, and a little dash of patience.

Adams, M.J. (1990). Beginning to read:Thinking and learning about print.Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Carreker, S. (1999). Teaching reading:Accurate decoding and fluency. In J.R.Birsh (Ed.), Multisensory teaching of basiclanguage skills. Baltimore, MD: P.H.Brookes Publishing Co.

Meyer, M.S., & Felton, R.H. (1999).Repeated reading to enhance fluency: Oldapproaches and new directions. Annals ofDyslexia, 49:283-306.

National Reading Panel (2000). Teachingchildren to read: An evidence-based assess-ment of scientific research literature on read-ing and its implications for reading instruc-tion. Washington, DC: National Institute ofChild Health and Human Development.

Neuhaus, G.F., & Swank, P.R. (in press).Understanding the relations betweenRAN letters subtest components andword reading in first-grade students.Journal of Learning Disabilities.

Tan, A., & Nicholson, T. (1997).Flashcards revisited: Training poor read-ers to read words faster improves theircomprehension of text. Journal ofEducational Psychology, 89 (2), 276-288.

Torgesen, J.K., Rashotte, C.A., &Alexander, A.W. (2001). Principles of flu-ency instruction in reading: Relationshipswith established empirical outcomes. InM. Wolf (Ed.), Dyslexia, fluency, and thebrain. Timonium, MD: York Press.

Suzanne Carreker, CALT, director ofteacher development, Neuhaus EducationCenter, is a board member of the ALTACenters Council. ✍

on his composition skills along with theaid of the Paragraph Writing Strips thatare sold through Region XIII EducationService Center.

Ryan’s parents did not feel that it was nec-essary to retest him this summer. Hisfourth-grade academic year was a positiveexperience for him especially during thethird and fourth quarter when he was onthe honor roll. I am pleased with hisimprovement in fluency and we plan tocontinue our work next year. In addition

to his academic success, I witnessed amost exciting change in Ryan. He wastransformed from being a very insecurewriter to one who finds a great deal ofenjoyment in writing. His first majorwriting assignment in fourth grade was abook report on Jim Bowie. Ryan was notproud of the grade he received on thatreport due to his lack of details and elab-oration. On his last writing assignmentfor the year, Ryan wrote a book report onCharlie and the Great Glass Elevator. Withhis mother’s help, he made note cards on

the zany characters (who), the incrediblesettings (when and where), the majorevents (what) and why these events wereimportant. When Ryan wrote this finalbook report for the year he not only haddetails, but he had elaboration as well.

It is exciting knowing that, in addition tohaving the tools to help students withdecoding, we also have the tools to helpthem in the areas of fluency, comprehen-sion and composition. ✍

Connie Peters, Program Vice President, broughtto the table some exciting ideas for the springconference. This year it will need to be moved toa larger meeting place because of the increase inattendees year after year. This is another sign ofprogress, and undoubtedly a result of excellentplanning, and choosing challenging speakers.

Elizabeth Cantrill reported that plans forthe alliance of accrediting and certifying

organizations is moving smoothly along.Representatives of these groups will meetat IDA in Albuquerque in October tobegin to formulate some of the organiza-tional structure.

Another interesting project is nearingcompletion, according to NancyRedington, who is leading a committeeto put together a Spelling Bee Kit to

make available to local groups of thera-pists or schools. They are using materialsand ideas from past spelling bee leaders toproduce a set of notebooks, folders, andtapes to guide teachers as they plan local-ly for events to give their students achance to apply their spelling rules. ✍

Retreat Continued From Page 2

Decoding Continued From Page 3

Fluent Reading Continued From Page 4


C omprehension and fluency arereciprocal skills. Fluency prac-tices that integrate repeated

readings and comprehension strategiesincrease reading speed and understandingof text (National Reading Panel, 2000).Deriving meaning from text makes it eas-ier to read fluently. When you read a setof directions for programming your newDVD player or the description of amedieval battle, do you find that you readslowly, stumble, re-read, or exhibit othercharacteristics of a non-fluent reader?

In order to get meaning from text, stu-dents need strategies. Students benefitfrom an understanding of the structure ofthe text that they are reading. Asking cer-tain questions will help students deter-mine the text structure. Is the text narra-

tive? Does it include characters, a setting,a problem, a sequence of events, and a res-olution? Is the text expository? Is the textwritten to inform, explain, describe,report, or persuade? After determining thestructure of the text, students can then usea multisensory strategy that will helpthem construct the meaning of the text.

