How to Use SDP Funding for Online Tutoring

July 1, 2026 by learnadmin

If your child has special educational needs and you are looking for specialist tutoring support, the cost can feel like a significant barrier. Many parents assume that expert one-on-one tutoring for dyslexia, reading difficulties, or other learning disabilities is simply out of reach financially. But there is a funding option that many families in the United States are not aware of — and it could make specialist tutoring completely accessible for your child.

It is called SDP funding — the Student Development Program — and at The Learnability, we are one of the few specialist online tutoring providers that accepts it. In this guide we explain exactly what SDP funding is, who qualifies for it, how to apply, and how to use it to pay for specialist reading intervention and tutoring for your child.

What Is SDP Funding?

The Student Development Program (SDP) is a funding initiative designed to help families access educational support services for children with special educational needs and learning disabilities. It provides funding that can be used to pay for specialist tutoring, reading intervention programs, educational therapy, and other support services that are not fully provided by the public school system.

SDP funding recognises that many children with learning disabilities need specialist support that goes beyond what is available within a standard school setting — and that families should not be prevented from accessing that support solely because of cost. The program is designed to bridge this gap, ensuring that children who need specialist educational support can access it regardless of their family's financial situation.

At The Learnability, we accept SDP funding for our full range of specialist tutoring programs — including our Orton-Gillingham tutoring, Wilson Reading System, Seeing Stars program, Visualizing and Verbalizing, and special needs tutoring services.

Who Qualifies for SDP Funding?

SDP funding is available to families of children who have been identified as having special educational needs or learning disabilities. Eligibility criteria vary by state, but in general the program is designed for children who:

Have a diagnosed learning disability such as dyslexia, dyscalculia, or dysgraphia
Have an Individualized Education Program (IEP) or 504 plan from their school
Have been identified by an educational psychologist or specialist as having significant learning difficulties
Have special educational needs related to autism spectrum disorder, ADHD, or other conditions that affect learning
Are not receiving adequate specialist support through the public school system

In some cases, children who have not yet received a formal diagnosis but who show clear signs of significant learning difficulty may also be eligible. If you are unsure whether your child qualifies, the best first step is to contact your state's education department or a specialist SDP funding advisor.

At The Learnability, we can help guide you through the eligibility process and provide the documentation needed to support your SDP funding application. Contact us to find out more.

What Can SDP Funding Be Used For?

SDP funding can typically be used to pay for a range of educational support services for children with special educational needs, including:

Specialist reading tutoring — one-on-one structured literacy intervention for children with dyslexia and reading difficulties
Reading intervention programs — including Orton-Gillingham, Wilson Reading System, Lindamood-Bell programs, and other evidence-based approaches
Special needs tutoring — specialist support for children with ADHD, autism, dyscalculia, and other learning disabilities
Educational assessments — specialist reading assessments to identify the nature and extent of a child's learning difficulties
Online tutoring — specialist tutoring delivered virtually, which is particularly valuable for families in areas where specialist in-person support is limited

All of the services provided by The Learnability fall within the categories typically covered by SDP funding. We provide full documentation to support funding claims and work with families to ensure the process is as straightforward as possible.

How to Apply for SDP Funding

The SDP funding application process varies by state but generally follows these steps:

Step 1 — Gather Documentation of Your Child's Needs

The first step is to gather documentation that demonstrates your child's special educational needs. This typically includes a current IEP or 504 plan from your child's school, a psychoeducational assessment or learning disability evaluation, and any relevant reports from educational psychologists, specialist tutors, or other professionals who have assessed your child.

If your child has not yet been formally assessed, this is the right time to arrange one. At The Learnability, we offer specialist reading assessments including our Orton-Gillingham Assessment, WIST Assessment, and Lindamood-Bell Assessment — all of which provide detailed documentation of your child's reading difficulties and support the funding application process.

Step 2 — Contact Your State Education Department

Each state administers SDP funding differently. Contact your state's department of education to find out the specific eligibility criteria, application process, and funding amounts available in your state. Many states have dedicated special education funding offices with staff who can guide you through the process.

Step 3 — Complete the Application

Once you have gathered the necessary documentation and understand your state's requirements, complete the SDP funding application. This typically involves submitting documentation of your child's special educational needs, information about the services you are seeking funding for, and details of the provider you plan to use.

Step 4 — Choose Your Provider

Once funding is approved, you can use it with an eligible provider. Not all tutoring providers accept SDP funding — it is important to confirm this before committing to any program. At The Learnability, we accept SDP funding and will work with you to ensure all the necessary documentation is in place for your claim.

