FAQ: Reading Support
What may indicate a child is "at-risk" for reading difficulties?
There are many factors that contribute to literacy development. Environmental, cultural, and social factors contribute largely to literacy outcomes. A child who struggles with attention, memory, processing speed, speech development,language development, or other areas of cognition and behavior may be at risk for difficulties reading.
A family history of reading difficulties or dyslexia can also place a child at-risk for similar reading difficulties.
What are your rates?
Reading services can be arranged as follows:
Initial meeting, screening, discussion of next steps, development of individualized tutoring plan (1 time, 2-hour initial visit): $275
60-minute tutoring session: $75
30-minute tutoring session: $38
Bookmark Interventions is a provider for the Family Empowerment Scholarship for Students with Unique Abilities (FES-UA) (formerly McKay) through the Step Up for Students Program (formerly Gardiner), students who qualify for this in Florida can apply scholarship toward tutoring services
Is online tutoring comparable to in-person tutoring?
.Yes, virtual tutoring is an interactive, convenient, and safe option with equivalent, quality, instruction.
The preparation that goes into each session, content of the lesson, and strategies and support are the same quality as what would be provided face-to-face. Movement activities, props and manipulatives, and a variety of different reading and writing materials are encouraged and used. Although some activities may be displayed on screen we are not limited to only screen-based tasks-there is flexibility to move around and use various items from around the home for hands-on learning.
How long will my child need tutoring?
Children progress at different rates, some factors include consistency/attendance, review of concepts/practice outside of tutoring, child's own unique learning profile including learning speed and memory for instruction from previous sessions.
How frequent, and how long are tutoring sessions?
Frequency and duration are based on your child's individual needs. Remediation or Prevention sessions may be provided one to four times weekly for 30 or 60 minutes at a time. Students receiving intensive, individualized instruction are recommended to receive two hours weekly (2-one hour or 4 half-hour sessions depending on availability and attention)
what technology/equipment will i need?
Connection to high-speed internet and a device capable with "Zoom": such as a computer, laptop, iPad/tablet, or smartphone with working audio/video capabilities.
My child is a reluctant reader, I'm worried they will not participate or WILL NOT like tutoring, can you reassure me?
I'm very mindful that right now reading is likely quite stressful for your child. I'm aware that any task that seems like "testing" may be non-preferred or avoided. Special care is taken to help your child feel comfortable in all tasks. I aim to reduce pressure surrounding reading and increase confidence. I reinforce effort versus accuracy and will keep sessions motivating by using high-interest topics, virtual games for reinforcement, and items related to tasks/topics from one another’s homes. Every session is personalized to your child and tasks are modified to provide the level of support needed for your child -with my support your child should feel successful (tutoring should not feel stressful!)
Can you evaluate and diagnose dyslexia?
Currently, comprehensive dyslexia evaluations are not an option. Please contact me to discuss your child’s unique situation if you are in seeking diagnostic reading assessment.
I see you are a speech- language pathologist, can you evaluate or treat my child's speech needs while tutoring?
No, this is a differentiated service focused on helping students' reading progress following a tutoring model. It does not replace the need for individualized speech-language therapy.
What Reading/Spelling program(s) do you use?
I am Orton-Gillingham trained and follow methodologies from Orton-Gillingham while also pulling in strategies from a variety of programs while individualizing instruction for each student, uniquely. I follow a scope and sequence considering the UFLI "Foundations" and "Recipe for Reading" and incorporate resources, materials, or strategies from Visualizing and Verbalizing (Nanci Bell) , Secret Stories (Katie Garner), UFLI, Lively Letters (Reading with TLC), & Nessy as I see needed,depending on what concepts are targeted and your child's learning style.
What is a typical tutoring session like?
During initial session(s) the student and I build rapport while completing dynamic screening/assessment measures to determine what skills may be mastered versus which skills may need support/remediation or explicit instruction.
A custom plan is formed based on your child's present level and areas of need. Session to session tasks build upon your child's strengths and new concepts are introduced following a sequence, with opportunity for practice applying concepts across a variety of activities, along with ongoing progress monitoring.
Activities are individualized to include materials your child prefers while working across a variety of senses. A typical hour long session may include a sensory component (copying letters or words in rice, sand, slime), a hands-on paper/marker task (making or reviewing flashcards), a listening task (short song or video), a movement task (freeze dance+reading, moving around/indoor sports or games while chanting sight word spellings), and applying concepts learned to a short reading passage.
Activities cycle across various components of reading and may vary based on the student's individual needs.
Skills addressed often include: letter name and sound recognition, phonological awareness, phonemic awareness, reading fluency, reading comprehension, vocabulary, sight words, morphology, spelling, decoding.