Use this section to quickly find answers to some of your questions. Many of the answers given here are explored more deeply in other sections of our web site.

Can you describe your program?
Our guiding principle is to provide our students with research-validated reading instruction based on sound, scientific principles. It's systematic, structured, phonics instruction. We teach children how words work in a logical sequence. Our approach is highly organized, reinforcing and builds on itself. We work in time modules that support children's success. Our goal is to work toward automaticity - knowing words so well that your child can decode them immediately. As they become fluent, they'll read the words they use most often almost without thought; that's necessary for comprehension. We give children the tools, starting at their own level of ability, to sound out any word they see, even if it's new to them.

Who are the teachers?
Ravinia Reading Center offers one-on-one instruction staffed by speech-language pathologists and special education teachers, all with Master's degrees. The hiring process is highly selective; many applicants are not offered positions at the Center. Additionally, we train and supervise each practitioner extensively in the Orton-Gillingham approach. Your child will have the same teacher each time.

What materials do you use?
This is a very good question. We often saw a need for materials that didn't exist. As such, Holly Shapiro, Ph.D. has developed most of the materials that we now use. There are some exciting developments to be debuted this year that also will only be available at RRC.

For all the choices in the educational marketplace, there is a woeful shortage of good materials. The materials we want are materials that are logical, illuminate rather than confuse, and maintain interest for different age groups. Because we tailor each program so specifically to your child, we have found that a one-size-fits-all approach with a commercial program is not the best solution at RRC. We always carefully select the best materials available from a variety of sources when we are not using our own.

Does one method work for everyone?
Yes and no. Research shows that not all children learn well with whole language methods, although some children can and do learn that way. Systematic, organized, sequential phonics instruction is the proven method of choice for struggling readers. All educators have their own favorites and ours, the Orton-Gillingham approach, is the foundation of our practice. Orton-Gillingham has been around for over 60 years. Its breadth, perspective, and flexibility make it our personal choice.

What about other phonics programs?
Many other phonics-based options exist. Some are Orton-Gilllingham derivatives. Barbara Wilson, herself an Orton Fellow, developed the Wilson Reading System. Her materials, based on Orton-Gillingham, were designed so that even those without training could use them.

Other programs are not Orton-Gillingham derivatives but have research-based evidence to support their effectiveness. One example of such a program is Reading Mastery. These materials, developed by SRA, were also designed so practitioners without training could use them.

We have found, however, that our students benefit the most when we take the skills they need to know and break them down much farther than you can with packaged materials alone.

In any program or approach, the depth of training of the practitioner is critical to its success. Many programs allow practitioners to use the materials without adequate understanding of how children learn to read and of the program.

Beware of programs that have new names like Guided Reading, Four Block, or Balanced Literacy. These are whole language approaches which have not been validated by research. Evidence does not support these approaches. In our experience, Orton-Gillingham covers bases that others don't and is supported by research. It gets kids all the way there.

As long as the method fits the criteria of the National Reading Panel, it doesn't entirely matter which you use.

Again, what matters most is who is implementing the method. We'd rather children learn from a fine practitioner of a commercial phonics-based program than from an untrained teacher using Orton-Gillingham.

How do you choose the teacher?
Our teachers are skilled and highly trained and we think that most of them could work with most children. But there is no denying that fit matters. We take into account what we know about the children when assigning a student to a teacher.

One of the benefits of being at the Center is that in the event that parent or child feels that a placement isn't a good fit, they can switch. It doesn't happen frequently, but it's absolutely fine if it does.

Are there other benefits to coming to a clinic rather than an individual?
There's more professional accountability at a Center, where teachers' work is not only seen by their colleagues, but by a director. That same director and those same colleagues are not only critics, they're collaborators. Holly oversees the teachers' work with each child. If someone is finding that progress isn't being made as predicted, besides Holly, there are others to consult with. Ideas are always flying around at Ravinia Reading Center.

How often do children attend?
Typical attendance at the Center is two times a week for 45 minutes. We have found that anything less is not reinforcing enough. Some of our students come more, usually on the advice of a tester, or after we have spent time with a child and find that more intensive teaching is warranted.

How much does it cost?
$93 per 45-minute session.

Could a child come once a week?
Learning to read is a labor-intensive pursuit that requires everything a child has for mastery. Frequent reinforcement is essential. Imagine your child beginning something as life-changing and essential as walking. If he or she were to only be able to properly practice once a week for under an hour during the learning phase, little progress would be made. Fall down and get up, again and again and again. The analogy ends here because fortunately, walking is innate and can be modeled. So the practice can occur without a teacher.

Elaine K. McEwan, author of Teach Them All to Read: Catching the Kids Who Fall Through the Cracks says this:

"Most current efforts to help students in the early elementary grades lack sufficient intensity and consistency. They are often taught for too little time with too many other children in their instructional groups."

We want your child to succeed.

How do you know how my child is progressing?
We subscribe to a service which provides us with the materials to document progress and we assess and monitor our students weekly. We always make our assessments using materials that have not been previously practiced by the child. Beware of glowing assessments about your child that have been done using materials on which they have practiced.

