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THE PESA POST
The latest news, views and announcements from
Parents, Educators/Teachers & Students in Action

February 17, 2022
RIGHTING A READING WRONG
A child with a learning disability wasn't getting the help he needed—until PESA stepped in
Lagging behind in reading skills is tough for a child, but not even knowing the cause of the problem makes it especially stressful.

That was the case when 8-year-old Mateo (not his real name) came to the attention of PESA. The third grader was reading at only the pre-K grade level, and despite being in an individualized educational program (IEP), Mateo’s ability to read was not progressing satisfactorily. 

Sophia Venables, a PESA tutor, immediately went to work, providing one-on-one guidance for the boy, and some progress was made. Still, he wasn’t improving at the rate she would have hoped for. It turns out, says Sophia, that whereas Mateo’s reading skills were clearly underdeveloped, his memorization skills were off the charts. He appeared to show improvement from one IEP assessment test to the next, but in reality, he was scoring based on his memory of prior tests rather than true reading-ability. Sophia suspected dyslexia was at play, 

PESA decided to step up its efforts and arranged to have Mateo tested. Sure enough, he was diagnosed with dyslexia. Armed with a definitive cause, Sophia and PESA Executive Director Seymour Amster set out to find a suitable therapy designed for such a learning disorder. The organization eventually settled on a tutoring program known as PRIDE, and we’re pleased to report that Mateo has been making enormous strides ever since. Also, thanks to having established a lasting partnership with PRIDE, PESA is now able to offer this specialized tutoring to other children similarly diagnosed.

It’s this type of individualized attention that PESA is so adept at providing, and it’s just one example of how combining our skilled personnel with your financial support can have a positive impact on our community—one young reader at a time.

If you’d like to support PESA’s many social and educational initiatives, please contact us.