Tutoring focuses on phonetic steps (reading/spelling)— within a solid foundation, using Orton-Gillingham or Wilson Reading. There isn’t a time table for “success” and children gain reading confidence in knowing this. Spiraling back and moving forward is the process that students learn to trust. A positive mindset includes on-going attention to growing your child’s positive attitude …
Today, there is a heightened sensitivity around defining an individual with a label—case in point, calling someone “dyslexic.” How a child or adult may respond, is connected to how he has filtered this diagnosis within himself, hopefully positively, encountering great support along the way. It wasn’t until the sixties that neurological connections were made with …
As parents, you might decide to seek a neuropsychological assessment after an IEP (Individual Education Plan) is in place for the school year. You want more clarity around your child’s learning profile, whether it be further understanding a medical diagnosis like ADHD or seeing if there might be other issues, e.g., an undiagnosed learning disability (besides dyslexia) such …
The inspiration for this blog comes from worried parents/caretakers who ask me often about fluency. It’s a natural response when they compare their children to peers who read effortlessly. This picture reminds us that strong roots allow tree growth. Likewise, children need to establish strong roots – phonetic roots, before fluency enters the picture. Fluency grows naturally as the …
Reading progress is a given within the dyslexic span — from moderate to severe. Both profiles intersect in their need for structured reading programs such as Orton-Gillingham or Wilson. Does progress go hand-in-hand with an O.G. or Wilson system? The answer is YES! Mapping progress though, can be a slippery slope. At times, a student may …
Are you wondering lately if your child might be dyslexic? Are you trying to sort FACTS from myths? Are you combing through sites or reading books that might be sending you mixed messages such as telling you to WAIT for a diagnosis since your child is still “young.” I suggest you read this excellent article …
Summer will soon be here and many parents are thinking about finding a tutor for their child in July and August. A mother, father, grandma, aunt (who may even be a teacher!) etc. might believe that he/she can give the student the reading enrichment that he needs. Thoughts such as “I have teacher-recommended workbooks that …
I recently came across an article by Dr. Travis Harker entitled “I Used to Think My Daughter with Dyslexia Needed to Try Harder” which highlighted what I have experienced at times with parents whose children are struggling. Often moms and dads think reading improvement is about trying harder, e.g., “if my child would spend more time reading …
Parents often wonder that if their child has difficulty with reading will he automatically have difficulty with spelling. In my experience, the answer is usually yes and easy to understand. Children that need to be taught through a structured reading approach, such as Orton-Gillingham or Wilson Reading also need to understand spelling through that same …
The most important word in this header is AWARENESS, awareness targeted in part to parents, and their crucial role in observing their child’s growing relationship with language through listening, speaking, reading, spelling and writing. As a toddler/preschooler does your child enjoy rhyme, flipping through books and playing with language? Does your kindergartener recognize alphabet sounds …
What was your initial reaction when you first heard the diagnosis, “your child is dyslexic?” Were you at last relieved to have “dyslexia” attached to his academic struggles OR were you still reluctant to believe that anything was wrong with his school performance that extra tutoring wouldn’t help? It’s true that some parents continue to …
I recently received an email from a mother of a third grader who is very worried about her child’s reading progress. “He still struggles” she writes “and I try to help him but to no avail.” You can sense her frustration and desire to put her son on the “right reading path.” When August approaches, …