Barton/LiPS - anyone here a tutor, or used one?

[Matryoshka]

I'm thinking about what to do with myself once my kids leave the nest, which is approaching rapidly.

 

Tutoring seems an obvious choice.  People keep encouraging me to do math or science because you can charge more, and yeah, I taught those things fine, but my real love is languages. That's what I'm really good at teaching, and I feel like I can offer the most value (and for me, would be the most fulfilling). I can tutor Spanish, German and English grammar, but that still seems a limited clientele.

 

So I'm thinking of getting certified in one or more reading programs.  I'm probably going to start with PhonoGraphix (used by Reading Reflex and ABeCeDarian), as that's what I used with my kids, I understand it, and I think it's brilliant. That will get me up and running.  But I'm thinking for kids with real struggles it sounds like the go-to programs are Barton and LiPS.  It sounds like tutors certified in that can also charge more.

 

So what I'm wondering, is if anyone's been through one or both of these certification programs, was it fairly straightforward? It looks like there are three different levels for Barton certification?  How long did it take, and how much does it end up costing before you're through?  Was it worth the investment?

 

And it looks like LiPS is the one part of the Lindamood Bell program that's the most useful - I wouldn't have to bother with the rest?  What order would you recommend doing these in - maybe LiPS first?   Did you find getting certified worthwhile?

 

If you've used a tutor for your kids, did you find it worthwhile?

 

And feel free to answer any questions I should have asked but didn't... ;)

[kareng]

I can only answer for LiPS tutoring.  My dd is dyslexic and we found a great lady in our area who did LiPS tutoring. So, my dd was tutored (with me reinforcing the tutoring at home) for about a year, back when she was 11.  I felt like it was rather late for her to be tested and then tutored but I was amazed at the progress she made.  DD went from a 2.9 reading level to a grade 6 reading level.  She has always loved books but reading, writing and spelling were challenging.  After her tutoring, much of the chore of decoding and encoding became easier and she took off, in terms of reading, and writing and spelling. I think their method is extremely worthwhile and greatly helped my dd.

 

[OneStepAtATime]

I havent gone through the official process but I think your plan is a good one. As for Barton, the first certification requires you to tutor three students through Level 3 then you used to go to a seminar or something where you had to tutor Susan Barton or one of her certified tutors. Depending on the student's issues and how often you tutor you could probably get through Level 1-3 with all 3 students in less than a year, possibly just a few months, depending. I don't know if there is a faster process also available or not.

 

Mainly I would try to slowly build up certification in multiple methods to make yourself a more effective tutor and make your job easier (since you will have more optiins and resources and knowledge to fall back on when they hit a snag).

 

LiPS, Barton, Wilson, PACE, plus others I can't think of right now, are all helpful in their own way.

 

Hopefully someone who has gotten certifications will respond soon.

 

Good luck and best wishes.