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A reading specialist guiding a child through a multi-sensory literacy activity using letter tiles.

What to Look for in a Reading Specialist in NYC

If your child is struggling with reading, finding the right reading specialist in NYC can make a tremendous difference in their academic performance and self-esteem. Reading difficulties can include challenges with sounding out words, reading fluently, or understanding the material they read. A reading specialist can provide your child with structured tutoring to help them build stronger phonemic awareness, decoding, reading fluency, and reading comprehension skills. Research tells us that early intervention can significantly improve academic performance, so don’t wait! If you see your child struggling, find the right reading specialist now to help them thrive. Identify an ideal reading specialist in NYC for your child with the ideas detailed below.

Look for evidence-based reading instruction

If your child is struggling with reading, tutoring using an evidence-based, multi-sensory approach is most effective. One such method is called the Orton Gillingham approach, which is a structured, multi-sensory, diagnostic and prescriptive method for helping students develop stronger decoding and spelling skills. With this approach, students use tools such as colored sand, magnetic tiles, mini whiteboards, and shaving cream, amongst other related tools, as part of a systematic approach to teaching. An example of a NYC Orton Gillingham tutoring lesson might involve teaching the digraph “sh” so that the student can ultimately learn how to read words containing this digraph. An Orton Gillingham tutoring lesson might be structured as follows:

  • The reading specialist starts by holding up an audio-visual flash card with the letters “sh” on the front and a key picture of a ship on the back.
  • The reading specialist holds up the card and says, “These are the letters sh, like ship (they’d flip the card around), it makes the sound /sh/” (they’d flip the card back around).
  • The student repeats that sequence on their own, then moves onto skywriting.
  • The Orton Gillingham reading specialist models writing those letters in the sky, saying aloud as they trace them, “around and around” (for s) and “down, up, and hump” (for h).
  • The student skywrites the letters on their own, then traces them in colored sand or shaving cream.
  • The student completes Orton Gillingham workbook exercises corresponding to that sound.
  • The Orton Gillingham tutor may use magnetic tiles or other similar tools to have the student practice blending sounds together, forming words such as ship, shut, or shop.

These multi-sensory Orton Gillingham tutoring lessons provided by a reading specialist in NYC can help your child develop much stronger reading skills.

Find a reading specialist in NYC who uses a structured plan

When your child begins their tutoring sessions, it’s important that the reading specialist in NYC has a structured plan in place for the tutoring. Instead of bringing in random unrelated worksheets or books to each session, they should have a systematic learning plan, starting with the levels and skills your child needs help with and building upwards from there. For example, if your child is struggling to read consonant-vowel-consonant words (like hug, mit, rag), the reading specialist should begin with a structured, multi-sensory tutoring plan that teaches individual letters and their corresponding sounds and work on how to blend those sounds together to form basic words. Once your child has mastered reading these basic words, the reading specialist should move onto words containing blends, consonant digraphs, vowel digraphs, r-controlled patterns, and so on, all following a systematic Orton Gillingham tutoring plan.

Read more about NYC dyslexia tutoring at: https://eblcoaching.com/what-should-i-look-for-in-a-dyslexia-tutor/

Choose a reading specialist with expertise in your child’s age and grade level

Some reading specialists in NYC focus on teaching older students comprehension strategies, including making inferences and synthesizing main ideas. Others might focus on early childhood reading, and some NYC reading specialists may have expertise in teaching decoding and reading fluency to middle and high school students. It’s important that your child’s Manhattan reading specialist has expertise in working with students at their age and grade level and uses tools and strategies appropriate to your child’s specific needs.

Make sure your child connects well with the reading specialist’s personality

The right personality match is key in effective reading tutoring sessions. When you look for a reading specialist in Manhattan for your child, try to find someone who you think your child will click with. If your child prefers younger, bubbly personalities, try to find a reading specialist who fits that profile. If your child prefers quieter tutors or perhaps older, more seasoned reading specialists, look for those qualities when searching for the ideal reading tutor in Manhattan for your child.
Finding the right reading specialist in NYC can make a big difference in your child’s academic performance. With research-based methodologies, a structured tutoring plan, and the right personality match, a reading specialist can help your child develop stronger reading skills and improve their self-confidence. Learn about how EBL Coaching can help your child develop stronger reading skills with our one-on-one reading tutoring program in NYC and Orton Gillingham instruction at www.eblcoaching.com.

Learn more about the science of reading tutoring at https://eblcoaching.com/what-is-the-science-of-reading/

Frequently asked questions 

What are signs your child may need a reading specialist?
Your child may benefit from receiving tutoring sessions from a reading specialist if they demonstrate any of the following challenges:

  • Difficulty sounding out words
  • Reads slowly with a lot of effort
  • Avoids reading or doing reading assignments
  • Has trouble with spelling and writing
  • Struggles to comprehension materials they read
  • Has low self-esteem or becomes easily frustrated when trying to read

What does a reading specialist do?
A reading specialist provides specialized reading tutoring to students to develop their overall reading skills, including phonemic awareness, decoding, reading fluency, and reading comprehension.

What are some benefits of Orton Gillingham tutoring?
Orton Gillingham tutoring has many benefits! Some of these benefits include:

  • Research-based approach to reading intervention
  • Multi-sensory tools
  • Structured lessons that build upon one another
  • Individualized tutoring sessions based on student needs
  • Lessons are diagnostic and prescriptive, and move at student’s pace
  • Helps develop stronger decoding and spelling skills

Dr. Emily Levy, the founder and director of EBL Coaching, has been providing reading remediation and Orton Gillingham tutoring in NYC for over 20 years.

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orton gillinghamreading confidencereading skillsreading specialisreading specialist
Dear Dr. Levy, My son received an excellent report card. I can’t say enough good things about his EBL tutor. She has done a tremendous job helping him improve his reading and writing skills. Most importantly, she is wise and kind. She is always patient with him. Because of his tutor, my son writes with much more ease.
– Parent