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Symptoms of a Dyslexic Learner and a Reading Difference
We believe these indicate a person with higher intellect, many positive characteristics, and a very capable individual who needs to learn differently than how reading and spelling is traditionally taught in most school settings.

We teach the strategies to enable someone with dyslexia to learn how to read and improve spelling
independently for life.
Dyslexia is a life-long learning difference. The Orton-Gillingham approach is the original scientifically proven multisensory approach that supports dyslexia. This means that students are not expected to memorize information, but instead they will learn through practice using their visual, auditory, kinesthetic, and tactile senses. By using multisensory pathways and by doing, students retain and apply the information learned. The English language is 80% predictable and students will learn phonemic awareness of predictable letter-sound patterns in singular and combination formations. Research proves that the differences in the dyslexic brain are transformed using the Orton-Gillingham approach. If the student has received no remediation, two individualized sessions will improve reading comprehension and spelling. Each lesson plan is carefully created to meet the specific needs of the student.

Why an Orton-Gillingham Certfied Therapeutic Practitioner?
Orton-Gillingham is a multisensory approach to teaching predictable reading and spelling English language patterns. Students are taught strategies to use their knowledge to read and spell words with which they are not yet familiar. It is a program that is adjusted to meet the needs of the student. Every lesson is planned for the student's area of need. This is a life changing program for any aged person who has dyslexia and reading/spelling differences.

For effective progress, the practitioner you select for your child needs to be a Certified Orton-Gillingham therapeutic practitioner. It takes dedication and commitment to become certified in Orton-Gillingham. To earn Orton-Gillingham certification with Initial and Advanced levels, the tutor has spent fifty to one hundred hours in class, reading and writing reports, passing quizzes, a midterm and a final. The most important step in the Orton-Gillingham certification is that the practitioner has passed a one hundred to four hundred hour supervised practicum. A supervised practicum provides continual feedback and instruction improvements to ensure the tutor meets high standards in teaching procedures and practices. Certified practitioners have also had thorough background checks. Security checks are done as a prerequisite to the Orton-Gillingham certification program. Often, certified Orton-Gillingham practitioners will have a higher hourly rate than non-certified reading tutors, and can be an indication of the skills. Rates vary because of certification level and experience.

The Evaluation for Dyslexia
The process starts with a Core Evaluation by your town's school district. An independent evaluation will need to follow your school's evaluation by a neuropsychologist who specializes in dyslexia and language based challenges.
Most schools do not diagnosis dyslexia and reading challenges because dyslexia is considered a medical diagnosis. This critical piece of the evaluation is done by an independent neuropsychologist with expertise in dyslexia. There are more in depth tests for phonological awareness, word attach, word id, pseudo word, reading comprehension, and memory that complete the evaluation.

Who do you turn to for the complete diagnosis? There are recommended neuropsychologists under Professional Resources who do specialize in reading and dyslexia. You can also ask your pediatrician for a recommendation.

Time Commitment
You will need to be able to commit to two sessions per week when not receiving remediation in school, or once per week when remediation is provided in school. It will take approximately one to two school years to master levels one through five of the Orton-Gillingham approach depending on the ability of the student. An Accelerated Program is offered for teens and adults which may be possible depending on the student's learning profile. You will learn and practice phonemes, spelling rules and generalizations, common letter-sound patterns, learn affixes, Latin Roots, Greek combining forms, and work on active reading strategies to aid comprehension.