The Little Place Too, a private preschool in Wellington, will host a free information session on dyslexia featuring Susie van der Vorst, well-known education advocate and co-founder of Camp Spring Creek, at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 25. at the Little Place Too (2995 Greenbriar Blvd., Wellington).
Owner Susan Russell invited van der Vorst after sending one of her school’s teachers to Camp Spring Creek’s 70-hour Associate Level Orton-Gillingham training at the North Carolina facility.
“Dyslexia doesn’t necessarily mean you read backward, as people often think,” van der Vorst explained. “Children with dyslexia have difficulty processing language, but they are often very gifted in analytical reasoning and creativity, which is why a high percentage of people with dyslexia become corporate CEOs, engineers, artists, entrepreneurs, surgeons and architects.”
At the information session, van der Vorst will touch on early intervention techniques that help parents and teachers determine whether or not their child has a learning difference as early as age four. She will also answer common questions, dispel myths and discuss available resources.
“We’re just getting into the Orton-Gillingham approach at the Little Place,” Russell said. “I can already see a positive difference. It helps all of us understand how to help our children in the best ways possible.”
The approach is one of the most highly effective methods for teaching the structure of language using multisensory techniques.
With support, people with dyslexia lead lives of accomplishment.
“We often see students make two to three years’ worth of progress during a six- to eight-week session at camp,” said van der Vorst, who has nearly 30 years of teaching and tutoring experience. “Our approach is designed to target a child’s individual strengths and weaknesses and help them excel. But we also recognize the value of keeping kids active throughout the day. These kids can’t learn as well if they’re stuck behind a desk. The learning needs to be hands-on so that they can get multiple senses involved.”
For van der Vorst, the primary motivator in spreading the word about dyslexia is because she believes that reading is a civic right and that no child should be excluded because traditional teaching methods don’t teach some children the way they need to be taught.
The session is free and open to the public. For more info., call (561) 790-0808.
