“By the end of the Programme Charlotte’s confidence with reading, writing and spelling was at an all-time high”
In these unprecedented times, with a pandemic which has adversely affected children’s education, I recently received this unsolicited testimonial from the mother of a child that had just completed the WordsWorthLearning programme. Charlotte, Clare and I worked as a team, a perfect example of collaborative learning.
Following on from a full Educational Psychological Assessment of my daughter Charlotte age 9 (with a suspected & subsequently confirmed Specific Learning Difficulty) we were unbelievably blessed to be referred to Rita Treacy of WordsWorthLearning to assist Charlotte with her Spelling and Reading difficulties. From day one, Rita and Charlotte got on so well and Charlotte engaged completely with everything Rita showed and taught her. We began a nine month journey seeing Rita every two weeks and being guided through the amazing, unique and special programme that is WordsWorthLearning. Even during a Pandemic, Rita kept us going and Charlotte thrived under Rita’s expert guidance. By the end of the Programme Charlotte’s confidence with reading, writing and spelling was at an alltime high. When the programme finished Charlotte’s ability to ‘attack’ and 'sound out’ words was astounding, to a point where both her reading and reading comprehension skills improved by 6 years over a 9 month period. She is now three years ahead of her age level on both! Charlotte’s spelling has also improved by over 3 years, moving from 'well below average and in need of help' to ‘average’ for her age and is on track to improve even further. Charlotte now has the tools to read and spell for the rest of her life and we are so deeply grateful to Rita for changing Charlotte’s life so dramatically and positively. I cannot recommend Rita’s Programme enough and have no hesitation in telling absolutely anyone that it is truly unique and surely the gold standard for assistance with reading and spelling throughout the world.
Clare, Dublin 18. 26th June 2021
Testimonials
“I have been in the very fortunate position to have been aware of the work of
Rita Treacy over a considerable number of years. I have seen the WordsWorthLearning Programme
develop from her early work into what is now a robust, systematic and evaluated intervention
strategy for individuals with a Specific Learning Difficulty (Dyslexia). I have referred many
individuals for intervention in the past, and continue to do so, having received very positive
feedback from clients and their families. This Programme has proven effective in helping to
remediate both reading and written language difficulties, and, of importance, on repeat testing
I have found measurable increases in reading and written language literacy levels following
intervention. I would highly recommend this innovative Programme of intervention.” Fíona
Kelly Meldon, Consulting Clinical and Educational Psychologist, Dublin, Ireland.
“I have worked as an Educational Psychologist for nearly 20 years. Rita's
WordsWorthLearning programme has consistently been a go-to recommendation in my reports. The
programme is suitable for all ages and abilities. My clients have returned with significantly
better results than would otherwise be expected having completed the programme. Rita has evolved
the programme into something that is accessible from home, practical and engaging. I have
regularly recommended it to School Principal's and Learning Support teachers. Wishing Rita and
the WordsWorthLearning programme continued success”. Deirdre Griffin, Consulting Educational
Psychologist, Dublin, Ireland.
“Caint Speech Therapy has used WordsWorthLearning with many of our clients, in
private practice and in schools, who present with literacy difficulties. It provides a
structured format that allows clients to build vital sound processing foundations for literacy.
WordsWorthLearning progresses through a systematic hierarchy and builds on student skills in a
systematic way. Older students can work through each level of the programme independently as it
gives feedback and answers to each task. WordsWorthLearning is one of the only programmes that
focuses on reading and spelling at the same time. I would recommend this programme for students
who have reading and spelling difficulties”. Catherine Sheahan, Clinic Director, Caint Speech
Therapy, Ireland.
“I have found the WordsWorthLearning reading programme to be an excellent tool in
literacy intervention. The programme was particularly useful in breaking down the core phonic
skills and rules required for word attack and building them up systematically to bring about an
improvement in reading fluency.The programme also allowed for all important parent involvement
with supervised home practice, which accelerated progress. WordsWorthLearning principles could
be easily generalized to reading materials for school and leisure. Once fluency had improved
through WordsWorthLearning intervention, comprehension strategies could be effectively applied
which brought about significant improvement in comprehension of reading material”. Celine
Lenihan, Consulting Speech & Language Therapist, Ireland.
