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<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nThat\u2019s what happened to Wilson Language Training\u00ae <\/sup>(WLT) Senior Literacy Specialist Mona Dougherty as she supported her son through reading difficulties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mona\u2019s degrees in occupational therapy, K\u20136 education, and communications studies were useful in her chosen path of volunteer work, leadership, and fundraising for a children\u2019s hospital and the University of Minnesota. Her passion for education also led her to start a philanthropic group that raises money to support educators who teach and support girls and women globally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mona\u2019s son, Andrew, was born on her twentieth wedding anniversary. When he began to exhibit reading difficulties early in elementary school, she turned her attention toward his education. Mona volunteered with his private school and was invited to become a substitute teacher; consequently, she was present nearly every day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While working in Andrew\u2019s kindergarten classroom, Mona noticed that he was among a small number of students who were having difficulty learning to read. He couldn\u2019t identify any letters and had no interest in books even though he was well-spoken with a large, expressive vocabulary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Both Mona and her husband have a history of dyslexia in their families, so they wanted to address Andrew\u2019s needs as early as possible. However, school administrators were less concerned. Many educators at the time held the widespread belief that children eventually learned to read on their own sometime before college.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As the other children in Andrew\u2019s classes learned to read, the gap between their skills and her son\u2019s widened. If Andrew was already reading more than two grade levels behind his peers, what would be the disparity two years in the future? Ten?<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAs an older mom, I was hysterical,\u201d Mona said. \u201cThe lack of action was creating the Matthew effect.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n The Matthew Effect<\/strong><\/p>\n If a person begins at an advantage, they gain more of an advantage over time. If a person begins at a disadvantage, they continue to become more disadvantaged.<\/p>\nGeorge, L. K. & Ferraro, K. F. (Eds.). (2016). Handbook of aging and the social sciences<\/em> (8th ed.). Academic Press.<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n The \u201cwait and see\u201d approach was not good enough; it was time to act.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cA parent needs to be the advocate for their child. Don\u2019t give up,\u201d Mona said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The small-group intervention Mona and her husband requested for Andrew was entertaining but ineffective because it lacked academic rigor. His benchmark reading scores didn\u2019t improve, and his teachers didn\u2019t know how to help him. Andrew continued progressing through grades without learning to read.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Time for change<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Mona took Andrew to a neuropsychologist at the University of Minnesota for testing when he was in fifth grade. After delivering a diagnosis of severe dyslexia<\/a> and total lack of phonemic awareness<\/a>, the neuropsychologist told Mona, \u201cWe\u2019re going to find him a Wilson tutor.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n A tutor who could help her son? Mona was intrigued and wanted to know more. Unfortunately, there were no Wilson Certified tutors in Minnesota at the time. So, she called WLT and found out about an upcoming seminar on Wilson Reading System\u00ae<\/sup> (WRS)<\/a> in Chicago. \u201cI took the introductory course and almost fell off my chair; I was so excited to learn about it,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She also realized that Andrew\u2019s school was not sufficiently prepared to help him learn to read. Her son needed a teacher experienced in multimodal, explicit, and evidence-based Structured Literacy (SL) instruction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt was obvious after I became Wilson trained that Andrew\u2019s school didn\u2019t have the personnel to do Wilson instruction,\u201d Mona said. \u201cThey had a person who went to phonics seminars, but they didn\u2019t know how to put it together to help Andrew. The approach wasn\u2019t systematic.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n From Asking to Acting<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Mona decided she would teach Andrew to read herself\u2014she had teaching experience and knew she was up to the task. She ordered the WRS Teacher and Student Kits and quickly realized that, like many newer teachers who receive curricula without extensive training, she had no real idea how to teach it. She desperately wanted to know everything about WRS\u2014more than an introductory course could teach her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She needed in-depth professional learning to teach Andrew effectively, so Mona spent six weeks in Maine with her children to pursue WRS Level I Certification<\/a>. She completed her practicum at an elementary school under the supervision of Kim Gillingham, current Senior Director of Professional Learning\u2013Field Implementation at WLT.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After certification, Mona returned to Minnesota and began working with Andrew one-on-one. They worked through lessons every day, including weekends, with the understanding that the more often they studied, the sooner Andrew\u2019s reading skills would improve. Because the mother and son worked together daily, Mona was able to tailor the pace to Andrew\u2019s needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Her own experience led her to tell new teachers the following: \u201cHow often you can do WRS each week makes a difference in how fast you can take them through the program.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n It wasn\u2019t easy for a preteen boy to settle into a daily routine of lessons in addition to school, but he and Mona persevered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt really was a commitment on Andrew\u2019s part,\u201d Mona recalled. \u201cHe was a wonderful student. He was incentivized and could see the results.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n With Mona\u2019s help, her son became a successful independent reader who flourished in college and found a career he loves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A New Direction<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Mona\u2019s relationship with WLT didn\u2019t end with Andrew\u2019s graduation from WRS. \u201cI kept in touch with Kim Gillingham because she is so inspiring,\u201d Mona said. \u201cShe\u2019s always there for everybody.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Kim invited Mona to participate in a Department of Employment and Economic Development study that measured the effects of WRS instruction during adulthood on various aspects of life, such as employability and addiction vulnerability. For her part in this study, Mona delivered WRS instruction to groups of six to seven adults throughout the day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mona served as an on-call trainer after the study ended. Then, as WLT established professional learning plans<\/a> with schools and districts, she became a Literacy Specialist and has been on this team ever since. Mona supports schools, districts, and educational organizations as they implement Wilson\u00ae<\/sup> programs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With her guidance and care, more educators can spot reading difficulties in children like Andrew and teach them the literacy skills they need for success. Mona\u2019s WLT career was sparked by the same thing that changes the priorities of many parents\u2014a need she saw in her own child. Today, children everywhere benefit from her commitment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n