Step 5 — Begin Tutoring

Once funding is confirmed and a provider is chosen, tutoring can begin. At The Learnability, we will carry out an initial assessment to identify your child's specific needs and recommend the right program — then begin delivering personalised one-on-one sessions as quickly as possible.

Why Choose The Learnability for SDP-Funded Tutoring?

At The Learnability, we are committed to making specialist tutoring accessible to every family that needs it — regardless of financial circumstances. We accept SDP funding because we believe that every child with special educational needs deserves access to expert, evidence-based support.

Here is what sets us apart as an SDP-funded tutoring provider:

Specialist Expertise

Our tutors are trained specialists in structured literacy and evidence-based intervention programs. We are not a general tutoring service — we are specialist reading and learning disability support providers with deep expertise in the programs that research shows work best for children with dyslexia and other learning disabilities.

Comprehensive Assessment

Every child who joins The Learnability begins with a thorough assessment to identify their specific profile of needs. This assessment also produces detailed documentation that can support your SDP funding application and any other funding or school accommodation processes you are involved in.

Fully Online and Accessible

All of our tutoring is delivered online through one-on-one sessions. This means your child can access specialist support wherever you are in the United States — without the need to travel to a clinic or tutoring centre. For families in areas where specialist in-person support is limited or unavailable, online delivery makes expert support genuinely accessible.

Full Documentation Support

We provide all the documentation needed to support SDP funding claims — including assessment reports, session records, and progress reports. We understand that the funding process can be complex and we are committed to making it as straightforward as possible for families.

Proven Programs

We use only evidence-based, research-supported intervention programs — including Orton-Gillingham, the Wilson Reading System, Seeing Stars, Visualizing and Verbalizing, the Talkies program, and our comprehensive reading intervention programs. These are the programs that funding bodies recognise and that produce real, lasting results for children with learning disabilities.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does my child need a formal diagnosis to use SDP funding with The Learnability?

Eligibility requirements for SDP funding vary by state. In many cases a formal diagnosis or IEP is required. However, our specialist reading assessments can provide documentation that supports a funding application even before a formal diagnosis is in place. Contact us to discuss your specific situation.

How much SDP funding is available?

Funding amounts vary significantly by state and individual circumstances. Contact your state's education department for specific information about the funding amounts available in your area and how they are calculated.

Can SDP funding be used for online tutoring?

Yes. Online tutoring from a qualified specialist provider is typically an eligible use of SDP funding. At The Learnability, we provide all the documentation needed to confirm our eligibility as a specialist provider for funding purposes.

How long does the SDP funding application process take?

Timelines vary by state. Some applications are processed within a few weeks. Others can take several months. We recommend starting the application process as soon as possible and contacting The Learnability to begin the assessment process in parallel — so that tutoring can begin as quickly as possible once funding is approved.

What if my SDP funding does not cover the full cost of tutoring?

We are committed to working with families to make our services as accessible as possible. Contact us to discuss your situation and we will do our best to find a solution that works for your family.

Do Not Let Cost Be a Barrier to Getting Your Child the Support They Need

Every child with special educational needs deserves access to expert, evidence-based support — and SDP funding exists to make that possible. If you have been putting off seeking specialist tutoring for your child because of the cost, SDP funding could be the answer you have been looking for.

At The Learnability, we accept SDP funding and are committed to helping families navigate the process. Our specialist tutors deliver personalised, evidence-based reading intervention and special needs tutoring online through one-on-one sessions — giving your child the expert support they need, wherever you are in the United States.

Book your free trial session today and take the first step toward accessing the support your child deserves.

You can also contact us directly or call us at (310) 218-9466 — we are always happy to answer your questions about SDP funding and help you find the right path forward for your child.

How to Choose a Special Needs Tutor

July 1, 2026 by learnadmin

Finding the right tutor for a child with special educational needs is one of the most important decisions a parent can make. The wrong choice — a well-meaning but untrained tutor, or a general tutor without specialist knowledge — can mean months of sessions that produce little progress and leave your child more frustrated than before. The right choice can be genuinely transformative.

But with so many tutors and tutoring services available, how do you know what to look for? What qualifications matter? What questions should you ask? And how do you know if a tutor is truly specialist rather than simply claiming to be?

At The Learnability, we work with children with a wide range of special educational needs every day. In this guide we share exactly what to look for when choosing a special needs tutor — so you can make the right decision for your child with confidence.

What Is a Special Needs Tutor?