Wh-Question Cards provide a multisensoryoutline of the basic elements of narrative text.To use the Wh-Cards, give each student fiveindex cards. On each card have the studentswrite one of the five wh-questions. If studentscan answer these questions, they have a fun-damental understanding of the text. Have thestudents place the cards in a column down theleft-hand side of their desks in this order:Who?, What?, When?, Where?, Why?. This ordertrips nicely off the tongue and helps students

remember these five impor-tant questions. Studentsthink about these questionsas they read a story. Who isthe story about? What hap-pens in the story? Of theseevents, which is the mostimportant event in the story?When does the story takeplace - time of day, time ofyear, time span? Where is thelocation of the story? Whydoes the most importantevent in the story happen?After reading, students againthink about the five wh-questions. As they cananswer each question, stu-dents move the cards fromthe left side of their desks tothe right side of their desks.When all of the cards havemoved from the left-handside of their desks to theright-hand side, they haveidentified the essential ele-ments of the narrative text.

Building a card pyramid provides a multisen-sory outline of expository text. The card pyra-mid includes the main idea, supporting ideas,and details which are the basic elements of anexpository text.

If students can identify these elements, theyhave a rudimentary understanding of the text.Give the students nine index cards. Thenhave the students read the text. After reading,they determine what the entire text is aboutand write the idea on one index card. Theyplace this card at the top of their desks. Thiscard represents the main idea. Students brain-storm three or four ideas that support themain idea. They write each idea on separateindex cards. Students line up these cards in arow under the main idea. These cards repre-sent the supporting ideas. Students brain-storm details about each supporting idea andjot down details in words or phrases for eachidea on separate index cards. Next, they lineup these cards in a row under the supportingideas. These cards represent the details. Thestudents have formed a “pyramid,” represent-ing the essential elements of expository text.

Comprehension is necessary for learning.Comprehension, like decoding, requiresexplicit, systematic instruction. As students usethese multisensory strategies, they will become

See Comprehension on Page 11

Comprehension: Fuel forMeaningful and Fluent Reading By Mary Lou Slania, CALT, Dyslexia Specialist Preparation Program Coordinator Neuhaus Education Center


Iam dyslexic.D y s l e x i ameans hav-

ing difficultyreading. Forme dyslexiahas meant thatfrom the mid-dle of secondgrade until theend of thirdgrade, I waspulled out ofmy regularclass to go to a

special tutor who taught me how toread. Because of dyslexia, I had to learnthings most kids take for granted.

I remember that I didn’t think I wasgoing to the tutor because of my dyslexia;I thought I was going there to learn cur-sive. I didn’t like leaving class because Ienjoyed reading. I just wasn’t good at it.

Sometimes I forget that I ever had trou-ble reading at all. But the feelings I hadwhen I couldn’t read were, well, upset-ting and weird. They were weird becauseI wasn’t used to not being able to dosomething I wanted to do. And yet withreading, I wanted to read, but I couldn’t.I remember in first grade I couldn’t evenread a word like “cookies.” I remember Icouldn’t pronounce it. When I pro-nounced it wrong, my teacher corrected

me and I thought, “how come the otherkids don’t have problems like this?” Iknew the word cookie and I used theword cookie (and I ate cookies!), butlooking at the letters that spelled cookie,I could not tell what the word was.

I remember that for summer vacation afterfirst grade, if we read for twenty hours andkept a chart, we would have a pizza partywhen school started. I really liked pizza butit was hard for me to read, and I was wor-ried whether I would be able to read twen-ty hours. Now, twenty hours would be easy,especially when I’m reading J. K. Rowling,Philip Pullman, or Lewis Carroll.

In second grade, I knew I wasn’t good atreading because I was in the lowest read-ing group. The teacher would say “gointo your reading group” and, thoughshe never said it was the lowest, I couldtell because of the size of the books thatdifferent groups were reading. In thelowest reading group we were readingFrog and Toad. In the medium groupthey were reading I Was a First GradeWerewolf. The highest reading group wasreading George’s Marvelous Medicine. There were only three people in my read-ing group. My friends wanted to be inthe easy reading group because theythought their books were too hard. Iwanted to be in the harder reading groupbecause I didn’t like being in my group. Iwanted to be reading other books.

One of my predictions for the New Yearwhen I was in second grade was “I’ll startthird grade and not be held back by myreading. I’ll get better at my reading.” Inthe middle of second grade, I must havebeen really concerned about this, becausemy other predictions were not quite soserious--they were about going to moregarage sales with my father.

My father and I have a Saturday ritual ofgoing to garage sales, on those Saturdayswhen he isn’t working. We start off inour neighborhood and go to others.One time when we were looking forgarage sales, we were looking for onethat was on Grove Street. I thought youspelled Grove “G-r-o-v.” But we were ona street that said G-r-o-v-e and I thoughtwe were on a street called “Grover.” MyDad hadn’t noticed that we were onGrove. I said, “well we are on Grover.How far away is Grove from Grover?” Iguess that is an example of my dyslexia.

But although I amdyslexic, I lovewords! In thirdgrade at the end ofthe school year, wehad to do a reporton an “ology” likeEgyptology or vul-canology or zoolo-

Ben Buchanan is an unusually gifted, dyslexic, sixth grader who recently published his first book. During elementaryschool, he worked for two years with Certified Academic Language Therapists. Ben’s candid discussion of his experiencesin learning to read is included in his book, My Year With Harry Potter. I highly recommend this book to parents, thera-pists, and their students.

