WELCOME! You are probably visiting this site because you or someone you love is struggling to master the skills of reading and writing. These skills are critical for success in school, work, and every-day life. Reading is not a natural process - it has to be learned. Some brains are "wired" to pick up these skills easily, some people need to work at it with typical effort, and 15% - 20% of people have moderate to extreme difficulties.  Watching your bright, creative child fail at something other kids seem do with ease is heartbreaking.  With the right help, dyslexia and related reading problems can be overcome.  You have taken the first step to learn about the skills that can be life changing.  

WHY IS READING SO HARD?

• Reading is a very complex process and it is amazing that anyone learns to do it.  We actually use a code that we see - letters - to represent the sounds that we hear in words.  It is all about decoding.  
• Reading requires that the areas of the brain that support vision, and the areas that support verbal language, work together to perform the functions of reading and writing.  There are many places along this process that the system can break down.  
• Add into the mix the importance of working memory and processing speed, plus visual and auditory skills - reading is indeed amazing.  
• Fifteen to twenty percent of the population deal with some form of a reading challenge, impacting many areas of their life.

Dyslexia is the most under-diagnosed learning disability and is at the root of many academic difficulties. Phonemic awareness and the ability to discriminate, sequence, and manipulate individual sounds within words underlies decoding and spelling.  SO YOU NEED TO LEARN THE CODE!

WHY IS MULTISENSORY INSTRUCTION BEST?

• The multisensory instruction method activates multiple areas of the brain and integrates the left and right brain hemispheres.  This method, known as Orton-Gillingham, is structured, systematic, and cumulative. 
• Repetition builds neural pathways, and with more sensory input, those pathways become stronger. This is especially important for learners who haven't learned through typical classroom methods.
• Utilizing the multiple brain pathways that control hearing, seeing, speaking, and feeling increases the brain's ability to learn and retain the information necessary to be a reader and speller.  It is much like having a whole team working on the task, instead of a single player - especially helpful if some "players" are under-performing. 
• Scientific research has proven that this instruction is the "gold standard" for helping struggling readers, and actually changes the way the brain functions.