A special needs tutor is a specialist educator who has training and experience in supporting children with learning difficulties, learning disabilities, and other special educational needs. This includes children with dyslexia, ADHD, autism spectrum disorder, dyscalculia, dyspraxia, language processing difficulties, and other conditions that affect learning.

A special needs tutor is not the same as a general tutor who offers to help with homework or test preparation. General tutors work with the curriculum — they help children understand and practise what is being taught in school. A special needs tutor works at a deeper level — identifying the underlying cognitive difficulties that are causing a child to struggle and using evidence-based, specialist approaches to address those difficulties directly.

At The Learnability, our special needs tutors are trained in structured literacy and specialist intervention programs including the Orton-Gillingham approach, the Wilson Reading System, and Lindamood-Bell programs. Every program is delivered through personalised one-on-one online sessions tailored to the individual child.

What to Look For in a Special Needs Tutor

1. Specialist Training in Relevant Programs

The most important thing to look for in a special needs tutor is formal training in evidence-based intervention programs. For children with dyslexia and reading difficulties, this means training in structured literacy approaches such as Orton-Gillingham, Wilson Reading System, Lindamood-Bell, or similar programs endorsed by the International Dyslexia Association.

Ask any prospective tutor directly: what structured literacy programs are you trained in? What certifications or qualifications do you hold? How was that training delivered and how long did it take? A well-trained specialist tutor will be able to answer these questions clearly and specifically. A tutor who gives vague answers about general experience is unlikely to have the specialist knowledge your child needs.

2. Experience With Your Child's Specific Needs

Special educational needs is a broad category. A tutor who is experienced in supporting children with dyslexia may have limited experience with autism spectrum disorder. A tutor who specialises in reading difficulties may have little knowledge of dyscalculia or dyspraxia. When choosing a special needs tutor, make sure their experience and expertise matches your child's specific profile of needs.

Ask how many children with your child's specific difficulty they have worked with. Ask what approaches they use and why. Ask what results they typically see. An experienced specialist tutor will have clear, specific answers — and will ask you detailed questions about your child before recommending any program.

3. A Diagnostic and Individualised Approach

Every child with special educational needs has a unique profile of strengths and difficulties. A good special needs tutor does not apply a one-size-fits-all approach — they begin by thoroughly assessing the individual child's needs and design a program specifically for that child.

At The Learnability, we carry out a comprehensive assessment before every program begins — using tools including our Orton-Gillingham Assessment, WIST Assessment, and Lindamood-Bell Assessment. This ensures every child receives exactly the right program for their specific needs — not a generic approach that may or may not address what is actually causing their difficulty.

4. One-on-One Delivery

Children with special educational needs almost always make better progress in one-on-one sessions than in group settings. One-on-one tutoring allows the tutor to focus entirely on your child — adjusting the pace, the approach, and the content in real time based on how your child is responding. Group settings, however small, cannot provide this level of individualisation.

When choosing a special needs tutor, always prioritise one-on-one delivery. At The Learnability, all of our sessions are delivered one-on-one — because we know that is what produces the best results for children with special educational needs.

5. Clear Progress Monitoring

A good special needs tutor monitors progress continuously and shares regular updates with parents. They carry out periodic reassessments to measure progress formally and adjust the program as needed. They are transparent about what is working and what is not — and they are willing to change approaches if the evidence suggests a different strategy would be more effective.

Ask any prospective tutor how they measure and communicate progress. If they cannot give you a clear answer, that is a warning sign.

6. Strong Rapport With Children

Children with special educational needs have often experienced significant frustration, embarrassment, and loss of confidence around their difficulties. A good special needs tutor creates a warm, patient, encouraging environment where the child feels safe to try and safe to make mistakes. The relationship between tutor and student is one of the most important factors in a child's engagement and progress.

When you first speak with a prospective tutor, pay attention to how they talk about children. Do they speak with warmth and understanding? Do they focus on strengths as well as difficulties? Do they seem genuinely invested in the child's wellbeing — not just their academic performance? These are signs of a tutor who will build the kind of relationship your child needs to thrive.

7. Regular Communication With Parents

Parents play a crucial role in supporting their child's progress between sessions. A good special needs tutor keeps parents informed and involved — explaining what the child is working on, how they are progressing, and what parents can do to reinforce the learning at home.

At The Learnability, we believe that the partnership between tutor, child, and parent is essential to achieving the best outcomes. We keep parents informed throughout the program and provide practical guidance on how to support their child's learning between sessions.

