Reading, Spelling & Writing Services
The Barton Reading & Spelling Method is a one-on-one tutoring system that will significantly improve the reading and spelling of children, teenagers, and adults whose struggles may or may not be attributed to dyslexia or a learning disability.
The Barton Reading & Spelling Method is part of Orton-Gillingham’s umbrella of multi-sensory curricula choices. The Orton-Gillingham approach to reading instruction has been in use since the 1930s. It’s also known as structured literacy. It’s an intensive, sequential phonics-based system that accommodates and utilizes the three learning styles: visual, auditory, and kinesthetic. Orton-Gillingham is a scientific, research-based reading instruction. I use both of these tools in my “toolbox.” Orton-Gillingham (OG) is the approach, and The Barton Method is the curriculum.
Pre-readers can also obtain effective remediation using a series of exercises that will move them into the OG program sequence or the Barton Reading & Spelling System. Pre-readers will work through activities such as the alphabet and phonological awareness, rhyming, Rapid Automatic Naming (RAN) sequences, blending & segmenting, and proper letter formation until they are ready to use the program best suits them. This may be part of the Foundations in Sound program.
Foundations in Sound (Lindamood-Bell LiPS alternative) is for students who do not pass part C of the Quick Screening. Foundation in Sounds™ is a program for students of all ages that will improve their auditory discrimination, auditory memory size, and auditory sequencing skills. It is a great alternative to the expensive Lindamood-Bell LiPS program. When the student is ready, this program transitions seamlessly into the Barton System of Reading & Spelling.
All sessions are 50 minutes and use 1:1 instruction time—a minimum of 2 sessions per week.
Student Writing Intensive: A writing course for students. The writing program is part of the Institute for Excellence in Writing(™), which lays a solid foundation for writing skills. IEW’s nine structural models teach step-by-step: note-making and outlines, writing from notes, retelling narrative stories, summarizing a reference, writing from pictures, summarizing multiple references, inventive writing, formal essay models, and a formal critique. Students also use IEW’s stylistic techniques, such as strong verbs, quality adjectives, and sentence openers; students incrementally move from basic to various sentence structures, improved vocabulary, and more sophisticated writing.
Visualizing and Verbalizing For students who struggle with comprehension. The Visualizing and Verbalizing® (V/V®) program develops concept imagery—the ability to create an imagined or imaged gestalt from language—as a basis for comprehension and higher-order thinking. The development of concept imagery improves reading and listening comprehension, memory, oral vocabulary, critical thinking, and writing.
Screening Services Menu
A note about screening services: These screening services are available to provide information that will help determine whether or not a client fits the classic profile of dyslexia. This process is not intended to be used to determine eligibility for school-based intervention. As a prerequisite for all screening services, parents must watch the video Dyslexia Symptoms & Solutions. This video may help answer your questions.
Tutoring Intake, Quick Screen
Goal: Determine if a child is ready for Foundation in Sound, Phonemic Awareness, or Barton (Orton-Gillingham) Tutoring. 30-minute preliminary parent intake phone conversation, 1.5-hour student screening, and 30-minute final consultation with parents. This is for clients who have decided to seek tutoring services but are unsure which program is suitable. $165
Consultation Only
Goal: Determine if your child fits the dyslexia profile based solely on an in-depth records review, examination of current schoolwork samples, and information shared by you in a face-to-face interview. If a client does fit the profile, recommendations for tutoring and accommodations will be provided. $300
Consultation, Screening& Short Written Report
Goal: Determine if your child fits the dyslexia profile based on the information listed above, plus administer and score 8 informal screening tools to determine if your child fits the dyslexia profile and has weaknesses in the areas listed in the research-based definition of dyslexia. The screening results will be reviewed in a face-to-face meeting with you. You will leave with a concise 12-page written report listing the results, my conclusion, and tutoring and classroom accommodations recommendations. $900