Lantern Books,New York,New York,published My Year with Harry Potter by Ben Buchanan.This excerpt is reprinted by per-mission of the publisher. My Year with Harry Potter is available in bookstores, or online from Lantern Books, athttp://www.lanternbooks.com.

Ben Buchanan:A Gifted Dyslexic By Nell Carvell

Reading Harry Potter By Ben Buchanan

See Harry Potter on Page 11


My Smallest Student Taught Methe Most This Summer By Wendy Campbell, CALT

Ihad the opportunity to work with a6-year-old this summer. She, I willcall her Lark, was enthusiastic and

energetic. Her teacher and parents haddecided she would repeat kindergartennext year. Lark’s mother brought her tome saying, “She really wants to read.”

Lark had impressive fine motor skills.Her handwriting was neat and deliber-ate. She was also a fine artist. Lark oftenbroke into song when we were workingtogether. She has a beautiful voice and asuperior ability to remember a tune.

I was surprised to find that she hadno idea that letters stood for sounds.This was after a yearlong exposure toletters and sounds in kindergarten.Therefore, I started at the beginningusing sections from NeuhausEducation Center curriculum includ-ing Reading Readiness Skills andFoundations for Language. I also usedmany games I have collected over theyears, which stressed letter recognitionand listening skills. I have severalfavorites from Discovery toys.

She could not rhyme so we start-ed every day with phonologicalawareness activities. At the begin-ning of every new activity, I hadto model the activity while shejust copied. She could never doanything independently the firsttime. By the second or third timewe tried an activity, she was moreindependent. Lark reminded meabout the importance of phono-logical awareness. She showed alot of progress during the 2months that I saw her daily.

Lark knew her letters but stilltried several times to convinceme that there was an “elemen-topee.” It was endearing. You wouldhave thought she was a lawyerpleading a case in court. She alsohad excellent verbal expressionskills. She spent most of her timewith adults and an older brother soher vocabulary was well developed.Lark enjoyed anything that wasmanipulative but lost interest quick-ly when being read to. It didn’t mat-

ter what book I chose. It never heldher interest.

In my final report to her parents, Istressed that Lark’s short attentionspan might be improved by readingto her daily. She reported to me herparents never read to her. I also sug-gested an evaluation might be a goodidea to determine if there is an under-lying reason for certain language skillsto be difficult for her.

I am unable to tutor her this schoolyear and worry about her ability tofeel successful in her second year ofkindergarten. I also suggested thepossibility of a school change, which Ithink was unpopular. Lark mighthave taught me the most importantlesson which is young children needto be read to and have many oppor-tunities to play with and explore theEnglish language. The rhymes, chantsand songs I grew up with as a childwere much more than just child’splay. They were setting an importantfoundation I relied upon when learn-ing written language. ✍

ALTA member Wendy Campbell works with her

student on reading readiness skills.


Another First for Austin By Pat Sekel, Ph.D., Qualified Instructor

The Scottish Rite Learning Centerof Austin first opened in March1989 to provide second

through sixth grade students the ScottishRite Literacy program. As of January2001, the Scottish Rite Learning Centerof Austin has another first - its first direc-tor! Pat Sekel, Ph.D., CALT, assumedthe director’s duties of this non-profit,charitable organization to bring teachereducation courses and greater communi-ty outreach to Central Texas. Pat brings awealth of experience to this new posi-tion, having been both the Austin andRound Rock Independent SchoolDistricts’ first dyslexia coordinator.

One of the first additions to theLearning Center’s outreach ser-vices this year was to offer lower-cost educational evaluations fordyslexia. Currently, contractedprofessionals complete assess-ments of elementary through highschool aged students on Saturdaysby appointment. Pat reports thatbusiness is “picking up!”

This summer the Learning Centersponsored its first teacher educationcourses: both the Advanced and

Introductory courses of Basic LanguageSkills, an Alphabetic Phonics deriva-tive developed at the NeuhausEducation Center in Houston. TheLearning Center is awaiting its site visitto complete the accreditation processto become an accredited training site,recognized by both the AcademicLanguage Therapy Association andInternational Multisensory StructuredLanguage Education Council.

Another first this summer was a summerstudent program for current kinder-garten through fifth grade students iden-tified with dyslexia. Goals for the session

were maintenance and enrichment ofreading skills. Dyslexia teachers from theRound Rock ISD taught classes fourdays a week for six weeks.

Beginning this fall, the Learning Centerwill experience another first - studentsaccepted at the Center will work “live”with therapists rather than utilizing thevideotape series. Pat will supervise thetherapists who are seeking certification asan Academic Language Therapist. Shereports that one aspect of the instructionwill not change; services will continue tobe provided at no cost to students, thanksto the continuing generosity and supportof the Texas Scottish Rite Masons.