Questions to Ask Before Choosing a Special Needs Tutor

Before committing to any special needs tutoring provider, ask these questions:

What specific training and qualifications do you have in special needs education?
What structured literacy or intervention programs are you trained in?
How much experience do you have working with children with my child's specific difficulty?
Do you carry out an assessment before starting a program?
How do you tailor your approach to the individual child?
How do you monitor and measure progress?
How do you communicate progress to parents?
What results have you typically seen with children like mine?
Can you provide references from other families?
Do you offer a trial session before committing to a program?

A reputable specialist tutoring provider will welcome these questions and answer them clearly and specifically. At The Learnability, we offer a free trial session so you can experience our approach firsthand before making any commitment. Contact us to find out more.

Warning Signs to Watch Out For

Not all tutors who describe themselves as special needs specialists have the training and experience to back up that claim. Here are the warning signs to watch out for:

Vague answers about qualifications or training — a genuine specialist will be specific
No assessment before starting — every child needs individual assessment
A one-size-fits-all program with no individualisation
No clear method for monitoring and measuring progress
Promising rapid or guaranteed results — genuine specialist support takes time
Limited or no communication with parents
No knowledge of structured literacy or evidence-based intervention approaches
Primarily focused on homework help or curriculum support rather than underlying difficulties

Why Online Special Needs Tutoring Works

Many parents wonder whether online special needs tutoring can be as effective as in-person sessions. The answer is yes — when delivered by a trained specialist in a one-on-one format, online tutoring produces outcomes comparable to in-person instruction.

Online tutoring also offers significant advantages for families of children with special educational needs. There is no travel, which removes a source of stress for children who find transitions difficult. Sessions happen in the familiar, comfortable environment of home, which many children find less anxiety-provoking than a clinic or tutoring centre. And the flexibility of online scheduling makes it easier to maintain the consistency of sessions that good progress requires.

At The Learnability, we deliver all of our special needs tutoring online through one-on-one sessions. Our tutors are experienced in creating engaging, effective sessions in the virtual environment — using interactive digital tools that bring the multisensory elements of our programs to life on screen.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does my child need a diagnosis before accessing special needs tutoring?

No. A formal diagnosis is not required to access specialist tutoring at The Learnability. If you have concerns about your child's learning — even if those concerns have not yet been formally assessed — we encourage you to reach out. We can carry out our own specialist reading assessment and begin targeted support based on what we find.

What is the difference between a special needs tutor and a learning support assistant?

A learning support assistant (LSA) works alongside a teacher in a classroom setting, providing in-class support to children with special educational needs. A special needs tutor works one-on-one with a child outside the classroom, using specialist intervention programs to directly address the underlying causes of the child's learning difficulties. Both roles are valuable but they serve different purposes.

How often should my child see a special needs tutor?

For most children with significant learning difficulties, we recommend a minimum of two sessions per week for meaningful progress. More frequent sessions, particularly in the early stages of intervention, produce faster results. Our specialists will recommend the right frequency based on your child's individual needs and your family's schedule.

How long will my child need special needs tutoring?

This depends on the nature and severity of the difficulty, the child's age, and the intensity of sessions. Some children make significant progress within a few months. Others benefit from longer-term support. Our specialists will give you a realistic picture of what to expect after an initial assessment and consultation.

How do I get started with The Learnability?

Simply contact us for a free consultation. We will discuss your child's needs, answer your questions, and recommend the right next steps. We offer a free trial session so you and your child can experience our approach before committing to a program. You can also call us directly at (310) 218-9466.

Find the Right Special Needs Tutor for Your Child Today

Choosing the right special needs tutor is one of the most important steps you can take for your child's education and confidence. Done right, specialist tutoring can transform a child's relationship with learning — turning frustration and avoidance into genuine progress and growing self-belief.

At The Learnability, our specialist tutors have the training, experience, and genuine commitment to children's wellbeing that makes the difference. We deliver personalised, evidence-based special needs tutoring online through one-on-one sessions — giving your child expert support wherever you are in the United States.

Book your free trial session today and take the first step toward finding the right support for your child.

You can also contact us directly or call us at (310) 218-9466 — we are always happy to help.

5 Signs Your Child Needs Professional Reading Help

June 28, 2026 by learnadmin

Every parent hopes that their child's reading difficulties are just a phase — a temporary stumble that will resolve itself with a little more time, a little more practice, and a little more patience. And sometimes, that is exactly what happens. But sometimes it is not. And the longer a parent waits to seek professional help, the harder it becomes to close the gap.

