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The dEcode™ Reading Program
The dEcode ™Reading Program began as a supplementary aid, aimed at providing
careful, systematic instruction in the pre-phonic level of alphabetical
letter-sound coding skill.
Because individual needs differ, the dEcode™ Reading Program is set up to be completely flexible in use.
Exercises that are not needed are simply skipped. It is extremely
unlikely that any one learner would do all of the exercises provided.
The exercises are there if needed.
This flexibility means that the dEcode™ Reading Program serves readers of all types. Even students without
learning disabilities will find dEcode™ a fast and painless way to advance their reading skills.
The basic elements of the program may be described as follows:
- short incremental steps developing the temporal sequencing of
sounds
- utilization of the three modalities: articulate or "read", listen,
and write the symbol accurately
- thoroughly develop the accuracy of each sound and sound combination,
while stressing the order of presentation through an over-learned
response, before moving on to the next stage
- because of the expansiveness of the program, the ability to memorize
exercises is minimized.
It was observed that students with reading problems exhibited
their inability to read at the fundamental phonological level.
Through repetitive exercises, the program progresses the student
to the final mastery of material into the student's long-term
memory. Material must be over-learned to the point of an unthinking
reflex to benefit the student. Only after the student's accuracy
and speed on a specific exercise has become consistent and impeccable,
can the student progress to the next stage of the program.
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Conventional Reading Programs
The two standard approaches used to teach reading in schools over
the past few decades are the "whole-language" method and the "phonics"
method.
Whole-language teaching emphasizes comprehension right from the
very beginning. This means that students are exposed to words
set in meaningful contexts. The whole-language method is seen
as providing immediate satisfaction from reading and allowing
access to the language. Repetitive drills and exercises are avoided.
Many students do in fact learn to read with whole-language methods.
Gifted students, and many average ones, often quickly absorb the
idea of letter-sound association "on their". However, those who
fail to grasp the principles will fall behind their classmates,
and without help learning fundamental pre-phonic skills, they
will stay there.
Phonics teaching is at its best in teaching exceptional spellings,
for example in words containing "ph-" or "ough". These rules allow
readers to figure out the sounds of many new words.
Typically, however, phonics teaches individual letter-sounds through
word analysis; breaking down a word into smaller components to
understand how it is blended together out of shorter sounds. "Bag",
then becomes "buh", "ah" and "guh".
However, knowing how to dissect a word into separate phonic sounds
is not the same as being able to assemble those sounds into a
smoothly-blended word when reading a sentence forward at full
speed. Without the "pre-phonic" skills of decoding, a student
will never master reading as an effortless reflex.
All students learn more easily when given proper teaching. Conventional
teaching methods, that assume that pre-phonic skills need little
or no instruction make it more difficult for students of all abilities
to learn.
The dEcode™ Reading Program is not intended as a substitute for school,
or other programs teaching vocabulary, phonic-spelling, or reading
comprehension. However, the dEcode™ Reading Program will enhance any school experience. As the pre-phonic
skills are mastered, students can relax, and absorb other work.
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A Case History
In June 1995, an eight-year old boy found a brochure on the dEcode™
summer camp in a supermarket. He was only able to decipher four
letters on that brochure: "R" "E" "A" "D".
He ran home and gave the brochure to his mother, who called Dr.
Cooper and arranged an appointment. Following an assessment and
consultation, Dr. Cooper promised the young boy that he would
be able to read three-letter words by the end of August.
When the end of August came, after taking the dEcode™ program, a proud and tearful mother listened as her young son,
who three months earlier could only decipher four letters, read
a short paragraph.
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