Another first is still in the initial stage.A premiere learning center will be builton the current parking lot of the AustinScottish Rite Temple. Preliminarymeetings with architects have alreadybeen held, and plans are being devel-oped to create over 14,000 square feetof usable space. This will be the firstmajor teaching center for both studentsand teachers in Central Texas. ✍

ALTA Centers Council News

T raining…the word of the summer!By now, all of the centers havecompleted their summer training

courses and the directors and instructors areenjoying some rest and relaxation.

Congratulations to all of the traineeswho have persevered and are ready togo out and help meet the needs of thedyslexic population we all serve.ALTA Accredited Centers are veryproud to be a part of this endeavor.

On-site visits have begun. NancyCoffman, Accreditation Chair, will becontacting all centers in the near

future to set up a visit if one has notalready been conducted.

With summer training completed, theCouncil will begin planning for thecoming year. Among the plans to bediscussed at the next meeting arescholarship opportunities, the IDA“Alliance for Accreditation andCertification,” member benefits andother topics submitted for the agenda.

Please take advantage of the workshopsand seminars offered by the trainingcenters. We encourage you to gain newskills, sample a variety of perspectives,

and, as an added bonus, accrue CEU’s.

Support the ALTA CC member centersthat will be presenting at the IDAConference. The joint presentationwith ALTA CC, IDA, IMSLEC,AOGPE, and ALTA will be Thursday,October 25. We would love to look outand see your smiling faces!

The next scheduled meeting of theALTA Centers Council Board andCouncil is Thursday, October 25 atthe IDA Conference in Albuquerque.The time and place will beannounced in September. ✍

Pat Sekel is director of the Scottish Rite

Learning Center of Austin


What Do Good Readers Do As

They Read?

O ne way that researchers havestudied what good readers dohas been to ask them to think

aloud as they read. From these studies,researchers have determined that theseemingly effortless activity described as“good reading” is made up of a set ofhighly complex, well-developed, and well-practiced skills and abilities. Particularlyimpressive is the way in which good read-ers actively and consciously coordinatethese skills and strategies before, duringand after reading a text.

Before reading, good readers tend to setgoals for their reading. They note the struc-ture, or organization of the text, and oftencreate a mental overview or outline of thetext to help them decide whether it is rele-vant to their goals.

During reading, good readers read wordsaccurately and quickly, and simultaneouslydeal with the meanings of those words-aswell as the meaning of the phrases and sen-tences into which the words are grouped.Good readers connect the meaning of onesentence to the meaning of another. If some-thing is confusing to them, they use theirbackground knowledge to try to clarify themeanings of words and phrases. Sometimesgood readers interact with the text by askingthemselves questions about its content andreflecting on its ideas. They are adept atusing their background knowledge to makepredictions about what might happen nextand to understand ideas as they encounterthem. Good readers continuously evaluatetheir predictions and revise them as needed.

Good readers are selective as they read.They are likely to focus more of their

attention on the parts of the text that aremost closely tied to their reading goals.They may decide to skip some parts of atext because they already understand thecontent or because they do not think theparts are important to what they need (orwant) to learn from the text. They maydecide, after reading several pages, to skipthe rest of a chapter because they recentlyread something similar. On the otherhand, they may decide either because theydo not clearly understand the content orbecause they find the topic interesting toreread a passage or chapter before goingon. They also may summarize the contentof a passage as they read it. In doing so,they may consciously determine what isimportant, what is supportive and what isless important.

As they read, good readers often makeinferences. They may draw on their back-ground knowledge or look for clues in thetext to supply information about charac-ters or events that the author has not pro-vided directly. Some good readers mayalso create mental images, or visualize asetting, event or character to help themunderstand a passage in a text.

Good readers monitor their comprehen-sion as they read. When they realize thatthey do not understand what they arereading, they apply procedures to “repair”or “fix-up” their lack of understanding.For example, they may ask themselvesquestions about the meaning of whatthey are reading, they may rephrase a pas-sage in their own words, they may lookup the meanings of difficult words, orthey may outline the content of the text.

After reading, good readers often thinkabout, or reflect on what they read. Theymay mentally summarize major points or

events in the text or even go to other sourcesto find additional information about thetopic of the reading.

In short, good readers are most oftenstrategic readers. That is, they use a num-ber of comprehension strategies to getmeaning from text. Comprehension strate-gies are conscious plans or proceduresthat are under the control of a reader,who makes decisions about which strate-gies to use and when to use them.

In addition, good readers engage inmetacognition as they read. Cognitionrefers to mental functions such as remem-bering, focusing attention, and process-ing information. Metacognition refers topeople’s awareness of their cognition; thatis, their thoughts about their own think-ing. From an array of possibilities, forexample, readers with metacognitiveawareness are able consciously and auto-matically to select the appropriate com-prehension strategies for use with a par-ticular text.

How Do Poor Readers Differ

From Good Readers?

