becoming a dyslexia tutor

[sarasue7272]

I decided last summer that I need to earn some money, to pay off my debt mostly and because I didn't feel great about the longitude of my marriage.

So I put my DS8 in public school and DS5 in preschool. I have been subbing this year and looking out for a job, I was a librarian/media specialist before DS8.

So, after 6 months in school, the thought of keeping DS8 in public doesn't thrill me. It isn't terrible and he is in a good school. I feel like I did well with reading and math, and not so great homeschooling everything else. Ps is the opposite. Pretty good at everything else, so so at reading and math. It seems like this years' math has been a watered down version of SM2 that we did last year. Also, I hate seeing other kids NOT get the instruction they really need, much less my own kid. I'm not sure I want to rejoin the mainstream education field, although a job as a media specialist at a school would be plenty of money, summers off, pension, SECURITY. 

So, I would really like to be a dyslexia tutor. I think my son has dyslexia, and I have done a lot of research the past two years. We used a OG program for reading, and it worked. I have seen several training courses, online and inperson. And there is Barton, which we didn't use but I wish we did. The 1k-2k cost of the programs are a real stretch financially, but I could do it.

So, has anyone here become a dyslexia tutor? I don't know how to pick a program. I am leary of expensive training courses. And then there is the business aspects. Any advice? I am planning to ask my old facebook homeschool group about demand for dyslexia tutors in this area.

Thanks for any advice. I didn't have much luck finding old threads, although I am sure this has been discussed in the past.

[wapiti]

My two cents:

 

There is a Learning Challenges board where dyslexia and reading programs are discussed very often.

 

I would be wary of assuming any particular child has dyslexia.  There are many possible overlapping and comorbid issues and I would recommend actual testing, probably with more than one professional (e.g., psych + SLP, *not* just a dyslexia tutor service) plus ruling out other angles like developmental vision problems that often complicate matters.

 

With regard to employment, you might check out learning centers in your area who help dyslexic students.  (As a parent, I would not be interested in paying a new tutor who had no prior professional experience.)

 

Good luck!

[PeterPan]

Barton lists her requirements for training/certification on her website.  There will be expenses involved, and she wants you to have taken I think 2 children through at least level 2 before starting the process.

 

There are a couple places (a dyslexia school and a non-profit org) that do training in our area.  Both are well-regarded, and both, afaik, cost significant money upfront.  There's usually an application process, because they can only train so many people per session.

 

As you say, there are also a few OG orgs and companies that will train for money.  

 

The question is less whether there's demand and more whether there's already a glut of tutors in the area.  Because we have multiple, high quality training places near us, there's just a glut of tutors.  This means the price goes down.  Top notch, highly qualified tutors in our area (meaning they're also SLPs with additional certification in ASD) will earn $65 an hour.  Someone with mere OG training might get $35 an hour or less.  That's a huge difference.  

 

I thought my dd had dyslexia, until I started teaching my ds.   ;)  My ds is diagnosed.  My dd had ADHD.  Just going through one of these OG spinoff programs doesn't tell you much.  They benefit a lot of kids, and kids could have a totally different diagnosis and find the OG-based program useful.  If you think he has an SLD, by all means make your formal written request, get the evals and an IEP.  

 

Our state has disability scholarship funding for people with IEPs who are willing to give up their FAPE (right to a free and appropriate public education).  This, I'm sure, is driving some of the market for tutors and allowing people access who wouldn't have been able to afford it otherwise.  High quality reading tutoring is very intensive.  Many of these kids with have other SN going on as well (ADHD, ASD, vision problems, APD, speech, etc. etc.), so they can be very challenging to work with.  Rewarding, but challenging.  I'm teaching my ds, and I've wondered whether I would want to continue this when I'm done or do it on the side.  I can't really do it on the side, because he has ASD as well and needs my full attention.  But would I do it later?  I can tell you I sold my Barton 1 and 2 and will soon sell my Barton 3.  We're in Barton 4 now.  I'm really good at working with him (if I do say so), and I'm even better at challenging matters involving speech, language development, etc.  I have quite a bit of background in linguistics, and these things are just easy for me.  But, frankly, you probably couldn't PAY ME ENOUGH to do it.  Maybe, but I just don't think so.  When I'm done, I'm gonna keel over and RETIRE.

 

If someone came up to me, I wouldn't turn them down.  I'm just not sure I'd pin myself into it, because what is my pleasure for a brief thing might not stay a pleasure done so many hours.  If I had to get a job, I don't know what I'd do.  There are tons of free online career inventories online.  Some will pop back lists of suggestions at each level of education (post-high school, undergrad, some grad, blah blah).  Sometimes things pop up that will surprise you.  My dd's top two recommends on one site?  If college trained, it was high school english teacher.  If post-high school, her top recommend, and HIGHER PAYING THAN THE COLLEGE DEGREE, was prison ward supervisor.  We've gotten no end of laughs out of the irony of that.   :lol: 

Edited February 10, 2016 by OhElizabeth

[PeterPan]

My two cents:

 

There is a Learning Challenges board where dyslexia and reading programs are discussed very often.

 

I would be wary of assuming any particular child has dyslexia.  There are many possible overlapping and comorbid issues and I would recommend actual testing, probably with more than one professional (e.g., psych + SLP, *not* just a dyslexia tutor service) plus ruling out other angles like developmental vision problems that often complicate matters.

 

With regard to employment, you might check out learning centers in your area who help dyslexic students.  (As a parent, I would not be interested in paying a new tutor who had no prior professional experience.)

