Who Makes ReadingDoctor® Software?      

ReadingDoctor® Software is designed by Bartek Rajkowski, an Australian Speech and Language Pathologist. Here is some information about Bartek:

   

Bartek is the director of Adelaide Speech Pathology Services (www.adelaidespeech.com), a speech and language pathology clinic specializing in the assessment, diagnosis and remediation of reading and writing difficulties since 2001. He is the creator of ReadingDoctor® Software, a suite of scientifically based, specialist literacy improvement software designed to strengthen crucial literacy skills in children learning to read. He is currently completing a PhD investigating the underlying cause of literacy difficulties at the Flinders University of South Australia.

Bartek's primary interest is in the relationship between speech, language, auditory processing and literacy skills. His PhD thesis is an investigation of the underlying phonological processing skills in children with Dyslexia and Auditory Processing Disorder (APD). Research suggests phonological processing weaknesses in children with reading and writing difficulties may stem from inadequately specified phonological representations - the brain's neural representations of the sounds of language. Bartek has developed a model of phonological representations which may help to explain the range of skill deficits found in children with literacy difficulties.

Bartek is passionate about research driven, computer based approaches to literacy and language remediation. He is determined to use his clinical experience and theoretical knowledge to develop more effective treatment methods for children with literacy difficulties, and to develop more effective teaching tools for children learning to read.

In 2003, following constant requests for recommendations from teachers and parents, and frustrated with the lack of quality research based software designed to improve literacy skills in children learning to read, Bartek began to develop ReadingDoctor® Software - software designed to strengthen the skills known through research to be crucial in literacy acquisition.

ReadingDoctor® Software uses a unique teaching platform which includes a graded, self-adjusting multisensory mnemonic system. The system automatically identifies student strengths and weaknesses, providing 'scaffolding' learning support for difficult or not yet developed skills while eliminating tasks in which the student already excels.

The potential for ReadingDoctor® software to make a significant impact on student learning has been recognised by the Australian Government. After spending three years developing and testing a number of prototypes, in 2007 Bartek's company (LearningScience® Pty Ltd) received a prestigious Australian Government "Commercialising Emerging Technologies (COMET)" grant to assist in protecting the software's highly innovative teaching system through a patent, and bringing ReadingDoctor® Software to market. In 2009, the company also received a Department of Trade and Economic Development grant from the Minister of Economic Development to assist with the production and marketing of ReadingDoctor® Software.   

The first ReadingDoctor® Software title, ReadingSounds™ 1 Professional, was released in April 2008 to  glowing reviews. ReadingSounds™ 1 Professional enables parents, teachers and clinicians to easily and effectively teach essential literacy skills such as letter-sound knowledge, phonemic awareness, blending, segmentation and sight word knowledge to beginning and struggling readers. The software is quickly being recognised as a major achievement in the field of literacy instruction and is being described by educators as a breakthrough in teaching children how to read. It is officially endorsed and sold by a peak body advising South Australian schools on best practices in teaching literacy (SPELD SA). The software was the subject of a Northern Territory Government project evaluating it as a key resource in strengthening literacy skills in indigenous children (it is now used widely throughout the NT).

ReadingDoctor® Software is being used in a rapidly growing number of schools, specialist clinics and homes around the country, with consistent excellent feedback regarding the effectiveness and ease of use of the program.

Following strong interest in ReadingDoctor® Software and outstanding feedback from parents, teachers and clinicians all over Australia, in June 2008 LearningScience® Pty Ltd was recognised as one of the top ten most innovative Australian companies through the Dell "Excellence in Small Business Awards".

Bartek regularly presents training and development workshops on literacy development, literacy difficulties and ReadingDoctor® Software to schools in Australia, with excellent feedback from participants.

If you would like more information about ReadingDoctor® software, or if you are interested in having Bartek present a workshop on literacy development, literacy difficulties and ReadingDoctor® Software, please contact us.