In contrast to good readers, most poorreaders do not read strategically, nor dothey have sufficient metacognitive aware-ness to develop, select, and apply strategiesthat enhance their comprehension of text.

Typical poor readers rarely prepare beforereading. They often begin to read without set-ting goals. They seldom consider how best toread a particular type of text.

During reading, poor readers may havedifficulty decoding, and so have difficultyreading the words of their texts accurately.

What Research Tells Us AboutReading, Comprehension, andComprehension Instruction

See Research on Page 11


In addition, some poor readers read too slowly,or lack fluency. As a result of their slow, laboredreading, they often do not comprehend muchof what they read, and the attention they haveto give to figuring out the words keeps themfrom understanding the text’s message.

All too often poor readers lack sufficient back-ground knowledge about the topic of a text.They may have trouble connecting the ideas ofa text. They often are not familiar with thevocabulary they encounter and have troubledetermining word meanings. Further, evenwhen poor readers possess relevant backgroundknowledge, they frequently are not able to acti-vate it to help them understand what they read.

After reading, poor readers also areunaware of text organization. They do not

know enough about the organizationalstructure of narratives or the various orga-nizational structures of expository texts tohelp them read and understand.

After reading, poor readers typically donot think about or reflect upon what theyhave read. They almost never seek outadditional information about a topic.

The cumulative effect of these difficultiesis that poor readers often lose confidencein their ability to read. Because reading isdifficult for them, poor readers cannotand do not read widely. As a result, theyare exposed to much less text than aregood readers and so receive much lesspractice reading. Further, the practicethey do receive is often frustrating,

because many of the texts they are askedto read are too difficult for them.The question then is: How can classroomreading instruction help poor readersindeed, all students become more likegood readers? Research suggests that theanswer may lie in providing students withinstruction that both teaches them thecomprehension strategies that work so wellfor good readers and helps them to devel-op the necessary metacognitive awarenessof how and when to use these strategies.

Texas Education Agency. (2000).Comprehension instruction: Texas read-ing initiative. (Publication Number GE01 105 01). Austin, TX: Author. ✍

more skilled at constructing meaning.Increased skill in comprehension results infaster recognition of words (Hall andMoats, 1999). Reading will be fluent andeffortless. Reading is enjoyable if it iseffortless.

Hall, S.L. & Moats, L.C. (1999). Straighttalk about reading. Chicago, IL:Contemporary Press.

National Reading Panel (2000). Teachingchildren to read: An evidence-based

assessment of the scientific research liter-ature on reading and its implications forreading instruction. Washington, DC:National Institutes of Health. ✍

gy. I really liked myths, so I wanted todo mythology. But my teacher said thatI already knew a lot about myths, so sheencouraged me to do something else. Idecided to do a report on etymology,which means the study of the history ofwords. J. K. Rowling seems interested inwords, too. I love to read the words shehas made up: Quidditch, Azkaban,Diagon, Quaffle.

By the time I got to fourth grade two thingshad happened. The first thing was that I hadlearned how to read through special tutor-ing. And I’d done it just in time! Because thesecond thing that happened was that HarryPotter and the Sorcerer’s Stone was published.When I got Harry Potter for Christmas, allthe other kids thought it was just anotherone of those books I read because I hadbrought big books to school before.

But this Harry Potter book wasn’t justanother book. It was the best book thatI had read. I wanted everyone else tohave a chance to read it, so I spent myMarch allowance and bought a copy formy teacher to read to the class.

By that summer, another Harry Potter wasout. I bought this one in Santa Fe when wewere on vacation. I finished it in three daysbecause it was so suspenseful. But still Ithought the first book was better. My schoollibrarian lent the third book in the HarryPotter series to me at the end of summer vaca-tion. It wasn’t out in the United States yet, butshe had a British copy. I took real good care ofit because it wasn’t my copy. I thought thiswas the best book I had ever read.

As I was reading it, I told my mother, “Ican tell two things about J.K. Rowling:

She is a Christian and she isn’t a vegetari-an.” I knew this because there wasn’tmuch vegetarian food at Hogwarts, unlikesome vegetarian places in fantasy books,like Tom Bombadil’s house in J. R. R.Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings and Medwyn’sHidden Valley in Lloyd Alexander’s TheBook of Three. I knew J. K. Rowling wasChristian because Hanukah andRamadan weren’t celebrated at Hogwarts.

When the American copy of the thirdbook came out, I read it and reread itand reread it again.

