Lokahi Connect

Makes a Difference

A word matrix with the base word <sign> and the suffix <al> illustrating the meaningful structure of the word 'signal.'

Structured Word Inquiry (SWI)

​Structured Word Inquiry (SWI) is an evidence-based approach to literacy that invites students to explore the structure of English words through scientific investigation. Rather than relying on memorization, SWI encourages learners to ask questions:

  1. What does the word mean?

  2. What are its morphemes (prefixes, bases, suffixes)?

  3. What are its morphological and etymological relatives?

  4. How do the graphemes function within the word?​

This method integrates morphology (word parts), etymology (word origins), and phonology (sounds) to help students understand that English spelling is logical and meaningful.

Illustration of two twin figures, a large number two, and a list of numbers with the word 'two' in red, including 'to,' 'too,' 'and,' 'twin,' 'twice,' 'twelve,' and 'twenty'.

Spelling Does Much More Than Represent Speech Sounds

  • "While this level of progress is incredibly exciting, Daniel requires specialized support to make these gains."

    Dr. Philip Dunbar-Mayer, 2025

  • “Before Lokahi Connect, my child felt defeated by reading. Now, he’s curious, he asks questions about words, explores their meaning, and actually enjoys learning. It’s like someone finally gave him the key he’d been missing all along.”

    Parent of a 3rd grade student with dyslexia

  • “We spent years trying to understand why school was so hard for our daughter. Lokahi Connect didn’t just give us answers, they gave us a path forward. She feels seen, capable, and for the first time, proud of how she learns.”

    Parent of a 5th-grade student with ADHD

  • "The Structured Word Inquiry approach transformed how I teach and how my students learn. I’ve seen kids who once shut down during reading now light up with curiosity.”

    Elementary School Teacher, Washington State

Close-up of white and green ropes tightly wrapped around a tree trunk in an outdoor setting.

Daniel’s Story: From Overwhelm to Empowered Learning

At age nine, Daniel carried an alphabet soup of diagnoses: dyslexia, dysgraphia, dyscalculia, ADHD (inattentive type), generalized anxiety, and developmental coordination disorder. He was a bright, curious child, but language-based tasks filled him with dread and self-doubt. Like many twice-exceptional students, Daniel’s gifted thinking was trapped beneath layers of cognitive and emotional friction.

In early 2024, Daniel struggled profoundly with decoding, sight-word recognition, writing fluency, and basic math problem-solving. Standard interventions had failed to meet him where he was. His self-esteem was eroding. But that changed when he began working with Stephanie Steinshouer, a specialist in Structured Word Inquiry (SWI) and language-based learning disabilities.

Daniel received daily 1:1 instruction before school—five days a week. The sessions focused not on phonemic drills, but on understanding how English works, how words carry meaning, and how Daniel could use logic, not memorization, to read and write with confidence.

Evidence of Transformation

By early 2025, Daniel’s neuropsychological re-evaluation documented the following year-over-year gains:

Significant advances in reading:

  • Decoding

  • Sight-word identification

  • Phonological memory

  • Phonological awareness

  • Reading comprehension

Marked improvement in writing:

  • Letter fluency

  • Sentence combining and building

  • Spelling accuracy

➕ Progress in mathematics:

  • Word-based problem solving

  • Math fluency

Beyond academics, Daniel showed increased resilience, reduced anxiety, and more flexible executive functioning. These gains were achieved through a highly customized, integrative approach involving SWI and Mediated Learning Experience (MLE).

Why It Matters

Daniel is not just a student who made academic progress. He is proof of concept for an approach that respects how the neurodiverse brain learns. He thrived when the instruction shifted from rigid phonics to structured inquiry, when learning became about sense-making, not inconsistent rule-following.

Today, Daniel is reading. He is writing. He is beginning to believe in his own mind.

“While this level of progress is incredibly exciting, Daniel requires specialized support to make these gains.” —Dr. Philip Dunbar-Mayer, 2025 Neuropsychological Re-Evaluation

Support Stories Like Daniel’s

Your donation to Lokahi Connect fuels the interventions that make stories like Daniel’s possible. Together, we can rewrite the narrative for students with language-based learning differences, starting with the science, honoring the learner, and believing in their voice.

Why We’re Asking For Your Help

The National Reading Panel (NRP), established in 1997, conducted extensive research to determine effective methods for teaching children to read. Their 2000 report emphasized the importance of systematic instruction in five key areas:

  • Phonemic awareness

  • Phonics

  • Fluency

  • Vocabulary

  • Comprehension

Despite these findings, reading proficiency in the U.S. has remained largely stagnant over the past 30 years.

The "Science of Reading" movement has sought to align classroom instruction with evidence-based practices in recent years. Nevertheless, ​many schools continue to face challenges.

Factors such as inconsistent implementation, inadequate teacher training, and the persistence of outdated instructional methods have hindered widespread progress. 

In summary, while the NRP provided a clear framework for reading instruction, systemic issues have limited the impact of the Science of Reading on improving reading outcomes nationwide.