Saint Mary’s University i.t.a. Program
Helping children read!
Effective Intervention for Struggling Readers
The i.t.a. intervention protocols used in the Saint Mary’s University i.t.a. Literacy Clinic were developed by Dr. Jane Flynn (Anderson), based on her research and clinical experience working with students with dyslexia for the past 28 years.
“I’ve been doing research and providing remediation services to children and adults with reading disability/dyslexia using i.t.a. since 1986. It is, without doubt, the most effective intervention for struggling readers that I’ve used in my 40 plus years as an educator.”
Dr. Jane Flynn (Anderson), i.t.a. Researcher/Board Member
Research-Validated Intervention Strategies
Dr. Flynn’s educational research revealed the effectiveness of the i.t.a. Program compared to traditional remediation programs for students with reading disabilities/dyslexia.
Effectiveness of i.t.a. Repeated Oral Assisted Reading (ROAR)
Effect of i.t.a. Program on Spelling in Traditional Orthography
Reading Level Gains by Intervention Programs
i.t.a. Intervention Normalizes Brain Function
Dr. Flynn’s doctoral research featured quantitative electrophysiology (QEEG) recordings to investigate whether children with different kinds of reading disabilities would exhibit different patterns of brain activation compared to each other and to normally-developing peers when reading aloud.
Differences in Brain Function During Reading
Initial results confirmed her hypothesis. Children who had difficulty learning how read due to phonological deficits differed from both normally-developing readers, and from other dyslexic readers. These differences were not found during the Eyes Closed Resting condition, indicating that children with reading disabilities are not different from normal readers when they are not engaged in effortful cognitive processing.
Education Normalizes Brain Function!
Follow up recordings of dyslexic readers who had attained grade-level reading skills compared to unremediated peers revealed a surprising finding: Remediated dyslexics demonstrated normalization of brain activation patterns! At that time (mid 1980s), only one other lab had reported normalization of brain function after remediation of reading difficulties. Recent studies have replicated this normalization effect.
Additional Research of Dr. Jane Flynn (Anderson)
Readers interested in Dr. Flynn’s research are invited to download the following publications…
• Eavesdropping on the Brain
• Assessment Issues in Child Neuropsychology
• Synthesis of Research on the Use of the Initial Teaching Alphabet
• Educational Validation Studies with Subtypes of Learning-Disabled Readers
• Educational and Psychological Assessment of Exceptional Children
• ROAR and Use of the i.t.a. for Remediation of Dyslexia