Reading Harry Potter was easy. Gettingup to the point of being able to read itwas not. If I hadn’t known how to read,Harry Potter might have flown rightpast my life. ✍

Harry Potter Continued From Page 7

Research Continued From Page 10

Comprehension Continued From Page 6


CEU CalendarNovember 2, 2001

Dysgraphia WorkshopLocation: Region 10 Education Service Center,

Richardson, TexasSponsor: Region 10 Education Service CenterPresenter: Cindy HipesContact: Cindy HipesTelephone: (972) 348-1490Fax: (972) 348-1491E-mail: [email protected]

November 16, 2001

The Identification of Dyslexia WorkshopLocation: Region 10 Education Service Center,

Richardson, TexasSponsor: Region 10Presenter: Cindy HipesContact: Cindy HipesTelephone: (972) 348-1490Fax: (972) 348-1491E-mail: [email protected]

November 19-20, 2001

Association of Christian Schools InternationalConventionLocation: Hyatt Regency Dallas at Reunion, Dallas, TexasContact: Jane SchimmerTelephone: (972) 247-6558Address: 4039 Echo Glen Drive, Dallas, Texas 75244January 26, 2002Houston Branch of The International DyslexiaAssociation, Neuhaus Education Center, TheBriarwood School Winter WorkshopLocation: DoubleTree Hotel — Allen Center,

Houston, TexasSponsor: Houston Branch of The International

Dyslexia Association, Neuhaus EducationCenter, The Briarwood

Presenter: William Van CleaveContact: Cathy LorinoTelephone: (713) 664-7676

Neuhaus Education Center WorkshopsLocation: Neuhaus Education CenterContact: Amye DerixTelephone: (713) 664-7676Fax: (713) 664-4744November 1, 2002: Advanced Scientific SpellingNovember 8, 2001: Reading Readiness SkillsJanuary 10, 2002: Advanced Multisensory GrammarJanuary 15, 2002: Developing Accuracy and FluencyJanuary 17, 2002: Advanced Reading Readiness SkillsJanuary 24, 2002: Reading Readiness SkillsFebruary 21, 2002: Reading Readiness SkillsFebruary 28, 2002: History of the English LanguageMarch 2, 2002: Written CompositionMarch 21, 2002: Scientific SpellingMarch 26, 2002: Multisensory Grammar

ALTA members are responsible for maintaining their own personal CEU

records for possible audit.


ALTA CEU Information For 2001-2003I. The next CEU period runs from March 1, 2001 to February 28, 2003. Therefore, in the spring of 2003, you will again be responsible for documenting

that you have completed 20 hours of continuing education credit. Another 2% of our membership will be chosen for audit the same as it was in 2001.

II. At least five (5) of the hours must be earned by attendance IN PERSON at conferences, workshops, or meetings during the next two-year period. Youmay attain the remaining CEU hours through alternative means (see below) if you choose.

III. Conferences/Workshops/MeetingsA. You will find appropriate conferences on the ALTA web site calendar (altaread.org) and in each edition of the newsletter.B. Events sponsored by the following organizations are always approved, even if they are not listed on our calendars:

• ALTA• ALTA-affiliated training centers• The International Dyslexia Association and its branches and other organizations concerned with dyslexia and related learning disabilities• College and University programs regarding dyslexia and related learning disabilities• Public education service centers (in Texas) that are concerned with dyslexia and related learning disabilities

C. You can also earn CEU credits for many meetings that are not on our calendars. You need to apply to the CEU committee for approval for any meet-ings that you plan to attend.

D. IT IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO BE SURE TO RECEIVE A SIGNED CERTIFICATE OF ATTENDANCE FROM THE SPONSORSOF THE EVENT YOU ATTEND. IF YOU DO NOT THINK THEY WILL OFFER ONE, ALTA HAS A GENERIC FORM AVAILABLEFROM THE ALTA OFFICE, THE WEB SITE, OR THE CEU COMMITTEE.

IV. There are alternative ways to earn some of your CEUs.A. Give a presentation. You will earn two hours of credit for each hour of presentation. The guidelines for doing so are:

1. You may earn CEUs for any given presentation one time only.2. You must have done significant research of CURRENT (within the last three years) information on the topic.3. Compile a bibliography of your sources.4. Save an outline of the presentation.5. The content must follow ALTA guidelines as to appropriate topics (see the ALTA by-laws).6. Keep this information in your files. Do not send it to ALTA unless you are chosen for audit.

B. Read journals or books.1. The 2001 or 2002 Annals of Dyslexia journal published by The International Dyslexia Association

a) You earn four hours of CEU credit for each issue.b) Write a summary of each article.c) Do not send the summaries to ALTA unless you are chosen for audit.

2. Books published 1998 or later.a) A list of suggested books will be posted on the web site and in the newsletter.b) The CEU committee welcomes your recommendations for appropriate books.c) You earn three hours of CEU credit for each book.d) Book report forms are available from the ALTA office or the CEU committee.e) Do not send the reports to ALTA unless chosen for audit.

C. Listen to current audio recordings.1. An audio recording of the ALTA spring conference will be available.2. The International Dyslexia Association annual conference (2001, 2002) will be available on audio tape from Convention Recordings, Inc., 6983

Sunset Drive South, St. Petersburg, FL 33707; (727) 345-8288.3. You earn one hour of CEU credit for each hour of recording.4. Write a review of each talk you hear.5. Keep these in your files. Do not send reviews to ALTA unless chosen for audit.