“As an OT many children are referred to me with problems regarding their
handwriting. Following my assessment, in some cases, it is evident that rather than one of
praxis or motor control, it is the child's phonological and literacy skills that are
contributing to their handwriting difficulties. I am delighted that I can work closely with Rita
and her wonderful WordsWorthLearning programme to ensure that, with both of our skillsets,
children's needs are accurately identified and intervention can be tailored to suit their
specific difficulties so that they can reach their potential. Rita is a highly experienced and
passionate therapist whose knowledge of speech and language, combined with literacy, make her a
unique and powerful addition to any team. Any parents whom I have worked with cannot speak
highly enough of both Rita and the WordsWorthLearning programme!”. Emma Butler, Senior
Paediatric Occupational Therapist, MAOTI, Dublin, Ireland.
“I first heard about the WordsWorth Programme about eight years ago from a parent
of a child in the school. This parent’s child was not progressing according to her ability and
as a result was lacking confidence. The WordsWorth programme was recommended following an
assessment by an educational Psychologist. This child attended sessions with Rita Treacy and did
follow up work at home. The WordsWorth Programme was immensely helpful and successful. It
complimented other programmes being done in class. Since then the WordsWorth Programme has been
recommended by psychologists for many children. These children’s reading, comprehension and
spelling have improved greatly as a result of following the WordsWorth Programme. Several
teachers in this school are very impressed by the progress children make while following
WordsWorth programme. Many teachers have attended the one day training course. One teacher
piloted WordsWorth with a senior class last year. Teachers in this school have now asked Rita
Treacy to work with us to develop a whole school programme suitable for mainstream classes. We
hope to pilot this programme in mainstream classes from Jan 2016”. Sr. Kathleen Lyng
(Principal) St Brigid’s N.S., Greystones, Ireland.
“St Anne's N.S. has made use of the WordsWorthLearning Resource for a number of
years now. We quickly saw how the online lessons were of great benefit to individual children
with dyslexia and WordsWorthLearning has become one of the key elements in our Learning Support
department. We have also put WordsWorthLearning to work in a class setting. One of our Third
Class teachers tested its effectiveness using the Schonell Test. Over a six-month period, the
pupils' attainment in spelling increased dramatically with some children's spelling age being
raised by over two years.We will continue to use WordsWorthLearning in both Learning Support and
mainstream classes”. Jim Halligan (Principal), St Annes N.S., Shankhill, Dublin,
Ireland.
“I came across the Wordsworth Programme when I worked as a Learning Support and
Resource Teacher. The children who worked consistently on the programme at home made great
progress in literacy. At this stage it was a paper based programme. I am now teaching a class
and one of my pupils completed the online programme last year. He too improved enormously. In
all cases the children’s comprehension improved when their reading improved. I had the
opportunity last year to do a day’s training with Rita Treacy. The programme is rules based
which helps the children make more sense of the English language. The programme shows them a way
to learn spellings which also works for many of them. The programme itself is very easy to use,
it is clear and the children can use it without any help. I think that as the children
experience success relatively quickly, it gives the motivation to continue working on the
programme. I hope to do the complete programme with my class this year. I found that the rules
can in many cases help answer the question as to how a word is spelt in a certain way”. Sile
Hennigan, 5th Class Teacher, St Brigid's N.S., Greystones, Ireland.
Sarah was diagnosed with a Specific Learning Difficulty / Dyslexia by an Education Psychologist in March ‘22. We didn’t know where to turn for help. Luckily a neighbour recommended Rita and the Wordsworth Learning Programme. I was a bit dubious before we started as I didn’t really believe much improvement could be made – how wrong I was!! We started our journeys to Nenagh in May and from the initial assessment it was brilliant. Rita was able to pinpoint the exact areas where Sarah needed help and just as important the areas, she was strong in. We made the trip 8 times in total – listening to audiobooks the whole way. We worked hard in between our visits but Sarah could see the logic in the whole programme and the improvements were obvious straight away. I even learned so much about the English language!
The programme has been life changing, not only for Sarah but for our whole family. The results have been amazing. Her reading accuracy has gone from the 16th percentile to the 85th, her comprehension from the 32nd percentile to the 93rd. She still has work to do on her spelling but we now have the tools to do this on our own. It has taken the stress out of home and school life. Rita was a brilliant mentor and bonded so well with Sarah. The programme instilled a great work ethic in her and gave her back her confidence. She has developed a love of reading (and listening to audiobooks) and has a newly discovered flair for creative writing!
Mrs H, Co. Kildare.
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