Mico Care Centre goes global
Published:Friday | October 19, 2018 | 12:00 AM
The Mico Care Centre is now designing a second version of its diagnostic reading test, which was initially designed for local students, but is being used in some Caribbean countries and sections of the United States.
The first version of the Mico Diagnostic Reading Test (MDRT) was designed for special educators, resource room teachers, and reading teachers to examine the proficiency of students in specific areas such as sight word recognition, oral reading and comprehension, listening comprehension, and phonic skills.
Vice-president of child development, diagnostic and therapeutic services at the Care Centre, Angelita Arnold, said that the test has since been made available in Barbados, St Lucia, Dominica, The Cayman Islands, and Turks and Caicos.
"That instrument is accepted anywhere in the Caribbean and we have also done training. Like in St Lucia, we trained about 200 teachers in the use of that instrument," said Arnold.
She said that the Mico Care Centre, which was established by The Mico University College, is regarded as the leader in special education in the region.
"We have an international impact and a Caribbean impact for sure," declared Arnold.
"There are parts of the United States, too, where you have a concentration of Caribbean people, so you have persons there who will use our instrument and who will accept our test results without any difficulty," she said.
ASSESSMENT BEFORE MIGRATING
According to Arnold, some parents visit the facility before they migrate with their children to have them assessed and, so far, the reports have been accepted by educational institutions oversees.
"It is kind of known more in the society nowadays. If you are taking the child abroad, take the child to Mico Care Centre, get an evaluation because it has to be signed by somebody who has at least a PhD in special education," said Arnold.