Are the R+ sessions income tax deductible?

Yes. The R+ sessions qualify as a deductible expense under the provisions of:

a) the child care expense deduction, and

b) the medical expense tax credit, if the student has been identified with a learning disability by a psychologist, speech pathologist, or family physician.

As well, the 1999 Federal Budget added the following to the disability tax credit (form T-2201).

The R+ System is a language program designed for children and adults, who struggle with Reading, Writing, Spelling and Handwriting. It is a multisensory, systematic, phonological curriculum, based on a number of theories of reading research. It honors the multi-sensory theories and methodology of the late Dr. Samuel Orton and his research partner, the Quaker educator, Anna Gillingham. R+ also follows the Lindamood practice of phoneme segmentation and sequencing - elements of all successful Reading and Spelling programs. The handwriting theories of Beth Slingerland, are incorporated in order to treat dysgraphia. R+ is science based and its methods are backed by the considerable research of The American National Institute of Health. This Institute has empirically proven that giving students, who struggle with Reading and Spelling, phonological awareness training impacts positively and powerfully on their Reading and Spelling skills.

Using a multisensory approach means helping a student to learn through more than one of the senses. Most teaching in Ontario schools is done using either sight or hearing. However, individuals with language learning difficulties may experience trouble with one or both of these senses. Vision may be affected by difficulties with tracking or visual processing and while hearing may be satisfactory on a hearing test, auditory memory or auditory processing may also be weak. When an individual uses more of their senses, especially the use of touch and movement (kinetic), other areas of the brain are stimulated. The result enables the student to establishes clear memories of phonemes which are essential for reading fluency.

Phonemic awareness is the ability to segment words into their basic sounds, /d/ /o/ /t/.

A phoneme is the smallest unit of sound in the English language that can be recognized as being distinct from other sounds, /d/ from the word dot. Phonemic awareness instruction is an essential first step in learning how to read for students with a language learning difficulties.

It is the ability to recognize, think about or manipulate the individual sounds in words. Phonological Awareness is a skill which can be improved with direct training and practice.

Phonological Awareness is independent of intelligence. A person may be highly intelligent and still lacking in phonological awareness.

The most well-known type of reading disorder is The Word Level Reading Recognition Disability (WLRD). This is also known as dyslexia. Dyslexia is a neurologically based condition which is characterized by difficulty understanding and applying the alphabetic principle. The alphabetic principle is the ability to understand that letters are used to represent speech sounds and that there is a systematic and predictable relationship between written letters and spoken words.

Research now shows that reading disorders can be considerably reduced by good quality, early intervention. To that end, both the UK and the USA have legislated phonemic awareness instruction for their emergent (kindergarten) readers. Canada, to date, has not done so..

It is estimated that about 40% of the population have reading problems severe enough to hinder their enjoyment of reading. Because the percentage is so large a cutoff point of 20% was selected for the purpose of labeling children as disabled in basic reading. The difference in a child with a learning disability and a poor reader is in the severity of the problem. In every classroom there are likely 4 or 5 students who have difficulty reading and writing. In addition about 15-20% of the population has dyslexia. In Canada that’s an estimated 5 million people. Dyslexia affects males and females almost equally.

Dyslexia is a type of learning disability (LD) and represents the vast majority of all LD’s. An individual can have more than one type of learning disability. Fortunately, dyslexia is considered highly responsive to appropriate treatment.

Dyslexia in Latin means difficulty with language. Dyslexia is well recognized in the United States as a neurological difference in children that affects the neuronal alignment on the left hemisphere of the brain. This difference in anatomy does not affect intelligence in any way, but it makes the acquisition of language very difficult or nearly impossible unless the students get treatment- multisensory systematic language or systemic phonics or academic therapy. All these scientific reading and spelling programs integrate phonemic awareness training, linguistic gymnastics and an Orton-Gillingham base.* 

Dyslexia may present with varying degrees of severity. The following are characteristics that accompany Dyslexia. Few dyslexics exhibit all the signs. Some common signs are:**

• Lack of awareness of sound and words, rhymes, or sequence of sounds and syllables in words.

• Difficulty decoding words- word identification.

• Difficulty encoding words-spelling.

• Poor sequencing of numbers of letters in words, when read or written. e.g. b-d; sing-sign; left-felt; soiled-solid; scared-sacred; 12-21

• difficulty expressing thoughts in written form

• Delayed spoken language

• Imprecise or incomplete interpretation of language that is heard.

• Difficulty in expressing thought orally.

• Problems with reading comprehension.

• Confusion about right or left handedness.

• Difficulty in handwriting.

• Difficulty in mathematics- often related to sequencing of steps or directionality, or language of mathematics. 

In Ontario, dyslexic students may be identified by the Ministry of Education as Learning Disabled with a Communication Exception. The terms Specific Reading Disability, Specific Spelling Disability or Specific Writing Disability may also be used. Many people refer to dyslexia simply as a reading disability. 

*Basic Facts About Dyslexia Part II, by Lousia C. Moats Ed. D and author of "Straight Talk About Reading" 

**Remediation + Science = Reading Success, Honouring the Science of Reading handbook, by Jo-Anne Gross

The International Dyslexia Association recommends that a reading program be based on a multisensory structured language approach. (The following information has been taken from the International Dyslexia Association’s website)

The content of the reading program must contain the following:

Phonological Awareness: the ability to hear, identify, and manipulate the individual sounds – phonemes – in spoken words.

Examples identifying the beginning sound in dog as /d/

Combining or blending the separate sounds in a word to say the word: (/m/ /a/ /p/= map)

Breaking or segmenting a word into its separate sounds: (up: /u/ /p/)

Phonological Awareness also includes work with rhymes, and syllables.

Sound-Symbol Association: the knowledge of the various sounds in the English language and their correspondence to the letters and combinations of letters which represent those sounds. Sound-Symbol association must be taught (and mastered) in two directions: visual to auditory and auditory to visual.

Morphology: the study and description of word formation (for example: prefix + base + suffix)

Syntax: this includes grammar and the mechanics of language

Semantics: the comprehension of written language. The reading program must be based on the following principles:

Simultaneous and Multisensory: All learning pathways in the brain (visual, auditory, kinesthetic, tactile) are stimulated simultaneously in order to enhance memory and learning.

Systematic and Cumulative: The organization of the material follows a logical sequence starting with the easiest and most basic elements and progressing methodically to more difficult material. Each step is based on those already taught and concepts are systematically reviewed to strengthen retention.

Direct Instruction: Instruction requires direct student-to-teacher interaction.

Diagnostic Teaching: The teacher must be adept at prescriptive or individualized teaching. The teaching plan is based on careful and continuous assessment of the student’s needs.

Synthetic and Analytic Instruction: The program includes both synthetic and analytic instruction. Synthetic instruction presents the parts of the language and then teaches how the parts work together to form a whole. Analytic instruction presents the whole and teaches how this can be broken down into its component parts.

~Naturally Literate offers The Remediation Plus System which meets all of the above criteria.~