Frequently Asked Questions

Can you assess my child’s reading level?

Brain Friendly Reading uses an assessment tool to determine what skills your child needs help with, but it does not determine reading level or grade level. I will be able to give you on-going assessments of your child’s progress and what skills they are working on.

What if I need to cancel a session?

Except for illness, I ask for 48 hours’ notice to cancel a session. Otherwise you will need to pay your usual rate for that session. If cancelling ahead of time means your child has only one session with me that week, the one session per week rate will apply. If you realize your child is sick less than 48 hours before a session, let me know and there’s no need to pay. Let’s help each other stay healthy!

How many sessions will my child need to get over their reading difficulty?

There is no magic answer to this question. Some people need only one repetition of a reading skill to build a new neural pathway, while others need a hundred repetitions or more. But when taught in a systematic, cumulative, explicit way, many children exhibit progress almost immediately.

Where can I get more information about the curriculum you use?

Please go to Brain Friendly Reading and We Shall Read for lots of great information about the missions of these organizations, the method they advocate, and the research that backs it up. Brain Friendly Reading has a number of videos on YouTube you can check out to see how I will be instructing your child.

How does the payment sliding scale work?

Because learning to read is a human right, I use a sliding scale to try to make my support as accessible as possible. I set the middle of the scale at what I think is the average local rate for what I have to offer, hoping that some people will pay above that so others can pay below. Please make your own assessment of your resources relative to the rest of the community and pay accordingly.

How do we get started?

The first step is to schedule a free one hour assessment. This will help me get to know your child, what skills they already have, and what’s lacking. And it gives you a chance to get to know me and see if you think it’s a good fit.