D. Watch a current (1998 or later) video of a conference or workshop.1. May be available from a training center, The International Dyslexia Association, or other sources.2. Suggested choices will be posted on the ALTA web site and in the newsletter.3. The CEU committee is interested in your suggestions.4. You earn one hour of CEU credit for each hour of video.5. Write a review of each presentation.6. Keep these in your files. Do not send reviews to ALTA unless you are chosen for audit.

E. Organize an ALTA professional group in your area.1. Several groups have formed that periodically meet to hear speakers and exchange news and ideas. It is a great way to meet other therapists as

well as earn CEUs.2. Contact the ALTA Membership chair for further information on how to set up a group.

V. If you are aware of an appropriate conference, please encourage the sponsor to apply to offer ALTA CEUs. There is an application form on our web site.


WELCOME, new student members:Elizabeth Baehner, Jene’e Barnes, Sara Beer,Caroline Bezner, Cynthia Bosley, DavinaBurdick, Elise Cameron, CharlotteClevenger, Alta Davis, Louann Dollarhide,JoAnn Handy, Ann Hicks, Melody Hoglan,Tammeria Klinkerman, Dawn LayCindyLooney, Linda Neal, Deborah Nelson, CarlaParker, Judy Rockley, Vivian Skruggs, NancySherrill, JoAnn Sibley, Roseann Thomas,Dorothy Thompson, Cindy Weiss, KarenWalker, Kathy Weaver and Debbie Wise.

WELCOME, new active members:Charline Adams, Linda Baird, PatriciaBanks, Lydia Barber, Joan Blair, DianaBokelman, Tonya Bryant, Cathy Cook,Tracey Cox, Robin Debenport, EvelynDrake, Larissa Fernandes, HeidiGieseking-Young, Cathy Hodges, AngelaHollowell, Cathy Hurd, Vicki King,Michele Knauf, Cheryl La Freniere, Sharon

Laney, Margaret Law, Cynthia Lawhon,Lorna McLemore, Sharon Moore,Marianne Morgan, Betsy Nanny, LinneaOxley, Mary Payne, Marilyn Quaintance,Clare Rossetter, Karolyn Rusch, MichelleSaltamachia, Virginia Sawyer, Jill Schultz,Susan Shands, Paula Shields, DeniseSmith, LeeAnn Tarpley, Janet Thompson,Kelly Thompson, Kelley Tiffany, PatriciaTilton, Dede Toney and Lannie Turner.

CONGRATULATIONS, new qualifiedinstructors: Sue Kirk, Jill Remick andTerri Zerfas.

RETIRED: After 13 years as director ofthe Scottish Rite Learning Center ofWest Texas, Jan Morris is retiring asdirector. She will continue as a therapistat the center, teaching two classes of stu-dents each day. She will also continue as aQualified Instructor and consultant in

the center’s therapisttraining program. At aspecial reception onSeptember 21, theLubbock Scottish Riterecognized Jan’s contri-butions, and former stu-dents, teachers, parentsand friends enjoyedsharing time with her.Doris Haney succeedsJan as director. She hasbeen associate directorsince 1995, and has beenon the staff since 1988.

PASSAGES: LynnStempel-Mathey, char-ter member of ALTA,passed away on June 4,2001. Her contributionsto ALTA were extensive.She served on the ALTABoard of Directors for anumber of years in several

capacities. Perhaps her most significant contri-bution to ALTA was co-authoring theRegistration/Certification Examinationand serving for many years as Chair ofthe Exam Committee.

In addition to being a Certified AcademicLanguage Therapist, Lynn was anEducational Diagnostician. She was apioneer in the assessment of childrenwith learning disabilities. She was regard-ed as an expert in teaching children’shandwriting. Additionally, she co-authored the Children’s HandwritingEvaluation Scale, which is used widely asan objective measure of handwriting,rate, and quality. Lynn was a contributingauthor to the landmark publication,Multisensory Teaching of Basic LanguageSkills, published in 1999. Her chapter onhandwriting is used by ALTA accreditedcenters training programs across thecountry. Lynn’s interest in children withlearning disabilities extended beyondtheir school years. She gathered informa-tion about graduates of the Texas ScottishRite Hospital for Children dyslexia labo-ratory and reported their education andcareer accomplishments at the nationalconvention of the International DyslexiaAssociation and in its publication,Perspectives. After retiring from TexasScottish Rite Hospital for Children, Lynncontinued her work in learning disabilityassessment focusing on the needs of ado-lescents and young adults. She also con-tributed to the hospital’s research programin dyslexia by evaluating children receiv-ing remedial training in school districtsnear Dallas. Lynn provided us with aninspirational role model because of herheartfelt commitment to students withdyslexia. She never tired of learning andexpanding her knowledge of the field. Shewill be missed by all of her friends andcolleagues and we will always be gratefulfor her contributions to our profession. ✍

