This month's newsletter announces the release of our Dolch word programs for the DT Trainer and we welcome two new staff members to the AES team.

We have had numerous requests for the Dolch sight word programs. Now you can get them from our web site at: www.dttrainer.com/addons.html Addons. You will need DT Trainer version 2.1.1.0 or later to install the programs. If you have an older version, go to www.dttrainer.com/updates.html updated link. We have more programs coming and we are working on an auto-update feature to make it simple for us release updates and for you to install the updates.

I want to personally thank our new staff members Terri Mann & Jennifer Waldrop for coming on board to further our mission. They are your new customer relations and instructional support contacts. The addition of these two special education teachers will greatly improve our ability to help our customers but also our ability to expand our product(s). I will be able to more focus on development so that we can provide more help to current users and address issues for a wider developmental range. I thank our customers that have supported our work so far, and we are striving to earn your continued support. - Karl Smith

Announcing the frequently requested and eagerly anticipated

Dolch Sight Words!

The Dolch Sight Word list is a collection of the 220 words that occur most commonly in printed text. They are known as "sight words" because good readers recognize them automatically by "sight" and do not need to sound them out. Knowing letter names, the sounds they make, and phonemic rules are not necessary for a child to learn to read sight words.

As a child learns to read, building a strong bank of known sight words is important for several reasons:

• It builds reading comprehension skills because the reader does not spend his energy sounding out each word in the sentence, exhausting himself so that by the time he reaches the end of the sentence, he has forgotten either what was at the beginning of the sentence or fails to grasp the meaning of the whole sentence.

• It builds reading fluency so that the child reads smoothly with less stopping and increased speed.

• It builds confidence for beginning and struggling readers. It is very empowering for learners to recognize a growing list of words by sight because they begin to see themselves as readers.

This month, we are excited to introduce 2 new DT Trainer team members:

Terri Mann and Jennifer Waldrop!

Terri Mann joins AES as the new Director of Instructional Support and Customer Relations. She has over 15 years of experience as a special educator and speech therapist in 5 states. She has a BS Ed degree in Speech Language Pathology from Miami University in Ohio and did her special education master's program at Johns Hopkins University in Maryland. Terri most recently taught students with autism and mild intellectual disabilities in the Cobb County Georgia School District as CEC Teacher of the Year. She's been married for 25 years and has 3 children. She lives in the suburbs of Atlanta in Marietta, Georgia.

Terri started using the DT Trainer in its infancy over 5 years ago when she was teaching in the district where Karl Smith's son attended school. Knowing Terri's background with augmentative communication and assistive technology, her director of special education sent her the cd with a note to "give this a try and give me your feedback." She used the DT Trainer initially with students in her elementary school resource classes and has since used it in preschool disability classes, self-contained classes, and with middle school struggling learners. The WOW factor was enormous from the start and she's been a DTT cheerleader ever since! So much so, that Terri has trained teachers, parents, and professionals in Georgia, South Carolina, and Florida on the DT Trainer and made sure that the program was in place whenever she moved into a new school.

While teaching kids with significant learning needs of all sorts has been her heart, Terri welcomed the opportunity to work with Karl and the DT Trainer team because she would have the privilege of empowering thousands of children across the country to be independent learners. "I've seen first hand again and again just how effective this tool can be for a wide range of learners...those with autism and other special learning needs and those who just need independent, guided practice to solidify skills. When a child who has been a passive learner self-selects the DTTrainer for his free choice center and actively learns new skills without an adult at his side and gives me a proud 2 thumbs up with a smile at the end of that session...he has taken a giant step toward independence. It is a joy to bring this incredible tool to so many others."

Terri is starting our Atlanta office and from there will be able to more easily go where ever she is needed around the country for presentations, training, and exhibiting at conferences.

Terri can be reached at: This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it , or 678-920-3476

Jennifer Waldrop joins the team as a Customer Relations and Instructional Support Specialist. She's been a special education teacher in the public schools of South Carolina for 13 years. She is a graduate of Francis Marion University in Florence, SC and is pursuing a master's degree in special education from the University of South Carolina. Jennifer has been married for 14 years and is the mom of 2 boys. She and her family live in Hartsville, SC.

Jennifer learned about the DT Trainer in grad school from Dr. Cheryl Wissick. Karl Smith presented at the USC, which led Jennifer to use the program with her students in her self-contained moderate disabilities class. She's used the DTT with children with learning disabilities, autism, those with aggressive behaviors, and limited or no verbal language skills. One student who had had no success in previous schools used the DTTrainer in Jennifer's class and began to not only do school work with the data to measure his gains, but began to enjoy school because he was successful. She was so enthusiastic and encouraged with the results that all of her students demonstrated that Dr. Wissick asked her to write a proposal to present at the South Carolina CEC conference. Jennifer presented the DT Trainer at the February 2006 SCCEC conference.

Jennifer has taught a wide range of learners and has seen kids who are not independent in other areas of life become independent learners when they are engaged at the computer with the DTT for 20 minutes a day. She is excited about coming on board with AES to help families, educators, and other professionals improve children's lives and education. Jennifer is looking forward to sharing the DT Trainer at conferences, with school districts, agencies and support groups.

Jennifer is with our Columbia SC office.