I am writing to clarify the role and services that are offered by the Learning Difficulties Centre of BC.
The article in The Citizen on Friday, April 9, titled "Not his writing" stated that "an assessment of the boy by the Learning Difficulties Centre of B.C. (LDC) supports that view."
At no time, nor under any circumstance, would we have provided any agency or individual with any information about any of our clients. LDC is bound by a strict policy of client confidentiality. The article could be interpreted, by the reader, that LDC gave Mr. Peebles this information. We neither spoke with Mr. Peebles nor would we have provided him any information.
The Learning Difficulties Centre of B.C. provides training, and tutoring using individualized, multi-sensory methods to develop reading, writing, spelling and math, to support children and adults affected by learning difficulties.
When someone comes to the LDC, we conduct an intake interview. The LDC does a diagnostic assessment for every client who begins tutoring sessions at the centre. This assessment is not a formal evaluation. The purpose of the assessment(s) is to determine a starting point for one-to-one tutoring sessions based on the Orton-Gillingham approach to reading, writing, spelling and math. All of the information obtained from these activities is held in the strictest confidence. Where a child is the client, we also meet with the parents or guardians of a child.
We are requesting The Citizen publish our letter in the hopes of correcting any misunderstanding that may have occurred as a result of the article.
Donna Jarvis,
LDC manager,
Prince George
Editor's note: The information was provided to Frank Peebles by the boy's father.
