Goessel tutor aids children with reading difficulties
If your child is having difficulty reading or you suspect he or she may be dyslexic, a Goessel tutor may be able to help.
She's Angie Duerksen, and she was the featured speaker at last Friday's Communities in Schools interagency meeting, held at Olde Towne restaurant.
Duerksen runs ABC Reading Services, a tutoring service that she operates out of her home.
Although Duerksen's background is in developmental disabilities and mental health, she's now gone into the reading and language field. She received training from the Fundamental Learning Center of Wichita.
One of Duerksen's main goals is helping the dyslexic child. Some estimates say that 20 percent of the United States population is dyslexic, she said.
These reading problems are often neurological, she said. When the child makes progress, doctors can see it on PET scans of the brain.
Duerksen's approach, as trained by the Fundamental Learning Center, is a multi-sensory one. Children learn by hearing, by seeing, even by moving.
In addition to helping the child read, Duerksen also works with handwriting and spelling.
And she likes what she does.
"I really enjoy doing this," Duerksen said.
Right now, about half of Duerksen's students live in Marion County, she said. They come from a variety of towns, from McPherson to Elbing to Newton.
For a typical student, Duerksen likes to meet with the child three to five times a week for hour-long sessions. By January of 2003, she'll have a total of ten students.
The students usually come to her house in Goessel for their sessions, Duerksen said, but she's willing to travel for a larger group. For example, next year she'll have three students at Berean Academy, so she plans to meet with them at their school.
Sometimes Duerksen also works with small groups of two or three students at a time. But usually the sessions are one-on-one.
Duerksen has seen improvements in her students with this learning method. Changes can be seen in the readers within a year, she said.
But normally, a child would take a minimum of two years to get through the program. Each student progresses at his or her own pace, Duerksen said.
As far as cost goes, Duerksen's standard rate is $20 an hour, but she said she's willing to work with the families' individual circumstances.
"I don't want to scare anybody away," she said.
For more information about ABC Reading Services, contact Duerksen at 367-2654 or highwater@futureks.net.
