Orton-Gillingham (OG) is a structured, multisensory approach to teaching reading, writing, and spelling. It’s not a boxed curriculum — it’s a way of teaching that breaks language down into its building blocks and engages sight, sound, and touch together, with each lesson built around how that particular child learns best.

No. OG was originally developed with dyslexic learners in mind, but it helps any child who’s struggling with reading, spelling, or decoding — whether or not they have a formal diagnosis. A lot of families come to tutoring simply because their child needs more explicit, structured practice than a classroom can offer.

Most students do best with two sessions a week on non-consecutive days, 40-60 minutes each — that spacing gives new skills time to sink in before the next lesson builds on them. The exact schedule is always adjusted to fit your child and your family’s routine.

A session usually moves through a few concrete steps: we warm up by reviewing letter sounds, sight words, or spelling patterns from last time; I explicitly teach a new skill using multisensory techniques — seeing it, saying it aloud, and often tracing or tapping it out; we practice that skill hands-on through things like sound cards, blending and segmenting drills, or building words with letter tiles; and we finish by putting it to use in real reading and writing, like reading decodable text aloud or spelling dictation. That same four-part shape repeats every session, which is part of why it works so well for kids who learn best through repetition and multiple senses.

It’s an approach, not a boxed curriculum you can buy off a shelf — which means the quality really comes down to the tutor’s training. I’m currently completing my Orton-Gillingham training, and every lesson I teach follows OG’s structured, sequential, multisensory principles.

No — a formal dyslexia diagnosis requires neuropsychological testing from a licensed psychologist or other qualified professional. What I offer instead is an informal reading and spelling assessment ($85) that pinpoints specific skill gaps and shapes a personalized starting plan, whether or not a diagnosis is ever pursued.

An actual diagnosis of dyslexia comes from neurological testing done by a qualified professional (Neurologist or state certified psychologist).

Classroom reading instruction moves at a whole-group pace and isn’t always systematic, phonics-based, or one-on-one. OG sessions are the opposite: just your child and me, working through a sequence where every new concept builds directly on what’s already mastered, with the repetition and review it takes for a skill to become automatic.

Session rates and the assessment fee are listed on the Pricing page. As a general guide, one-on-one sessions are billed hourly, with a one-time reading and spelling assessment to start. Reach out if you’d like help figuring out the right session length and frequency for your child.

I work with students in two age bands — roughly 5 to 9 and 10 to 13 — covering early elementary through middle school. Sessions are shaped around each student’s specific skill level rather than grade alone, since reading and spelling gaps don’t always line up neatly with grade.

I keep ongoing notes on what we’ve covered and how each skill is progressing, and I check in with families regularly so you always have a sense of where things stand. If you’d like a deeper conversation about progress at any point, just ask — I’m always glad to talk through what I’m seeing.

Most of the actual teaching happens one-on-one between me and your child, so you don’t need to sit in on sessions. That said, staying a little involved goes a long way — knowing what your child is working on helps you reinforce it at home, and I’ll share simple ways to support their practice between sessions.

Yes — many of the students I work with already have an IEP, a 504 plan, or another support plan in place. I’m glad to work from the goals and accommodations already identified, and, with your permission, to stay in touch with the school team so tutoring complements what’s happening in the classroom.