The Center for the Assessment and Remediation of Reading Difficulties, Inc. (CARRD, Inc.) was established in December of 2008. Its mission involves the prevention and remediation of reading disabilities, searching for strategies that will lead to the improvement of remedial processes, providing educators and parents with interventions and knowledge regarding reading/learning disabilities, providing interdisciplinary evaluations of readers of all ages, promoting the concerns relevant to reading disabilities, and educating the general public regarding issues pertaining to reading/learning disabilities.
The most important aspect of this mission will be to continue examining strategies that can be used to identify children at risk for reading disabilities and to find the most appropriate interventions to remediate reading deficits.
The programs at CARRD, Inc. are developed for children unable to learn to read even though they possess the intellectual ability to do so. These children are at risk for dropping out of school, parental abuse, and poor self-esteem. A disproportionate percentage eventually find their way into the welfare and criminal justice systems. The future of a child with reading difficulties could be compromised in a service-oriented society that requires adequate reading capabilities. Reading difficulties are not just an academic difficulty, but a social problem as well. An estimated 20% of our nation's children have some form of reading difficulty. Unfortunately, this percentage is on the increase, which means that a large percentage of students cannot derive full benefits from our educational system due to reading problems. At the CARRD, Inc. we have developed procedures to identify young children at risk for reading problems. More importantly, we have developed training procedures to help them become competent readers.
We have also developed programs for older students and adults with reading difficulties. The CARRD provides individuals of all ages with opportunities that may not otherwise be available in this region to help themselves become competent readers. CARRD, Inc. administrates the Identification and Intervention Program (IIP) and the After School & Summer Program (ASSP). The IIP was developed over the past 20 years and has been used in area public schools. We discovered that the IIP was effective in not only identifying children who are at risk at the beginning of first grade, but helping them to become competent readers so that they will not experience reading failure. The IIP is a prevention program. It was developed for the school setting. The schools use the program to identify children who may need additional assistance and provides training to these children.
The ASSP was created to help a broader range of individuals with reading difficulties. This program is open to any individual who may need extra help with his or her reading. Both programs include all individuals who have reading difficulties without regard to age, socio-economic status, intellectual functioning, emotional status, or behavioral problems and includes a comprehensive assessment of academic functioning including attention capacity. Approximately 30 to 50% of children who have reading difficulties also have ADHD.
Secret Codes! is a curriculum designed to teach kindergarten children to read. It was specifically created to reduce the percentage of children who experience reading failure. The curriculum includes best practices of teaching, reading, and research with regards to the most efficient and constructive teaching mechanisms for reading.
The
www.ReadingScreening.org web site was launched on January 25, 2005. The site was created to assist parents, teachers and mental health professionals receive a highly professional, accurate and specific assessment of a child's reading abilities. The site includes the assessment procedure that was developed over the past 20 years and is currently used at the CARRD, Inc. In addition, the site helps CARRD, Inc. generate funds to provide additional services to more individuals who have reading difficulties.
CARRD, Inc. applied for and received 501(c)3 nonprofit status from the Internal Revenue Service in August of 2010.
