Orton Gillingham, Barton Certified Reading Tutor for Dyslexia

Elizabeth D.

​I'm a Barton Reading & Spelling System reading specialist with an Advanced level of certification. This is an Orton Gillingham based reading program that is highly effective compared to other reading programs when it comes to helping dyslexic students learn to read and spell.​ I have successfully been working with dyslexic students since 2013. I have worked independently & as a reading specialist in middle schools & high schools and am a licensed classroom teacher. My students range from ages 6 through 15.

​​I have my masters in Education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and taught middle & high school English for 7 years.

My passion for teaching reading began with my own struggle to learn to read. In 1st grade, I was placed in remedial reading, but my family moved in 2nd grade & put me in a school whose philosophy was that children learn to read at different paces, so no one was concerned that I couldn't read. I quickly forgot any of the three letter words I'd learned.

The best gift my parents gave me was reading to me at bedtime every night. Listening to these magical stories imbued me with a love for books. By 4th grade, I wanted to be able to read by myself so badly! But my school didn't offer any reading support. I'd beg my dad to sit with me every night, & I'd struggle reading aloud through a page or two. It wasn't until the summer before 5th grade that I finally learned how to read.

After I discovered the Barton System back in 2013, I wished my family had known about it when we were learning to read. It's a phenomenal reading program, truly the gold standard for dyslexia.