The U of A Speech and Hearing Clinic recently received a donation from the Scottish Rite Fayetteville to support its literacy and speech-language therapy services.

The clinic provides services to Northwest Arkansas children and families.

Jessica Danley, clinic director, said the $1,500 gift will be used to enhance the RiteCare Child Language Program at the clinic.

"The RiteCare Child Language Program provides cost-free speech and language therapy services for children in need of financial assistance," she said.

Stephanie Hicks, a clinical instructor in the College of Education and Health Professions' Communication Sciences and Disorders program, is a certified academic language therapist and specializes in dyslexia intervention. In her practice at the clinic, Hicks employs the Take Flight literacy program, a curriculum written by the staff at Scottish Rite for Children. Since 2015, Hicks has received training from Scottish Rite to effectively use their curriculum materials in evaluating and treating dyslexia at the Speech and Hearing Clinic.

Take Flight is a curriculum designed to build upon the success of three previous dyslexia intervention programs developed by Scottish Rite. The purpose of the curriculum is to enable students with dyslexia to achieve and maintain better word recognition, reading comprehension, reading fluency and aid in the transition from a therapy setting to "real world" learning.

Scottish Rite Fayetteville is a branch of the international philanthropic organization dedicated to expanding the teachings and education of Freemasonry. Scottish Rite Fayetteville has provided numerous donations to area organizations dedicated to advancing Scottish Rite for Children's goals.

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About the University of Arkansas Speech and Hearing Clinic: The University of Arkansas Speech and Hearing Clinic is a university-affiliated practice that has been offering comprehensive speech, language and audiology services for individuals and families in the greater northwest Arkansas area since 1960. The clinic serves as a clinical training and research laboratory for undergraduate and graduate students and is designated as a RiteCare clinic of the Scottish Rite Orient of Arkansas. The clinic has faculty with a wide range of experience who provide intervention to individuals with communication disorders while also teaching and supervising graduate and undergraduate students.