Image courtesy of Ambro
The Problem
58 year old Paul was in a serious motorcycle accident several years ago that left him with whiplash and various physical and cognitive injuries. He lost the ability to read along with other executive functions. Reading was particularly problematic, as he found the prospect of reading large passages of text daunting. It felt like the page would leap up at him and he couldn’t take it all in. Before the accident, Paul used to love books and was an avid reader. So this loss of ability left him feeling frustrated and depressed.
The Solution
Paul’s partner found the Easyread System on the Internet and thought that the program would help Paul recover his literacy skills.
Several things about the program turned out to be especially good for someone with brain injury. Easyread is a step-by-step system, leading the student from the alphabet sounds through to sentences and longer passages of text, so Paul could build up his lost skills from the ground up. The Easyread characters make the phonic sounds easy to remember and fun, which was important given Paul’s difficulty with some executive function. The games also help develop vital eye-tracking skills – which was a significant area for Paul – and spelling techniques. Paul even enjoyed the high quality prizes, which he has proven appeal to learners of all ages!
Paul and his partner found the Easyread team very caring and concerned, and were pleased that progress was monitored throughout the course. The team offered specific advice, and even pointed Paul in the direction of other professionals or organisations for help in other areas.
The Results
While doing the course, Paul could feel that the course was immensely beneficial, and in the big scheme of things, fairly quick in achieving results. His reading has greatly improved, and he has since found reading normal text so much easier. He can now read longer passages without giving. His spelling ability and even his memory have improved. Most important to Paul, his enjoyment of reading has started to return.
Paul says: “Although the system is presently developed to appeal to children, I have found it great fun (and I am 58 years of age!). If you have a reading difficulty, at whatever age, please discover Easyread – I am so glad that I did.”
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Sarah Forrest is a Reading Specialist for the Easyread System, an innovative online program for struggling readers with highly visual learning styles, dyslexia, auditory processing disorders and more.
