Florida LD specialists turn success into an academy

From the Sarasota Herald-Tribune in Florida. In the picture, John Hettler, a therapist with the Sea of Strengths Academy and the Reading Station, works last month with Donna Dunkum in Lakewood Ranch. Donna, 10, is a good reader but has trouble comprehending what she has read.

LAKEWOOD RANCH, Fla. - Noah Candocia was a "very scared little boy" in his third-grade class at Willis Elementary this past year, his mother said.

The 9-year-old has been on medication for an attention-deficit disorder since preschool and was given a diagnosis of a learning disability in 2008.

"He has always been behind in learning," said Noah's mother, Yudit. "He had trouble learning how to read, and comprehension is still very hard for him. After reading a paragraph, he will have no clue what it said."

Now, Noah is one of the first children to be enrolled at a new private school opening in Lakewood Ranch that uses intensive programs to help students with language and learning disabilities.

The Sea of Strengths Academy will open Aug. 24 for the 2009-2010 academic year in the Lakewood Ranch Corporate Park at 7037 Professional Parkway in Sarasota County. The school will serve only first- through fifth-graders to start, but hopes to expand later.

Private schools for special-needs students in Florida have continued to multiply in the last decade as public school programs have been affected by budget cuts and a high turnover rate of teachers. The tuition at the new school is $12,500 a year, but can be significantly reduced through a new local John McKay scholarship for children with special needs.

School co-owners John Hettler and Susan Stevens, both therapists, opened the Reading Station after-school and summer program in East Manatee in 2006 to help children communicate and learn. They tutor about 40 students between the ages of 5 and 17.

As word spread and success stories accumulated, they developed a plan to grow into an all-day academy.

Yudit Candocia has taken Noah to the Reading Station twice a week for more than a year.

Like many students who struggle with learning disabilities, Noah shines in certain disciplines but requires specialized help in others.

Noah is good at math, but word problems are troublesome.

"He was very frustrated," his mother said. "But things started to improve for him tremendously as he learned tricks to dissect words and other reading techniques."

Hettler said the school takes the approach that special-needs education must emphasize a student's talents as well as his or her challenges.

"Many of our students just have one little problem but possess average or above-average intelligence otherwise," he said.

Hettler said enrollment will be limited to 15 to ensure resources are readily available.

The goal is to help the students communicate better while teaching them enough to enter a public school at their appropriate grade level.

"We want them to get comfortable with that technology and be advocates for themselves and know what they need to learn," Hettler said.

Denise McCabe's son Sean, 9, was given a diagnosis of a language delay disorder after many visits with speech pathologists.

Sean has been in speech therapy since he was 3 and has been in an individual education program at Tara Elementary.

But it has not been enough, so McCabe decided to sign him up for Sea of Strengths.

"He already doesn't like school and that's critical," McCabe said. "Third grade just blew him away. We want to see if we can get him up to speed with the other kids."

Sea of Strengths tailors teaching methods to each student.

For comprehension, tutors help link pictures to what a student is reading. If a student has trouble sounding out certain words, students are asked to imitate pictures of a mouth making noises like "f" or "th" in a mirror. To make the process less oppressive, the tutors work basketball and bowling games into lessons.