What Should I Look for in a Dyslexia Tutor?
Your child was diagnosed with dyslexia and you’re not sure where to turn. You know they struggle with reading and writing and need academic remediation in these areas. Specialized dyslexia tutoring may be exactly what your child needs. What should you look for in a dyslexia tutor?
Orton Gillingham Teaching Method
Students with dyslexia tend to respond well to Orton Gillingham tutoring. Orton Gillingham is a research-based, multisensory, systematic approach to teaching reading and writing. With Orton Gillingham tutoring, students learn individual letters names and their corresponding sounds, and how to blend those sounds together to form basic vowel-consonant and consonant-vowel-consonant words. The tutoring lessons typically then proceed to words containing blends, consonant digraphs, vowel digraphs, r-controlled patterns, silent-e patterns, multi-syllabic word patterns, and more complex words. Orton Gillingham tutoring integrates multisensory tools, including audio-visual flash cards, colored sand, shaving cream, magnetic tiles, white boards, and more, all following a structured approach to teaching. This type of dyslexia tutoring can help your child develop much stronger reading and writing skills.
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Structured Lessons
Dyslexia tutoring should include a clear scope and sequence for all lessons. The tutoring should follow a plan, beginning at your child’s current reading level and progressing upwards from there. Orton Gillingham tutoring lessons typically start by reviewing previously taught concepts using a variety of tools, such as flash cards for sound recognition, magnetic tiles for forming words, or word dictations containing concepts already taught. Next, a new concept or rule is introduced using a structured, multisensory approach and students are given ample practice applying these concepts. Finally, Orton Gillingham lessons should end with spelling dictations of words and sentences containing new and previously taught sounds and concepts, along with oral reading from controlled readers.
Strong Rapport
When looking for a dyslexia tutor for your child, try to find a tutor whose personality you think will work well for your child. You may want to look for someone who is positive and encouraging and will make your child feel confident about their skills and progress. They should be able to develop a strong rapport with your child so your child enjoys working with the tutor and finds pleasure in their sessions.
Make Learning Fun!
Many students with dyslexia have experienced negatively at school. Reading and writing have likely been areas of struggle for them, and they may have watched their peers excel while they have continued to have difficulty. If your child’s dyslexia tutor can make the lessons enjoyable, it will help them become more engaged in the lessons. Some tutors may integrate a rewards program, where your child earns special stickers or prizes based on their performance. These small tokens can go a long way in helping them enjoy the sessions.
Students with dyslexia typically have many strengths, but they need help developing their academic skills. With Orton Gillingham tutoring and the right dyslexia tutor, your child truly has the ability to thrive!
Learn more about EBL Coaching’s dyslexia tutoring programs at