 

Good luck!

And, more to the point, you can't get certified in anything without extensive experience, meaning you're going to donate your time (or teach multiple dyslexics of your own for Barton).  

[Storygirl]

Here is a link to an organization that certifies dyslexia tutors and training centers. Our local, highly regarded dyslexia school is a member. You can find a list of training centers on this website, as well as information about the training process.

 

http://ortonacademy.org/certification.php

 

At least at our local school, getting trained is not just a matter of taking the courses; you also have to go through a supervised practicum, where you accrue something like 100 hours of tutoring experience.

 

I'm sure you can find other training programs that don't require that much of a commitment. But I think to be a good tutor, training matters, so it would be good to seek out a top level training program, not just a seminar or introductory coursework.

 

ETA: I mention that, because at a parent seminar I attended, the school warned parents to check any tutor's credentials, because there are various things people can do and then say they are "trained" in OG. But not all training is equivalent.

Edited February 10, 2016 by Storygirl

[Crimson Wife]

So, has anyone here become a dyslexia tutor? I don't know how to pick a program. I am leary of expensive training courses. And then there is the business aspects. Any advice? I am planning to ask my old facebook homeschool group about demand for dyslexia tutors in this area.

 

I would not hire someone who wasn't certified by an outside organization like ALTA, AOGPE, Wilson, Barton, Slingerland, etc. It's an accountability issue. Anyone can call herself a tutor but I want somebody who has gone through legitimate training and a supervised practicum.

 

You'll make back the initial investment by being able to charge a higher hourly rate.

[lmrich]

What is your educational background? I think that would influence people to pay the big $$ as well. 

[Mandamom]

I tutor children with a variety of reading issues and have for 8 years. It has been a slow going to get business and I even had some "ins" that most people won't have. I have never called myself a dyslexia tutor but just a reading tutor. Yes, most of my students are 2-4 years behind in reading and writing and several do have a dyslexia diagnosis but more often than not most don't have the diagnosis.

 

There are several advantages and disadvantages. I have to meet with them when they aren't in school so most days I am tutoring from 3:30  - 8:30 and,  if I want, I tutor on the week-ends. My husband is home with the kids while I am tutoring so I didn't have to worry about that scheduling issue. If they cancel I rarely get paid (a few daycare mom's usually pay me anyway). If there's snow or weather I don't work. I usually track several school calendars because if schools are closed people typically "forget" (as I have when I am not on my usual schedule.) I do like the flexibility in scheduling -- if something comes up I cancel. I usually can't count on any kind of consistent business in the summers or in December. Although I currently have about 12 hours per week on the calendar, I will, on average, typically tutor about 7-9 of those hours during the school year. 

 

I don't have a lot of recommendations in getting started other than get your name out there and tell people you are available to help their kids. It takes a while. If you can get involved with a center that may work but investigate to find out what their rules/requirements are. 

 

I have learned what I know mostly from doing it. So, start working with kids you know, even for free, to build up experience. If you can find a mentor/reading specialist that will help tremendously. I have learned a lot from talking to mine (she happens to be my mother) and I would not have the knowledge without that. Several reading students I have gotten referrals because I am willing to tutor math. It definitely helped my business expand faster. 

 

These are just my experiences. If you have any questions don't hesitate to ask. 

 

 

 

[Daria]

I'm a special educator, and have tutored on the side for most of my career.  Right now, I have 7 students, and turn down referrals regularly because my schedule is booked.  My kids have varying diagnoses -- Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, ASD, ADHD, etc . . . but I have certainly worked with plenty of kids with dyslexia in my career.  

 

I think that if you're specifically interested in working with kids with dyslexia, one way to start would be getting trained and certified in a specific method, and then offering tutoring specific to that method, and then labeling yourself a "Barton tutor" or "Wilson tutor" or "Phonographix tutor" or whatever.   I think ethically, you'd then need to figure out a way to get clients from a diagnostician who can evaluate, diagnose, and specify that this kid is a candidate for X method.  

[TheReader]

Please research licensing rules and names/titles in your state, as some titles that you might use are actually covered under specific licensing guidelines (I am not sure if that is nation wide or state specific). 

 

I looked into this, going through a local course (Neuhaus, in Houston), which is basically a master's level course that takes two years, but at the end, I'd be a licensed dyslexia therapist. Without similar training, I'd hesitate to call myself a dyslexia tutor, and without further experience (more than just with one child who may or may not have dyslexia), I'd hesitate to tutor others and certainly as a mom of a child with severe dyslexia, I'd not in a million years hire someone to tutor who had no more experience or training than me. 

 

I've been fairly successful, thus far, with my son.....but I am nowhere near confident enough to tutor others. 

[sarasue7272]

You have all brought up questions that I ask myself. I feel like 80% of the Internet (not here!) is people telling other people how to do things when they themselves have very little experience. Just a lot of BS basically. I don't want to be one of those people.

I feel like the best way would be through Barton, and just say I'm a Barton tutor. Then work toward something more over time.

I have a bs in history, and a masters in library science with media specialist certification. I also took some continuing Ed classes about reading to get my certificate renewed.

[Crimson Wife]

If I wind up going to University of Southern Mississippi for my master's in Speech & Language Pathology, I will strongly considering doing a dual degree in Dyslexia Therapy as well. https://www.usm.edu/dubard/master-education-degree-dyslexia-therapy

 

It is a low-residency hybrid degree and there are scholarships available.

[Mbelle]

I know this thread is old, but I'm wondering if anyone went on to become a dyslexia tutor?