Services
All therapeutic services are available throughout the USA and internationally via Zoom.
Services Offered for Students:
Lessons are multisensory, individualized, diagnostically driven, prescriptive, direct, and explicit instruction for students who have learning challenges in reading, spelling, writing, and arithmetic. Instruction is set up in an emotionally supportive environment and structured so that the student is successful.
Services are directed towards therapy for those who learn differently from many of their peers in the typical academic environment. It is a therapy in the sense that weaknesses are identified with basic sound-to-symbol and symbol-to-sound associations in the alphabet. Many students with dyslexia have challenges with those associations, which is often the basis of their struggles with reading and writing. Therefore, therapy begins with a strong introduction to phonics. No progress can be made in reading, spelling, or writing until this strong basic structure of the language is learned to a level of mastery. The basics of the alphabetic code must be established in a highly structured manner, and the student is exposed to specifically ‘controlled’ reading passages (words within the passage are only those decodable words that have been explicitly taught) and writing material sequentially designed to build on previous skills. Within time, which depends highly on the responses of the student and the commitment of the parents to maintain consistency in lesson attendance, the student will begin to generalize their new reading and writing skills to the regular academic demands and requirements of his or her private or public school with renewed confidence and accuracy. (See Testimonials)
Reading – Decoding, text structure, and comprehension skills
Spelling – Word structure – morphology – identifying base words and learning rules for adding prefixes and suffixes
Grammar – Functions of words and sentence structure
Written composition – Strategies for transferring ideas to paper -paragraph structures
Vocabulary – Latin and Greek bases that form English derivatives – etymology and morphology
Mathematics – K-10 – basics, Algebra, and beginning Geometry
Services Offered for Teachers or Trainees:
As a Fellow of the Academy, Brenda can instruct teachers, parents, or interested adults in the Orton-Gillingham approach. At the present time, she is training those who are interested in attaining the Subscriber and Associate levels. She can assist in making connections between potential trainees and Fellows of the Academy who are offering instruction at the Certified and Fellow levels. There are certification levels of Orton Gillingham training; levels begin at the Subscriber and advance to Associate, Certified, and finally to the rigorous demands of the Fellow, with recently created positions of Clinical Supervisor and Classroom Educator.
Details on this process and requirements necessary for each level are extensively described at the Academy of Orton Gillingham Practitioners and Educators website itself: www.ortonacademy.org,
Telephone No.: (845) 373-8919,
Address: 4950 Route 22, Suite #8, Armenia, NY 12501.
PO Box 234, Armenia, NY 12501.
Services Offered for Parents:
Services include consistent communication of their child's progress during therapy. A conference following each lesson between therapist and parent, or legal guardian, is available, as well as prompt phone calls and e-mail communication to ensure that all information concerning the lesson plan, goals, and progress levels are understood by parents. Services also include Brenda’s attendance, via Zoom, at special education meetings at public and private schools to inform the teachers/supervisors of detailed information as to the instructional content and progress of the student. She aids with understanding the terms and details of a student's IEP. She maintains records of assessments, communication, lesson plans, goals, and student's work, which is always available for parents.