Do you coordinate with the schools?
We can check in with schools if you'd like communication between us. Schools have varying degrees of receptivity and that needs to be taken into consideration.

How long will my child need this help?
We know that people really want to know the answer to this question. One thing independent reading depends on is the degree of severity. A rule of thumb is that the earlier a child receives good intervention, the sooner he or she will be able to be independent. Intervention for a struggling reader is never a quick fix. We have not had a student who has been here for less than a year, and a year's not typical. It's frequently closer to three, and sometimes even five.

And here's another thing to think about. What are your objectives for your child? Do you want your child to be here until school gets easier? Until he or she reads independently? Until spelling shows a vast improvement? People's goals are different. Your child can stay until your family's requirements are met.

I don't know exactly what my child's issues are, do you perform tests?
Evaluation exists for many reasons. Some parents have their children evaluated to determine eligibility for school services. Some want their children to be granted extra time on standardized testing. Others want to be able to tailor the help they offer their children.

We evaluate to determine your child's baseline reading upon entering RRC to plan our instruction. We do not offer comprehensive educational or neuro-psychological testing.

We can, however, make referrals to practices not affiliated with Ravinia Reading Center. We will only suggest the names of people or groups whom we have found to offer top-notch testing and highly sophisticated analysis and interpretation. Finally, they must write excellent, tailored recommendations for your child's success. If you are thinking about someone, please feel free to ask us and we'll tell you what, if anything, we know about them.

Is it too early for my child to start?
No! There are clues to potential reading problems even before age two. And while we're not suggesting that children attend RRC at age two, we do know that early intervention is the fastest route to success. As mentioned in the primer section of this manual, one common trait among all struggling readers is the lack of ability to distinguish, segment and blend the sounds heard in words, the 44 phonemes, which are the smallest sound units in our language. Our beginning work with four and five-year-olds focuses on teaching children to "hear" these sounds in the words, not just as separate sounds. Mastering that skill can't be skipped; it is the cornerstone of reading.

Here's something interesting to consider from Overcoming Dyslexia by Sally Shaywitz, MD (italics are our comments):

"Highly effective prevention and early intervention programs are now a reality (in elementary schools). They are aimed at children between five and six years old, in kindergarten or first grade, who without such instruction are at high risk for developing reading difficulties (aside from obvious factors, like family history, remember we can see clues very early). Reading performance tends to be stable (without proper intervention), so by the time a child is in first grade, his reading ability already strongly predicts later reading achievement. This makes it all the more remarkable that many of the new programs are so successful in altering the life course of an at-risk child's reading. According to G. Reid Lyon, who guides reading research at the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), widespread implementation of these scientifically proven prevention and early intervention programs will substantially reduce the number of children needing special education in higher grades. In one Tallahassee, Florida elementary school where such a program was implemented, the percentage of struggling readers dropped eightfold - from 31.8 percent to 3.7 percent."

Although early is best, even adults can learn to read and we teach them, too.

Do you teach comprehension?
Most of the variants in comprehension skills have to do with a child's ability to decode. To check this out, compare your child's ability to listen to a story and understand it versus his or her ability to read a story and understand it.

Reading requires so much effort from most emerging readers that in order to read and comprehend, we're asking them to do two things at once that require intense focus. It's like asking someone to read a book and watch television at the same time and then be able to retell both stories. So comprehension is not our emphasis, but it is our goal. We find that it comes with more ease in decoding.

Having said this, comprehension will not come easily when there is a receptive language problem. If we suspect this, we will recommend a speech and language pathologist who specializes in this. For more on comprehension, please see the section in this manual on fluency.

Do you give homework?
We always thought kids had too much to do for us to give homework. But we have learned that three to five minutes a night really boosts progress. We give homework packets and highly recommend doing them.

Do you have any suggestions for parents?
Keep reading to your children. They need it for the vocabulary and for the love of literature.

A good book on tape read by a wonderful reader, like an actor, is invaluable. Don't have your child read along, rather, let them just listen. This will support vocabulary and beauty of the story. It will allow them to experience good reading -- the rhythm and the fluency.

Do you provide advocacy services?
We really can't. Holly can attend meetings to share information and make recommendations about your child. But advocacy, which includes persuading others to follow the recommendations, is a conflict of interest. We can refer you to a good advocate who can provide these services.

Here are some tips we offer to parents whose children have an IEP:

• If you don't have a lawyer or advocate, always bring one extra person to take notes at a meeting. It's really hard to listen and take notes. You need a record.
  
• Always document everything with a follow-up letter - every meeting and every phone call.
  
• Save everything. One of your tasks is to create a paper trail.

A good book on the subject is From Emotions to Advocacy –The Special Education Survival Guide by Pam and Pete Wright. They have a website through which it can be purchased: www.wrightslaw.com. Another good book is Writing Measurable IEP Goals and Objectives by Barbara Bateman and Cynthia Herr.

Do you use computers?
No! We caution against the use of touted computerized reading programs as a primary source for learning. They can be fun and a support for learning accomplished elsewhere. At this time, they should only be used for reinforcement.

How will you communicate with us?
We offer conferences twice a year, in November and May, for those who want them. But we monitor progress weekly and are always observing. If we have a concern, we’ll let you know.