The Importance of Orton-Gillingham Tutoring

Your child is smart.

Why can't she read?

Why can't he spell?

Why can't she do math?

Why can't he go on to the next grade?

If you are asking yourself one or more of these questions, then it is possible they may have dyslexia and/or dyscalculia. Orton-Gillingham based tutoring may be the most important thing you can do for your child's long-term emotional health and academic and vocational success. When a child can't read, write, spell, or do math like their peers, it is emotionally devastating for them. They will have to work 3 to 5 times harder than their peers in order to keep their grades up (if they even can keep their grades up). Orton-Gillingham tutoring is the ONLY program that has ever been research-proven to help children with dyslexia read, write, spell, and do math better. If your child (elementary school through high school) is struggling in school, getting them the right kind of help is MORE important than anything else you could spend money on. It's more important than paying for orthodontia to fix their teeth; more important than any travel ball team, sports team or gymnastics team you could pay for; more important than vacations, or music lessons, or the newest video games or tablets or cell phone. While all of these things are very valuable, NOTHING is more important to your child's future than their academic success and emotional health.

ETS provides Orton-Gillingham tutoring services for only $60 per week. I know that is too much to ask of a family who is struggling to put food on the table, and that's why my dream is to have a non-profit that can raise money to get children the services that they need. In the meantime, if you have no way to pay for tutoring yourself, you can ask family and friends to help pay for tutoring or start a Crowdfunding account online. Many people are happy to help children in need, but if you don't ask, you will never know. You can also write the local service clubs like Kiwanis Club, Lions Club, Sertoma, etc. They will often give money for specific needs that children have.

If your family may just need to re-prioritize some spending in order to get your child the tutoring services they need, then think about this. Many families go out to eat at least once a week, and an average cost for this for a family of 4 is around $60. Wouldn't it be worth giving up eating out once a week in order to secure your child's current and future academic and vocational success as well as have a huge positive impact on their long-term emotional health? Other things that you could consider would be cancelling cable or satellite television in favor of Netflix or some other streaming service, cutting back your internet or cell phone services, or starting to clip coupons or shop for groceries at a discount store like Aldi's. Of course, I don't know your financial situation, so these are just suggestions; you will have to determine what works best for your family.

What I can say is that there is nothing more important to your child's future than getting Orton-Gillingham tutoring services if they are struggling with reading, writing, spelling, or math. The earlier you start them, the better...waiting is the worst thing you can do. However, it's never too late to get your child this help. Please don't allow your child to struggle in school and suffer emotionally any longer. Make sure they get the right kind of help as soon as possible. Susan Lee