Pacific Learning Center NW

Direct, Multi-Sensory Instruction
Confidence Through Achievement for Dyslexics and Others With learning Disabilities

"I was, on the whole, considerably discouraged by my school days. It was not pleasant to feel oneself so completely outclassed and left behind at the beginning of the race."  Winston Churchill

Reading is a foundational skill for all other academic work. The ability to read is made up of several sub-skills, each of which contributes to the ability to derive meaning from the printed word. If a student has a disability in one or more of the sub-skills of reading, they are said to have dyslexia, and they will commonly have trouble with one or more aspects of reading instruction.

The traditional way reading is taught in elementary schools does not address many of the disabilities that stand in the way of a child learning to read. Research has shown that both dyslexic and non-dyslexic students benefit from direct instruction in reading, although students who are not dyslexic will normally learn to read regardless of the method employed. Therefore, it is essential that students who are going to have difficulty learning to read be identified as early as possible, or that all students are taught to read by using methods that work with all students, rather than just the ones who have been identified as dyslexic.

At Pacific Learning Center NW, we have teachers who have been trained in one or more methods of direct instruction of reading. They use these research-tested methods with all our students to get them reading with greater fluency and comprehension as quickly as possible. Not all our students are dyslexic, but all our students will receive the most effective reading instruction available anywhere.

Two of the reading programs we use at PLC are the Wilson Reading System and the Linguistic Remedies. Both of these outstanding programs utilize direct instruction methods to teach phonemic awareness, phonics, and comprehension in a multi-sensory curriculum. Because we have a small student-teacher ratio, we are able to place each student in one or the other or both of these programs at their optimal level for maximum growth in the minimum amount of time. Our program is structured to go more slowly in the earlier grades and more quickly with older students who struggle with reading and are motivated to make rapid progress.

At Pacific Learning Center NW, reading is a priority, and we use the materials and the methods that make reading instruction successful.