UB Reading Clinic Seeks Children With Reading Problems For Diagnosis And Remediation

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The University at Buffalo Reading Clinic is seeking children who have serious reading and/or learning problems for enrollment in the clinic's diagnostic and remedial program that begins Jan. 29.

The clinic, which has been in operation for 30 years, offers a low-cost, full-service after-school reading-remediation program for persons age eight and over. Younger students will be considered if consultation with the child's teacher indicates that the program would be appropriate.

Children may be referred to the upcoming after-school program only by their parents, who are responsible for ensuring that the children attend the remediation sessions.

For enrollment information, call Debra Dechert, 645-2470.

Most incoming students are in the second grade, but the program is open to students of any age, including adults. The clinic's principal focus, however, is on young children considered by their schools as being at risk of failing to learn how to read.

The program will offer low-cost diagnostic services during two morning sessions at the cost of $150. This will be followed by one-on-one, 45-minute after-school remediation sessions held three times a week during the course of one or two semesters. The fee for the remediation section of the program is an additional $150, which includes the cost of books, supplies and other materials used by students.

Participants' parents and schools will be provided with a comprehensive report that describes the diagnosis and outlines each student's individually designed remediation program. Upon completion of remediation, a second report will describe student outcome and make further recommendations if necessary.

Instructors are all supervised teachers, for the most part already certified by the New York State Department of Education, who are completing the final hours of a masters' degree program through the UB Graduate School of Education.

The UB Reading Clinic has been directed for 25 years by Michael Kibby, chair of the Department of Learning and Instruction in the UB Graduate School of Education and one of the nation's leading experts in reading instruction and remediation.

The clinic is located in 8 Baldy Hall on UB's North (Amherst) Campus. It operates year round, offering programs after school and, in some years, on-campus summer remedial programs.

For the last five years, the clinic has also conducted an off-campus summer reading remediation program for area students from several public school districts, as well as from parochial schools.

Kibby notes that the cost for the UB program is extremely low compared with commercial remedial-reading programs. The cost for commercial programs is in the $200-$600 range, with a comparable course of remediation costing as much as $1,300.