Press Releases

Laureate Releases Nouns & Sounds Sterling Edition

(March 3, 2006 - Winooski, VT) Perceiving, identifying, and discriminating environmental sounds and their associated nouns are important auditory processing skills. Both children and adults with disabilities frequently have difficulties in these areas. Laureate Learning Systems, a leading publisher of special education software, is pleased to announce the release of Nouns & Sounds Sterling Edition, an engaging software program that teaches individuals to match 100 nouns with the sounds they make.

Nouns & Sounds is appropriate for children and adults with language-learning disabilities, developmental disabilities, and autism. Professionals who serve children and adults with cochlear implants will find the new Nouns & Sounds useful in introducing their clients to a range of auditory processing activities. A single switch option provides accessibility to users with physical impairments and an audible scanning option accommodates individuals with visual impairments.

Based on current theory and research, the Sterling Edition of Nouns & Sounds makes instructional delivery more individualized and more efficient than ever before. Two innovative features of every Sterling Edition program are an Optimized Intervention component and the Sterling Administration System.

OPTIMIZED INTERVENTION®

Optimized Interventionuses artificial intelligence methodology to select appropriate training material and to adjust instructional support in relation to emerging skills and competencies, resulting in highly individualized and efficient language instruction. Nouns & Sounds begins with an assessment test to determine the appropriate place to begin training. Once training begins, Optimized Intervention determines what material a student needs to work on and how much instructional support the student may require to make progress. As a training session proceeds, the training material and degree of support are adjusted continually based on the student's performance. Once the student has achieved mastery over the material being trained Optimized Intervention continues to test and introduce new stimuli until the student has achieved mastery over the entire curriculum for the program.

The Optimized Intervention system was originally inspired by tutorial methodology developed by the Software Technology Branch of NASA’s Johnson Space Center and passed to Laureate through a Technology Transfer Agreement. According to Dr. Mary Sweig Wilson, Laureate’s President, “NASA provided the inspiration for our unique assessment and intervention approach but also critical to the development of Optimized Intervention was funding support received through Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) awards from the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD).”

STERLING ADMINISTRATION SYSTEM

The Sterling Administration System is a powerful set of tools that enables professionals to command all aspects of learning. Educators can easily build and maintain student files, individualize program settings, and analyze performance. The system features extensive data collection and reporting capabilities, thereby greatly simplifying the process of tracking progress and generating reports detailing areas of strength and weakness.The Sterling Administration System carefully tracks all variables related to a student’s progress through the curriculum and stores that information in a comprehensive Student File. The Report Writer is designed to access this Student File and extract meaningful information to include in student reports. With consolidated student management, extensive data collection, and powerful new report-writing options, the Sterling Administration System makes it easier than ever to document student progress and ensure accountability.

LAUREATE LEARNING SYSTEMS, INC.

Laureate Learning Systems, Inc. has been dedicated to publishing innovative software to improve the lives of children and adults with disabilities since 1982. Laureate was founded by two pioneering speech-language pathologists who were among the first to recognize the important contributions that computer technology can make to the lives of individuals with special needs. Over the years, Laureate has received national recognition and many awards, including those from the Council for Exceptional Children, Johns Hopkins National Search, and the Software Publishers Association.

If you would like more information about Nouns & Sounds, please contact Laureate Learning Systems, Inc., 110 East Spring Street, Winooski, VT 05404, (800) 562-6801 or visit www.LaureateLearning.com.