FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Charlotte DeWitt, Conference Chair,
Public Relations, FAWCO
AWC, Sweden
Phone/Fax: +46 8 665 65 31
chairwoman.fawco2003@awc.nu
Susan van Alsenoy, Chair,
Educational Support Committee, FAWCO,
AWC, Antwerp
Phone: +32 3 568 80 56
esc@fawco.org
STOCKHOLM, Sweden – March 31, 2003 – The Educational Support Committee
(ESC) of the Federation of American Women's Clubs Overseas (FAWCO) announced
today the distribution of a new one-page guide of techniques and strategies
aimed at mainstream teachers at all levels all over the world to help them work
better with students who have difficulty learning via traditional teaching techniques
(often referred to as "learning differently", "learning disabled",
or "LD" students).
"As many as 1 out of every 5 people in the United States has a learning disability according to the 22nd Annual Report to Congress by the U.S. Department of Education," said Susan van Alsenoy, Chair of the FAWCO Educational Support Committee that managed the two-year project and created the guidelines document. "There is very little help available for the LD student or his or her teacher in most countries outside of the U.S and the U.K. Many of the teaching techniques in practice today are not suitable for all types of learners, and too many students are mislabeled, mistaught and dismissed as being stupid, lazy or inattentive."
"LD" is described by the National Center for Learning Disabilities based in the U.S. as neurological disorders that interfere with a person's ability to store, process, or produce information, and create a "gap" between one's ability and performance. van Alsenoy added that problems can be multiplied ten- or a hundred-fold when facing a foreign culture and an unfamiliar language.
The guidelines the ESC team created include strategies such as breaking down learning into small, sequential tasks and using lots of visual aids. Some strategies are more difficult, such as teaching LD students how to ask questions to be sure of understanding and/or to get the help they need.
"There is help out there, but often the students and teachers who need it most don't even know where to look. A teacher with 20 or 30 other children to work with may not have the knowledge or skills needed to serve LD students properly," said van Alsenoy. She added, "FAWCO is a fast grassroots way to get help directly to these students and teachers through its member clubs all over the world."
Working with parents, support groups and other educational organizations, van Alsenoy's committee started with more than 200 suggestions for teachers that they determinedly narrowed down to fit a single-page format for ease-of-use. FAWCO member clubs in each respective host country have been asked to translate the guide into the local language.
The American Women's Club of Sweden made the first foreign translation, which was presented to Her Majesty Queen Silvia of Sweden during FAWCO's annual conference this week in Stockholm.
"This is the type of project that FAWCO is honored to support," said Pamela Dahlgren, FAWCO's president. "This project reaches beyond our member club boundaries and into their host communities in a way that benefits everyone involved."
A free copy of the guide is now available on the ESC section of the FAWCO website at studentswholearn.fawco.org. FAWCO will also distribute the guide to international public and private schools and their ministries or departments of education throughout the world through its member clubs.
FAWCO's Educational Support Committee was formed to investigate facilities, services and options for students with special challenges, and to exchange information pertinent to their problems. More information about learning disabilities, resources for parents and teachers, or information about the Educational Support Committee can be found at studentswholearn.fawco.org. Listed in the public sector of the FAWCO site, it is speech-enabled for those with reading difficulties.
FAWCO is an umbrella organization
of 78 independent American Women's Clubs in 34 countries, representing more
than 17,000 women worldwide. It is a non-partisan, not-for-profit corporation,
and is recognized as a non-governmental organization (NGO) with special consultative
status to the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations. More information
about FAWCO can be found on its website at www.fawco.org.