"We consider it to be one of the most effective programs in the field of adult remedial reading and writing skill development."

Drs. Wayne MacDonald and Anne Cornwall
Department of Psychology
IWK Grace Health Centre, Halifax

Drs. MacDonald and Cornwall have completed three reviews of the effectiveness of the Spell Read program when used with adults. The first two were in 1995 and the third was in 1997.

Dr. MacDonald has since left his position as head of psychology at the IWK Grace Health Centre, a pediatric teaching hospital in Atlantic Canada. He now works in partnership with Spell Read in Halifax.Dr. MacDonald is a neuropsychologist who specializes in dyslexia and learning disabilities, and is considered a leading expert in this field in Atlantic Canada. Dr. MacDonald has been a professional advisor to the Learning Disabilities Association of Canada, most recently as a member of the panel charged with defining the term Learning Disability.

As indication of the respect that Dr. MacDonald has earned within his professional community, the IWK recently established the annual G. Wayne MacDonald lecture. Dr. Jack Fletcher of the University of Texas in Houston gave the inaugural lecture. Dr. Fletcher is a leading researcher in the field of dyslexia and holds one of only two $5 million reading research grants from the National Institutes of Health. Interestingly, Dr. Joe Torgesen at Florida State University holds the other $5 million grant.

On average, the students in each of the MacDonald-Cornwall reviews were in their early 30s, had dropped out of school in grade 9 or 10, and attended Spell Read for up to five months. A total of 80 adult students were included in the three reviews.

 

Assessment	Initial Result		Exit Result		Improvement
Word Attack 1995 #1 1995 #2 1997	2.2 2.8 2.7		8.1 10.1 12.3		+5.9 grades +7.3 grades +9.6 grades
Word Identification 1995 #1 1995 #2 1997	3.8 4.7 4.4		6.7 8.3 7.6		+2.9 grades +3.6 grades +3.2 grades
Oral Reading Comprehension 1995 #1 1995 #2 1997	3.8 4.4 4.3		7.4 9.2 7.0		+3.6 grades +4.8 grades +2.7 grades
Spelling 1995 #1 1995 #2 1997	3.7 4.3 3.9		5.8 6.3 6.4		+2.1 grades +2.0 grades +2.5 grades

The first skills that tend to show improvement as students progress through the Spell Read program are the student’s Word Attack skills. This assessment measures the student’s ability to effortlessly read an unfamiliar word. The next area of improvement tends to be the student’s ability to read real words (Word Identification) and to read passages of text with fluency and comprehension. Finally, the students will begin to see improvements in spelling as they fully acquire and learn how to use their new graphophonic skills.