LOVE’S LABOR PAYS OFF FOR A SPECIAL CHILD
	by Carrie Dowling, Detroit News Staff Writer
			February 11, 1990
		At age 2 years 7 months, Maria was tested and labeled trainable, meaning she could learn living skills but not academics. But at 3 ½ years Maria could recognize the letters of the alphabet in any order and could read and understand 250 words. Her articulation, which can be a problem for children with Down syndrome, improved considerably. Debbie Haddix, Maria’s teacher at Howe Trainable Center, noticed the difference. "I never thought about teaching the alphabet or reading or spelling to special education pre-schoolers", said Haddix, who now includes all of those subjects in her program as a result of the Kotlinskis’ example. "It really is a great program. I can’t say enough about it. It works. Maria is living proof." Ron Greiner, a consultant for the Michigan Department of Education’s Special Education Service, said he was impressed after he spoke to the teacher and the principal and saw the program at work. He said, "You’re not going to find many normal students at 5 years old who can do what this child can do." Joe Kotlinski stresses that improving language skills is at least as important as learning to read and that the earlier the introduction to this program, the better. "The point is to give the child an opportunity to learn. If he learns to read, that’s great! Or if he learns to speak more clearly and communicate better, that’s equally exciting. Children will learn on different levels and it’s important that we acknowledge all of their accomplishments."