1. Subject is a 33 year old male, with two children. He has been working in a job which until previously required essentially hands-on work. He experienced difficulty as his job description and duties changed to include reading and writing requirements, such as responding to written instructions and memos and recording information. Investigation revealed that he suffered from a severe dyslexia, reading well below literacy level despite having had 10 years of public education, albeit with high school education being vocationally based.
Initial testing in 1998 indicated reading decoding (of individual words) at the .8 percentile or Grade 1.7 level, on the WRAT III. Reading Comprehension measured as higher on a screening test (Grade 4.6 level), since the subject did not have the skills to undertake the more commonly used test for comprehension. However, even on this less reliable test, he was well below expectations for literacy. In addition, the SCAN test for auditory processing disorders revealed a very significant problem with auditory processing (5th percentile), which likely contributed to the dyslexia as an underlying cause.
The subject began the dEcode™ reading program, attending hour-long sessions, three times per week. On retesting after approximately 4 months, the subject had improved significantly on all measures. In particular, his Reading/Decoding has improved from the .8 to the 25th percentile (Grade 1.7 to Grade 5 level). Reading Comprehension on the same test as previously rose from the Grade 4.6 to the Grade 6.9 level. It was possible to administer a more common reading comprehension test, involving passages of written text. Results indicated reading at a late Grade 3/early Grade 4 level. A dramatic rise on the SCAN, from the 5th to the 70th percentile, indicated vastly improved "listening" or sound discrimination skills.
The subject is now eager to practice his new reading skills with early level reading books and some phonics work will be introduced to facilitate his progress. He is thrilled that he can make sense of so much more written material, such as signs, and is reading with his children for the first time.
TOP
2. A young woman, 18 years old, was referred due to difficulties maintaining passing grades in high school. Testing indicated that her Reading/Decoding was very poor (16th percentile relative to age expectations or a Grade 6 level). SCAN results also revealed a very significant auditory processing deficit (Total Score at the 5th percentile). Retesting was conducted after a 6 month period of remediation with the dEcode™ program, which showed Reading/Decoding skills had improved to the 53rd percentile, while the SCAN Total Score was at the 79th percentile. In terms of her schooling, with tutoring support, this subject has progressed through her required credits and has now been accepted to the university of her choice.
TOP
3. A 50 year old man, who is a university graduate, came to investigate concerns that he was misinterpreting information and found it very difficult to read comfortably. He reported that his reading was very slow, he questioned the accuracy of what he was taking in, and he could not read for pleasure. Testing indicated that his Reading/Decoding was relatively poor (39th percentile relative to age expectations) and it was noted that he read many of the higher level words hesitantly and only after several attempts. Testing with the SCAN indicated a significant auditory processing weakness (Total Score at the 13th percentile). After 3½ months of the reading program, significant improvement was seen in both Reading/Decoding (83rd percentile) and the SCAN (94th percentile).
TOP
4. 9 ½ year old boy. WRAT decoding subtest score 1st percentile. Auditory processing tested via the SCAN was at the 5th percentile. Tested at above average intelligence, he presented with negative self-esteem and a lot of acting out behaviour. His dyslexia was diagnosed with underlying auditory processing/phonological difficulties.
After 11 months of receiving the dEcode™ Program, post-testing indicated a jump to the 75th percentile on the WRAT and between the 75th and 95th percentile on the SCAN.
This indicates that, in less than one year, not only was his reading/decoding more than caught up to age and grade level expectations, but the processing deficits that were hindering him were functionally alleviated so he continued to progress.
As a result of this increase, this youngster began operating with much more confidence and much of his negative behaviour decreased.
TOP
In addition to anecdotal reports and case studies among our subject population, we have recently completed a study with the Niagara District Catholic School Board with children between the ages of 8 and 12.
In only three months, the experimental group attained an average increase of 2 to 3 grade levels in their reading decoding skills as compared to the control group, who showed no improvement.
The children clearly paid attention to the training program (in fact, they gave the impression to the trainers that they thoroughly enjoyed the experience and it seemed in many cases to raise their self-esteem). Of significant importance, this research demonstrated that dEcode™, the method, stands on its own, without Dr. Debby Cooper teaching the individual herself. This fact was confirmed by the high statistical results on the Phonolog Test, which was designed specifically for regular-spelling nonsense word reading and therefore conforms to the specifics of the training program (overall effect of Group (p < .001).
Children in the bottom 30th and especially 25th percentile of word decoding skills as measured by the WRAT III definitely benefitted from the program, i.e. their improvement scores (post versus pre) on the WRAT Reading raised significantly more (p< .03) than did those of the control group. It is encouraging to see that in such a short period of time there were significant comparative gains in decoding scores, indicating this method in particular is successful for individuals scoring below the 25th percentile.
