Getting a timely diagnosis for injuries and other medical problems is crucial for a successful treatment outcome. Everybody knows that. The question is: how to we know which expert(s) to consult for our particular problem?

The gentleman who recently designed my business card is a case study of what not to do when one has a sports related injury. I noticed Tony’s (not his real name) crooked little finger when he stood next to me to show me something on my computer. Because one of my brothers has a crooked finger too from playing soccer, I asked Tony how he got his “trophy” finger. It turned out that he was injured in a soccer match as well! Although Tony was in great pains, instead of checking to see if he cracked any bones, Tony first tried to patch it up himself. Then he visited various medical people, from traditional Chinese medicine practitioners, his family doctor, to finally a specialist whose expertise was in sports related injuries. First thing the specialist checked was: the bone in his injured finger. It was cracked!

The story of Tony’s crooked finger, sadly, is similar to the story of many children who have a reading disability. Instead of directly addressing the reading problem by finding a specialist in identifying and treating reading problems, many parents don’t know what to do or where to go.  Sometimes out of desperation, a huge amount of money is paid to the wrong “specialist” and the result is disappointing, to say the least. This is where going to someone with an expertise in reading disability will get the most satisfying results for the child and the parents.

There is array of “solutions” for children with learning disabilities such as dyslexia. The costs vary: $50 dollars per hour for an Orton-Gillingham tutor, tuition fee of over $20,000 per year for attending a special school for dyslexics such as Fraser Academy, and of course, in order to be recognized as being “learning disabled,” one has to go to an educational psychologist and pay between $1500 to $2000 for the assessment. There is a great deal of coordination work to be done and many parents sometimes get lost in the process. This is where our service comes in handy.

Winnifred Tang & Associates will help parents go through the entire process of identifying the learning problem(s), arrange for appropriate testing done by a qualified educational psychologist if required, design instruction, match instruction and instructional materials to the child, and set up supporting technology to help the child to be as independent as possible as a learner. At the same time, we try to instill in the child team spirit, that is, learning to find joy in learning by collaboration with others. In short, we manage the child’s learning for academic success.

The earlier one diagnoses the learning problem(s), the better it is for the child. If the reading problem was discovered in primary school, a great deal more can be done for the child. I remember one university student who came to me for help a few years ago. This student passed his first year university English course with my instructional support (and believe me, it was really intense and my blood pressure increased drastically while I had this student), but I just can’t help thinking that if he was identified earlier, he would be a far more confident young man with a better sense of his unique place in the world.

Tags: Learning management
Posted in Blog