“Our daughter has gained confidence and recognizes a change in herself.”
The Reading Foundation has developed and offers the Discover Writing Program, designed to help children, adolescents, and adults to develop their written language skills.
Key Features:
Students of all ages need to learn how to express their thoughts through a written format. The Discover Writing Program provides structured and systematic exposure to the writing process that helps them to:
Write effective sentences
Organize and write effective paragraphs
Link paragraphs to create coherent essays
Organize and write essays independently
In order to clearly express thoughts, students in the Discover Writing Program are taught to write from their mental images. However, many students who struggle with written language have difficulty creating mental images. Therefore, the Discover Writing Program is often done in conjunction with the Discover Meaning Program.
Students are paced through each step of the program and time is taken to explore strategies and concepts that improve clarity and cohesion in written skills. Basic grammatical concepts, appropriate use of punctuation, capitalization and spelling are all taught, as well as editing skills.
Since most written language in school systems focuses on narrative writing (stories), the Discover Writing Program focuses more on expository writing to fill the gap. By the time students enter grade 7, they need to be independent in their ability to research information, organize it and then write a coherent essay. Many students have difficulty with some or all of these steps. The Discover Writing Program provides them with the necessary skills to become more effective writers.
Rates
The cost of the initial assessment is $250 and includes the contact time with the student, consultation with parents and a written report. Cost of individual one-to-one instruction is $60 per hour. (All prices in Canadian dollars). The average length of a program is 60 hours, which amounts to $3600. There is no Goods and Services Tax (GST) on this service.
You can deduct the amount paid to The Reading Foundation as a medical expense on your Canadian income tax return if the student attends the Calgary clinic. A properly worded receipt for this purpose is provided once the student exits the program in Calgary.
Because Dr. Truch is a chartered psychologist in Alberta, fees may also be partially recovered from private health care plans that cover psychological services, provided the student attends the Calgary clinic.
If you are a US citizen visiting this web site, a four-week trip to Calgary or Vancouver may be surprisingly affordable for you. Our hourly charge is usually less than a comparable clinical program in the United States. Use the calculator to determine the cost of our program (60 hours) and the cost of travel and lodging in Canadian dollars. May we suggest planning a summer holiday in beautiful Calgary or Vancouver and bringing the gift of writing to your son or daughter at the same time? To discover more about Calgary and Vancouver, please click here.
Ideally, students attend each day for four hours of one-to-one instruction. They come five days a week for an average of three weeks. This represents a total of 60 hours of instruction. The impact on both learning and self-esteem in this short time frame is very dramatic. (Some students who have a severe reading/spelling issue or difficulties in more than one area may require more than 60 hours of intervention in the long run. Once the initial assessment is completed, a reasonable estimate of the time it will take to bring genuine change can be provided). A modified routine is available for students who cannot miss school time. We offer after school and Saturday times for this purpose. Alternatively, students can attend for a few half days during the week, as well as four hours on Saturdays. Summer break, or other school holidays during the year are also a great time to come without having to miss school.
Write effective sentences