Welcome to Sounds & Syllables of Virginia, LLC
Finding Answers to Your Questions About Those Who Struggle in Reading:
If you have found this website, you are probably concerned about your student’s reading achievement, and whether these reading problems could have a negative impact on his/her learning and overall school success. You may be wondering if the problems you are seeing constitute Dyslexia or related language-learning difficulties. You might be asking what kind of instructional intervention could lead to improvement, or if your student is beyond the age where intervention could help. You might be wondering if your student will be college or career-ready when the time comes. There can be emotional stresses for both you and your student when faced with the challenges posed by reading difficulties. You may have noticed declining motivation and the threat of lost potential. How do you stop the downward spiral and find a way to help them?
No doubt you have a host of questions and are unsure what to do and where to turn. What you do know is that you, as a parent, guardian or professional are afraid to permit problems to continue and possibly worsen, without seeking answers from a knowledgeable and competent source, and finding effective ways to address and correct these issues.
Consider contacting Sounds and Syllables is a private tutoring service, offering intervention face-to-face or via technology in:
- Phonemic awareness
- Reading decoding
- Reading fluency
- Reading comprehension
- Spelling
- Handwriting
- Vocabulary
Instruction is provided by a retired, credentialed VA teacher, offering reading instruction using Orton Gillingham methodology and research/evidence based programs that illustrate the “Alphabetic Principle” which emphasizes structured language (a rules-based, highly predictable system). The problem is that some learners see reading and spelling words as an exercise in “randomness”. Sometimes too many word patterns are presented at once before each is fully mastered. A more effective approach for many students is to present patterns and features of words by single categories, which are rooted in matching letters to sounds and understanding syllable types. Once students are taught using controlled language at a rate they can master, reading becomes a more successful, cumulative process.
The good news is that once the reading foundation is built with regular, explicit, systematic and direct instruction, it is solid for decoding complex, multi-syllable vocabulary improving spelling, and providing academic proficiency in reading. The constant transition of phonetic concepts to “connected” text of graded level passages, similar to what is read in school texts, is added to achieve fluency and comprehension. This is a “recipe for success and academic confidence”!