It has always been my belief that reading is more than just looking at words on a page and recognizing them one after another. For some however, this is what reading is like. Missed are the nuances of grammar, content, ideas, expressions, and imagery. Reading is a complex set of functions working together to allow the receiving of information. This is something that needs to be learned.

 

The Fast Forward Program offered at Reading and Learning Pathways has been paramount in helping my daughter navigate these nuances. The basic program before she even began to “read” taught her to recognize sounds that had been escaping her. It trained her brain to remember how to access the functions necessary for reading, like sound recognition, patterning, and working memory. It opened up pathways and reinforced their use so that they were easier to access. It also helped her with focus. The adage of the ages is that practice, practice, practice is key when we are learning something new or improving on a skill we already have. This program does this, but it goes many steps further. It is a scientifically based program that accomplishes something that for some children classroom learning will never be able to address.

 

It has been my experience that this program not only grows readers but it takes the frustration out of learning to read. Comprehension is the ultimate goal of reading. Beyond that the enjoyment of entering another set of ideas, taking a journey, or going on a adventure just by reading a bunch of letters on a page. Fast ForWord puts brains together in a way that allows the experience of another person's ideas.

                                                                                                                                                   Kit Hayward - Parent

 

This is the most amazing program! My husband and I tried every program available for our child and none worked. A friend handed me information about Reading and Learning Pathways and I reluctantly went to meet with Andrea. She is so kind and has a wonderful way with children. I knew that she would be able to help my child. The centre and the programs have taken my son from an insecure non-reader to a reader with confidence. Reading and Learning Pathways has not only helped my son scholastically but has helped him develop a greater sense of self, a belief in himself and a huge thirst for knowledge. We went from a reluctant learner to an eager learner. Try this program. It will be life changing for you and your child!

                                                                                                                                                   Kirsty McCandless - Parent

 

 

 

The program run at Reading & Learning PATHWAYS is fantastic and my husband and I have recommended it and will continue to recommend it to everybody whose child is struggling or having a hard time with school. Andrea is a truly caring and thoughtful person who has nothing but the best wishes and hopes for the children she is helping. Our son attended a summer intensive program after having a really ruff 1st grade, which left him feeling lost and frustrated and scared to partake for fear of making a mistake and looking stupid. After the summer with Andrea, he went into grade 2 a different kid. He was excited to go to school. He felt apart of the daily activities. He was feeling confident. And one of the biggest successes was that he learned that it was Ok to make mistakes. That mistakes were opportunities for learning. To this day one year later, he still says, when we drive by, that is where I went to Pathways. When can I go back? He learned a lot not only educationally wise but without him knowing he learned a lot about himself.

                                                                                                                                                    Tricia Fieldhouse - Parent

 

Reading & Learning PATHWAYS has been extremely helpful for my 9 year old daughter in such a small period of time as short as 3 months I've noticed a significant shift. She has been in the system since she was 4 years old through day-cares, pre-school and kindergarten. She was an ESL kid at school. She had solid conversational knowledge about the language before she has started to the kindergarten.

 

However in time I understand,she was incapable processing verbal instructions well enough to be able to function properly in the class room. It wasn't a big problem in kindergarten, grade 1 and even in grade 2 because she was active and highly energetic the teachers have pin - pointed her lack of concentration.

 

In grade 3 she started being upset, because she was unable to follow up with teacher's instructions and with homework assignments either. Even we would sit together and listen to the teacher's instructions together what I understand and what she gets out of it would be differing. She would skip some steps, or go to the conclusion and seem not to be grasping the whole reason of why she was doing it in this specific way (she is in IB elementary school so there's a lot reasoning skills and cross-relating between units are expected).

 

She started questioning herself as if she was incapable and worse than this she has started accepting herself as being not smart.

 

In February 2013, we have had her cognitive skills assessment through pathways and her working memory was in 96 percentile rank where as her auditory processing skill was at 40 percentile rank. This was a significant gap and no wonder she was feeling not being smart enough in the class room, in short she has had the capacity of learning however wouldn't be able to use it in full strength and was feeling bad about herself.

 

She has been in the program between April - June 2013, then she has had a summer break and now she will resume again as of September. After three months being in the program, the changes I and also her teacher have noticed are as follows:

 

• Her confidence level has increased (almost immediately after being a month in the program)

• She has started asking questions in the class room (her teacher started to acknowledge her for asking questions during the class time, before she was never asking questions) - She asked me to take her to a kids book store, and she chose her own books (before she was hardly asking about going to the library even)

• She started reading books in her grade level, she has finished 10 chapter books during the summer months.

• She voluntarily signed up summer reading club of our neighbourhood library and is half way through it as of end of the August.

These were the things that would never happen with my daughter. I'm so proud of her. More than anything else I'm happy that she feels good about herself.

Pathways staff has been very helpful throughout the program, first I've been given a very comprehensive orientation about the cognitive skills assessment and how the program works. The instructors are highly skilled in working with especially school aged children. I also received reports at the end of each week to see my kids development through each program.

 

I'll certainly recommend Pathways to any parent whose kid is struggling at school. The assessment is giving a great picture of where your kid is at in terms of his/her cognitive skills.

 

Thank you Pathways, you changed how we feel about ourselves big time (:

                                                                                                                                                       Ceyda Gultan - Parent