{2 - Sunday, May 17, 1987 - North Shore News Dyslexic school builds students’ self- esteem SEBASTIAN KLINGNER was not unlike other kids — he didn’t want to go to school. He said the other children didn’t like him, and he hated his teacher. The North Vancouver boy tried hard to stay home from school; he would cry, he said he had stomach pains. “He couldn't hold a pencil, he had a very short attention span, and he was easily frustrated," said his mother, Barbara. “By grade one, he had to stay late almost every night because he hadn't got his work done.” Also frustrated, Sebastian's mother took him in for testing. She discovered that her boy has above. average intelligence, and yet he couldn't understand the alphabet, Sebastian has dyslexia, Dyslexia is a linguistic deficien- cy, in which the mind does not process information like most people. The symptoms may include dif- ficulty in reading or remembering words and letters, an inability to make words come oul right, and “mirror writing,” where letters and words are written in reverse. In Sebastian's case, sequences such was the alphabet and multiplication tables did not make any sense to him. Mathematics were a complete mystery. He guessed at words, instead of trying to read them. “‘The dyslexic’s intelligence, vi- sion, hearing, motor control and physical development are from very good to poor, but mostly around average, as with everybody else,” according to the Orton Dyslexic Society, an international research group. **He has no more problems with home life, school attendance and emotional life than anyone else — except as they result from the frustration and discouragement caused by failure.” Sebastian, 10, now attends Ken- neth Gordon School in Burnaby, a primary school for dyslexic stu- dents. ’ There are eight pupils there from the’ North Shore, whose parents feel the public school system can- not teach their children properly. They are paying $5,500 a year to take their children to another district everyday, so that they might be able to return to public’ schoo] in a couple of years as regu- lar students. Sebastian’s classroom looks tike any classroom should, the 14 pupils are about the same age, and they are as noisy and energetic as any primary school kids. The difference is the level of work they are doing. The ‘junior’ class ranges in age from nine to eleven, but ‘if you have to use grades, they range from one to five in this class,’’ said teacher Mary Ann Dyson. - **We group the children by their ages, just so socially they will be in their own group. If 2 12-year-old boy came in without being able to read or write, which is often the case, he would be put into the senior class,” she said. When Sebastian started at Ken- neth Gordon last September, he had to start back at the very beginning of the English Lan- guage; learning the 159 basic phonograms that we use to com- municate. - And learn them over and over again, an hour a day with a tutor, and another four hours a day with his teacher and classmates. Sitting in a booth with tutor Marilyn Fleming, Sebastian looks at flash cards with phonograms printed on them. “C-H. Ch, as in check and chimp,” he recites. Then he writes the letters on a large sheet of By JUSTINE HUNTER Contrifmtng Writer paper. And re-writes them, several times, with his eyes closed. He is learning how the phonogram ‘ch’ feels in writing. Everyday, Fleming will enter a detailed report of what Sebastian has accomplished, what he has trouble with, even what his mood is. Everything Sebastian has done at the school is kept and filed, so that he never will be asked to do CAST IRON HIBATCHI 2 adjustable rills ag. 12.99 WHITE WIRE a MESH LAWN CHAIR Sturdy Stackable SPECIAL - 3 PIECE COMBO COOLER SET 2 coolers and jug Reg. 44.99 Lynn FQLuey CONTRE Mon., Tues. something in class that he has not already practised in his private ses- sioa. This plan is part of an effort to rebuild the self-esteem of Kenneth Gordon's 56 students. “Basically, when they come in here, they are coming from a regu- lar schoo! and they have not had a very good time of it,’’ says school administrator Elaine Stubson. ‘*Most of them have been beaten down at the regular schools, so we try to give them some success everyday.” Dr. Leone Prock, who began SFU's Jearning disabilities pre- gram, says it is important to pay MOUNTAIN BIKE Pe “ 21123” ea 29°" 3 or 19” Ladies) - Reg. 159.99 CHALEUR 3 L \ well- have emotional who attention to the being of people disabilities in learning. This is achieved by ‘setting up instruction so chat they feel com. fortable. A lot of them (learning disabled students) get academic in- struction, but they still tend to fail in school, and by the time they become adolescents, they have tearned to hate school — and rightfully so,’’ Prock said. Barbara Klingner sees a great improvement in Sebastian's behavior, who no longer dreads school, and his tutor says he is a bright, inquisitive boy who really wants to learn. speeds Reg. 44.99 \~ CHALEUR 3 LB. Various Styles and Colours 980-9341 SLEEPING BAG Reg. 49.99 Saturday Sunday 497 _ ~~ WOODEN pes SKATEBOARDS § 39°7| " STORE HOURS: 10:00am-6:00pm 10:00am-93:00pm 9:30am-6:00pm BARBEQUE PROPANE TANK capacity Reg. 26.97 Includes Rod, Ree! & Line Reg. 14.99 ; 12:00pm-5:00pm But he will never be cured of dyslexia; he just must learn to compensate for it, although he will always have a difficult time with reading and writing. The Orton Society says children like Sebastian can be taught to “fill in the gaps between what he actually sees, hears and feels in the outer world and how he thinks about these things in his head and puts them into words.” He will be able to attend public school in another year, and be just another noisy and energetic kid with high hopes for the future. “fT want to be rich,’ Sebastian smiles. r* SUPER 16” OSCILLATING FAN 39 : ial SPINCAST FISHING KIT Take Charge With Your Zeliers Credit Account!