Welcome Parents

Hello, if you've come by to visit, you probably know I'm an Orton-Gillingham

Tutor. I am currently accepting students in Central Maine. Please see my

qualifications and email me at [email protected], if you are interested in

talking with me. If you'd like to see some of the visuals and games I create to

use with students (and to sell), please feel free to look around my site.

Bye for now, Stacey

Qualifications: First and foremost, I can relate well to students with learning

disabilities because I struggled to read all through school. Just like "Johnny", I

was passed from one grade to the next.      

• Advanced Orton-Gillingham Certificate from the Masonic Learning Center in Portland, Maine (November 2008)
• Certified Orton-Gillingham Tutor from the Masonic Learning Center in Portland, Maine (June 2006)
• B.S. in Home Economics/Family Service Option from U of ME at Farmington
• Tutored 13 children, a total of 1,181 hours (tallied on 12/23/10) since 7/06
• Registered Maine Educational Technician III, which includes finger printing
• Member of The IDA (International Dyslexia Association)
• Specialize in visual development and production 

Orton-Gillingham is a research based method of teaching reading. It's important elements are as follows:

• Individual: Students are taught individually. Tutoring students together would not allow each child to progress at their own pace. Orton-Gillingham Tutors should go “as fast as they can and as slow as they have to” to achieve mastery. Some children breeze through some concepts and then need two review lessons on others. Each concept must be taught to mastery.
• Multi-sensory: The child uses two or three senses at a time to learn. Example: They see a word while reading it aloud so they hear it (use visual & auditory). We also incorporate the senses of touch (tactile) and movement (kinesthetic).
• Structured: The Orton-Gillingham method is highly structured. The activities we use are explicit, rather than vague. The student can expect a routine which they are familiar with; this makes learning new concepts easier. People with language based learning disabilities have more difficulty when things are not spelled out for them. Each tutor must decide which procedures are most appropriate for each child and each concept.
• Sequential: The O & G method includes five different levels each with a suggested sequence. That being said, it is up to the tutor to follow a sequence of introduction which is appropriate for each tutee. So far each child I’ve worked with has needed a slightly different sequence. The student’s progress is assessed during every lesson. This is necessary to plan subsequent lessons.
• Mastery: Each concept must be mastered before the child is introduced to a new concept. Tutors must also go back and look for understanding of concepts taught previously. If the student has not held on to a concept over time, they may need review.

Resources for Parents

Straight Talk About Reading (1999), by Susan Hall & Louisa Moats; This book is amazing! It gives parents questions to ask educators. It gives parents answers and tangible advice. The authors give you information so you can draw your own conclusions about the education of your children.

About Dyslexia, Unraveling the Myth (1991), by Priscilla Vail; This is a good, short, easy to read book. It has basic, pertinent information for parents and teachers of children K-12.

Overcoming Dyslexia: A New and Complete Science-Based Program for Reading Problems at Any Level (2003), by Sally Shaywitz; Dr. Shaywitz is one of the foremost researchers in the field of Dyslexia. Her book explains the latest theories of Dyslexia. She provides the reader with MRI pictures and information to support her theories. It looks like a textbook, but it was easy to read. It is a good book for parents who want more scientific information than they’d find in the two books above. It is also a good first book for educators.

Legacy of the Blue Heron Living with Learning Disabilities (2002), by Harry Sylvester; Mr. Sylvester is a man from Maine. In this book he chronicles the hardships and triumphs of living with Dyslexia, in a time when most people had not a clue what it was.

Useful Websites:

Masonic Learning Centers for Children www.childrenslearningcenters.org

LD Online www.ldonline.org

International Dyslexia Association www.interdys.org

Get Ready to Read www.getreadytoread.org

Bright Solutions for Dyslexia, Inc. www.dys-add.com

Brain Gym [email protected]

Learning and vision problems:http://www.children-special-needs.org/parenting/learning_disabilities.html

Please email me at: [email protected]