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Indiana University has announced that senior, Katie Spoon, has created a revolutionary neural network system that uses Artificial Intelligence to evaluate a child’s handwriting for possible symptoms of dyslexia with significant accuracy. According to the university’s news release, the work earned Ms. Spoon the Provost’s Award for Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity in the category of Natural and Mathematical Sciences.

The news release said her work “has the potential to reduce the number undiagnosed cases of dyslexia, as well as help children access the accommodations they need as early as possible.” In the press release, Ms. Spoon went to explain, “an estimated 20 percent of kids have dyslexia or some other language-based learning disability,” said Spoon, who is enrolled in the accelerated master’s degree program at the IU School of Informatics, Computing and Engineering. “Those students need to be detected by second grade because, if you struggle to read in third grade, you’re more than four times more likely to drop out before finishing high school, and only two percent are detected by second grade.”

“Katie’s research has the potential to improve our education system in terms of identifying children sooner who should be assessed for learning disabilities,” said Katie Siek, an associate professor at the IU School of Informatics, Computing and Engineering; Spoon’s work on dyslexia began under her guidance. “This takes some of the burden of documenting handwriting off of teachers and caregivers.”

The university reported that Spoon was drawn to the topic because of her mother’s background in special education. “It’s up to parents most of the time to push the schools to diagnose their kids,” Spoon said. “A lot of times they need some type of evidence, and this project could provide that evidence so they can be detected sooner.”

Photo of Katie Spoon by Eric Rudd, Indiana University

“Students need to be detected by second grade because, if you struggle to read in third grade, you’re more than four times more likely to drop out before finishing high school…”
—University of Indiana student and researcher, Katie Spoon

Read the full news release from Indiana University here. And if you have questions or concerns about a struggling learner in your family, feel free to reach out. I’m always available by email or drop me a note using the quick form below.

Experienced teacher and NILD-licensed educational therapist offers help for struggling learners and their families

Betsy Rountree is an educational therapist offering hope to struggling learners. She has more than 20 years of experience as a classroom teacher in public, private, and home school education. Betsy’s passion for helping students of all ages overcome roadblocks to learning comes from a deep love of children, a love of learning, and her own challenges as the mom of a struggling learner.

Trained and licensed by the National Institute of Learning Development (NILD), Betsy believes no student is beyond help.

“In spite of the challenges that students and parents may face,” she said, “I firmly believe in the value of targeted therapy to give students the tools they need to learn on their own. I don’t teach subject matter, I equip my students to think, to learn, and become self-sufficient life-long learners.”

What is a typical therapy session like?

Betsy’s process typically involves one-on-one NILD Educational Therapy® sessions twice a week for 80 minutes each. Educational therapy develops core academic skills and higher-order processing using dynamic intervention and interactive language during the sessions. Therapy sessions are available throughout the year. Many students benefit from summer therapy outside the regular school year.

New students are assessed through a complete series of psychological/educational tests to determine a baseline and identify areas of cognitive strengths as well as those of vulnerability. Initial and annual assessments will help guide the development of an individualized program of NILD Educational Therapy® for each student. A range of therapy techniques is used to develop and strengthen academic skills and higher-order processing as the therapy progresses.

Betsy sets these goals for her students and clients

Create a work ethic of perseverance and diligence
Develop fluency in reading, writing, spelling, and mathematics
Develop reasoning skills for problem-solving
Improve verbal and written expression
Strengthen auditory and visual processing skills
Develop skills of attentiveness

In her years of working with students, Betsy has seen the fruits of equipping students to learn on their own.

Properly prepared learners become more confident and motivated and develop greater respect for themselves and others. Success breeds success and equipping young students creates independent learners who have more to give to their families and communities.”

What are your therapy rates?

Each 80-minute, individualized, one-on-one session is $80. There is an initial $100 resource fee to cover the cost of student texts, workbooks, and other consumable materials. The materials fee is $75 annually for returning students.

The individualized therapy plan is based on the results of a battery of psycho-educational tests that are partially outsourced to a clinical psychologist. All psychologist fees are the responsibility of the student’s family.

Get in touch

Please let me hear from you if you’d like to discuss your personal situation or simply have a question. Send me a quick note using the easy contact area to the right (or below if you’re viewing this on your mobile device).

Betsy Rountree graduated Magna Cum Laude from James Madison University with a Bachelor of Science in Living Sciences and earned a Master of Teaching from Virginia Commonwealth University. She has completed all three levels of training in educational therapy with the National Institute of Learning Development and is a Professionally-Certified Educational Therapist. She has also completed additional training in SEARCH & TEACH, NILD’s early intervention program, and is a Certified FIE Practitioner and licensed through the Feuerstein Institute.