Milestones


Once you have registered for The InternationalDyslexia Association conference, select 30 min-utes during one of the conference days that you

are available to spend in the Academic Language TherapyAssociation information booth. Operating the boothrequires ALTA members to volunteer to spend 30 minutesin the booth Wednesday 5:30 p.m.–7:00 p.m., all dayThursday, Friday or Saturday of the conference. If you areunable to spend 30 minutes in the booth, consider a 15 to20-minute block of time. Working in the booth hasalways been enjoyable for me. I have met interesting peo-

ple from all over the country and a few outside of theUSA. I have learned about their experiences in training andteaching in the field of dyslexia. While working in theALTA booth, I share information about our unique orga-nization and the important services it provides membersand the community. Many of the visitors ask me how tojoin. The booth sits on a long table and exhibits a picto-graph of information about ALTA. I hand out informa-tional brochures, lapel pins, pencils and other ALTA good-ies. Donating your time in the ALTA booth will not onlybe appreciated but prove worthwhile for you as well! ✍

ALTA Members Needed to Staff Booth at TheInternational Dyslexia Association Conference

October 24-27, 2001, Albuquerque, New MexicoBy Diana Bass

New Degree Opportunity at SMU By Nell Carvell, CALT, QI

Christmas in October? By Rae Cromeens

Southern Methodist University will offer a master’s ofeducation degree beginning in the fall of 2002. Thisgraduate degree will offer specialization in learning

therapy, bilingual education, and reading.

The Learning Therapy Program (LTP), a 21-hour graduatecertificate program that addresses the needs of teachers of chil-dren with dyslexia and related learning disabilities, was estab-lished in 1986. The offering of this new M. Ed. degree will serveto enhance the educational interests of the many LTP students.

A $1.5 million gift from the Texas InstrumentsFoundation to SMU will endow a faculty chair to be held

by a reading specialist of national stature. The chair hold-er also will serve as director of a new Graduate Institutefor Reading Research. This Institute will merge severalgraduate certificate programs. In addition to learningtherapy, it will include the University’s Head Start lan-guage and literacy program (LEAP), bilingual, and masterreading teacher certificate programs.

For more information about the Learning TherapyProgram, call Karen Vickery, Director, 214/768-7323 oremail: [email protected] ✍

Here is a thought for Christmas shopping. Thinkwww.altaread.org. When you buy your books,music and videos using the Amazon.com links

found on the ALTA web site, you help ALTA with the website operating expenses. ALTA receives 5% of the purchaseprice if you buy an item by going to www.altaread.orgfirst, then linking to Amazon.com to make a purchase.ALTA receives 15% if you go directly from a book reviewto purchase online through the link. It’s easy. Here is howto do it. Go to the web site home page; scroll down to theAmazon.com link button in the middle of the right hand

column. Click on the button. It will take you directly toAmazon where you can browse to your heart’s content.Another way is to go to the book review section of theALTA web site and click on the book you might be inter-ested in purchasing and then click on the Amazon.combutton there. Clicking on the Amazon button for a par-ticular book does NOT obligate you to buy that book.However, if you decide to do so, it will enable ALTA toreceive 15% of the purchase price. So, be adventurous.Try something new. Consider Amazon.com throughwww.altaread.org when shopping for your holiday gifts. ✍

September — FebruaryScottish Rite Learning Center of West Texas, Lubbock, TX:Alphabetic Phonics Training Program - Introductory Seminars on Sept.28, Nov. 30 and March 1, 2002; Advanced Seminars on Oct. 5, Nov.9, Jan. 18, 2002 and March 22, 2002. C.J. Davidson Lecture Series“Fostering Motivation, Hope and Resilience in Children with learningDisabilities,” Robert Brooks, Ph.D., Harvard Medical School, Feb. 8,2002, 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Lubbock Civic Center Theater, admis-sion free. Call 806/765-9150.

bul•le•tin Calendar

Academic Language Therapy Association®

13140 Coit RoadSuite 320, LB 120Dallas, TX 75240-5737

ALTA’s Hopeline number has changed.Please make a note of the new TOLL-FREE

number,

1-866-283-7133

On - LineInstruction

O ften when teachers take a workshop atNeuhaus Education Center, they say, “I wishsomeone else from my campus had come to

hear this information.” As Neuhaus staff members travelaround the country presenting at conferences, they hearteachers say, “I wish your Center were closer so I couldattend workshops.” Neuhaus Education Center now hasa perfect solution to these two dilemmas — on-lineworkshops. On-line workshops offer learning to anyonein any place at any pace. Neuhaus Education Centerbegan offering two on-line workshops in June. Teachersin Houston and as far away as Massachusetts have partic-ipated in the workshops Developing Fluency for ReadingSuccess and Reading Comprehension: The Ultimate Goal ofReading. Don’t let time or place keep you from attendinga Neuhaus Education Center workshop. Visit theNeuhaus web site at www.neuhaus.org to find out howyou or a colleague can participate. ✍

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