The WordsWorthLearning© Programme

About the Creator of the WordsWorthLearning Programme

Rita Treacy: Consulting Speech & Language Therapist - Specialising in Dyslexia

When I was 18 years of age and in my 1st year at Trinity College Dublin, I was informed that I was Dyslexic. My first reaction was to question what it meant and I was flabbergasted to learn that there was no cure. Over time, I learned that it was a specific learning disorder that took on many guises, labels and stigmas. It certainly caused a “reluctance” to be put in a position that would expose the problem and as a consequence my “avoidant behaviours” were often misinterpreted. Frequently the literacy component is not identified and, in my case, attending an all Irish secondary school certainly compounded the problem.  

My own experience of the problem included e.g. word finding difficulties, reading accuracy and comprehension problems, spelling and written expression difficulties and like others before me, I managed to struggle my way through tertiary education. However, by adopting and more importantly by developing many learning strategies along the way, I qualified with a BSc. (Hons) Degree in Remedial Linguistics i.e. Speech & Language Therapy (SLT). This sparked the beginning of my quest to find a logical intervention for a very common and worldwide problem.  

First-hand experience of dyslexia inspired me to create WordsWorthLearning© and working with a varied child and adolescent caseload during my 10 years as Principal SLT in Lucena Clinic - Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Services (Dublin), and this coupled with my own “learning strategies” certainly provided the impetus and means to do this.  

The programme is still being used very successfully in my Private Practice in Dublin. In 2009 a digital version of the programme was created, to make it more affordable, available and inclusive (to everyone that needs it) via the internet. It is being used to improve reading and spelling skills in schools, by parents (at home with their children) and also by teenagers and adults. Although it started life as a programme for children that are failing at school, it is now being used by many teenagers and adults that are under-achieving, providing them with an opportunity to reach their true potential.