A new chapter for Nathan
Jan 4 2008 by Paul James, The Journal
A NORTHUMBERLAND father yesterday told how his son’s life has been transformed by university language experts.
Two years ago, eight-year-old Nathan Davison had most of his education in a school corridor while his fellow pupils were doing ‘hard work he couldn’t do’ in the classroom.
But now, after two 12-week sessions at Newcastle University’s Literacy Clinic, he is taking a far more active role at school, is brimming with confidence and has just scored a perfect 10 in a spelling test.
His father Ian told yesterday how Nathan’s hearing problems had led to speech difficulties, and as a result he had trouble communicating with teachers.
He said: “He was really low and had no confidence because he had been told by the teacher that all the other children were doing hard work he couldn’t do.”
Mr Davison said Nathan was so withdrawn that he lost all interest in everything – even his Lego sets – and didn’t even want to play with his younger brother Mathew.
The clinic works with children aged six to 16, who take part in two one-to-one sessions every week after school, with further assessments as necessary.
Parents are offered the chance to observe all sessions through a two-way mirror.
Specialist speech and language therapist Carol Moxam, the clinic’s director, said: “When these children come to us, their self-esteem is in their shoes. We aim to pick them up and give them and their parents the skills they need to move in the right direction.”
And Mr Davison added: “The change in him is wonderful to see. He now reads with his grandma for half an hour every night and will attempt to read and spell words now.
“He might not always get them right, but he’s got the confidence and, by using techniques he learnt at the clinic such as syllable segmentation, the skills to work it out.”
