When I had concerns about my oldest child's speech, I had him referred, hoping to get him an IEP for speech therapy. He was in second grade at the time. The evaluation revealed much more than challenges in speech. Most significantly, he had some deficits in phonemic awareness, a low processing speed (& rapid digit and letter naming), and unusually high visual strengths. He showed some reading deficits, and upon further probing, I learned that his spelling was below grade level. My sister, a school psychologist, reviewed all of this information and told me that my child met the profile of a dyslexic student.

Despite my 16 years as a public school teacher, I knew next to nothing about dyslexia. As a parent, I had a sudden need to learn everything I could. What could I do to support my child at home? I read a ton of books (might I suggest "Overcoming Dyslexia" by Sally Shaywitz?), I watched all the videos that I could find, and I internalized every aspect of Susan Barton's Bright Solutions for Dyslexia website.

It was that website that brought me to the Barton Reading & Spelling System. There are many Orton-Gillingham based programs out there, but not so many that also have an explicit spelling component. I knew that this was what we needed, and started my son right away.

Knowing more about dyslexia and the early warning signs, I started to get concerned about my second child, too. He showed several of the early warning signs, such as mixing up the sounds in his words ("hostible" for "hospital") and confusing related words (before/after, tomorrow/yesterday, Mom/Dad). He was able to read easy three letter words before kindergarten, but plateaued there for the entire year. He also had no orthographic mapping, which means that he was not building "automaticity" in his reading. By the time he got to the last sound in a word, he would forget the first sound and have to start again. I recognized the need for him to begin the program as well.

That's how it all began. I started tutoring two of my own children. We were having so much success, that I began tutoring other students as well. At my oldest child's parent-teacher conference, I learned that his spelling is now on grade level. I am in awe of what can be achieved with this program.

So, here I am. Loving teaching with a passion and wanting to help others find their way to reading and spelling success.

And here you are. Maybe feeling a little lost? Maybe unsure of how to help your child (or yourself) feel confident in their many strengths? Feel good about themselves? Let's do this, together.