The challenge is knowing when to act. How do you tell the difference between a child who is developing at their own pace and a child who genuinely needs specialist support? At The Learnability, we help parents answer this question every day. In this guide we share the 5 clearest signs that it is time to stop waiting and start getting your child the professional reading help they need.

Sign 1 — Your Child Is Reading Below Grade Level Despite Regular Practice

This is the most straightforward sign — and the one that most parents notice first. If your child has been receiving regular reading instruction at school, practising at home, and still reads significantly below the level expected for their age and grade, something is getting in the way that practice alone cannot fix.

Reading difficulties caused by dyslexia, weak phonological processing, or weak symbol imagery do not improve with more of the same instruction. These children need targeted, structured literacy intervention that directly addresses the underlying cause of their difficulty — not simply more exposure to books and reading activities.

If your child is more than one year behind their expected reading level for their age and the gap is not closing despite effort and practice, it is time to seek professional support. Our reading intervention programs are specifically designed to address the underlying causes of reading difficulties and close the gap efficiently and effectively.

Sign 2 — Your Child Is Avoiding Reading or Becoming Distressed by It

Reading avoidance and reading anxiety are not character flaws or signs of laziness. They are completely understandable responses to a task that feels genuinely, persistently difficult. A child who avoids reading — who suddenly develops a stomachache at reading time, who refuses to read aloud, who becomes angry or tearful when asked to pick up a book — is telling you something important: reading is harder for them than it should be, and they have reached the point where the effort feels overwhelming.

Reading anxiety has a compounding effect. The more a child avoids reading, the less they read, the further behind they fall, and the more anxious they become about reading. Without intervention, this cycle typically gets worse rather than better over time.

If your child is showing consistent distress, avoidance, or emotional reactions around reading, do not wait for it to pass on its own. This is a clear sign that professional support is needed — both to address the underlying reading difficulty and to rebuild your child's confidence and relationship with reading. At The Learnability, our tutors understand the emotional dimension of reading difficulties and create a warm, safe, encouraging environment where children feel supported to try again.

Sign 3 — Your Child's Teacher Has Raised Concerns

Teachers see hundreds of children at different stages of reading development. When a teacher raises a concern about a specific child's reading — particularly when they suggest the child may need additional support or an assessment — it is worth taking seriously.

Teachers are not always the first to identify reading difficulties, particularly in bright children who develop sophisticated coping strategies. But when a teacher does raise a concern, it is because they have observed something that stands out even in the context of all the children they teach. This professional observation is valuable and should not be dismissed or waited out.

If your child's teacher has suggested they may have reading difficulties, dyslexia, or a learning disability — or has recommended additional support or assessment — the right response is to act promptly. Contact The Learnability for a specialist reading assessment and we will give you a clear picture of what is happening and what support your child needs. Our Orton-Gillingham Assessment and WIST Assessment are designed specifically for this purpose.

Sign 4 — Your Child Can Read the Words But Cannot Understand What They Read

This sign catches many parents off guard. If a child reads accurately and at a reasonable speed, it is easy to assume that reading is going well. But if your child cannot tell you what a passage was about, cannot answer comprehension questions, cannot retell a story, or seems to process text as a string of words rather than a meaningful whole — they have a reading comprehension difficulty that needs professional attention.

Reading comprehension difficulties are just as significant as decoding difficulties, but they are often identified later — because the obvious sign of reading difficulty (stumbling over words) is absent. Children who read accurately but do not comprehend what they read are sometimes called word callers, and without targeted intervention their academic performance will suffer across all subjects as the curriculum demands more complex reading and writing.

The Visualizing and Verbalizing program at The Learnability is specifically designed for children with this profile. It develops concept imagery — the ability to create mental pictures from language — which is the foundational cognitive skill that reading comprehension depends on. If your child reads fluently but does not understand, this program could be the breakthrough they need.

Sign 5 — You Have a Family History of Dyslexia or Reading Difficulties

Dyslexia has a strong genetic component. If you, your partner, a sibling, or a close relative has dyslexia or a history of reading or spelling difficulties — even if they were never formally diagnosed — your child has a significantly elevated risk of having dyslexia too. Research suggests that children with a first-degree relative with dyslexia have a 40 to 60 percent chance of also having dyslexia.

This does not mean every child with a family history of dyslexia will definitely have it. But it does mean that if you notice any of the early signs of reading difficulty in your child — and you know dyslexia runs in your family — you should seek professional support sooner rather than later. Do not wait for the difficulties to become severe before acting.

Early identification and early intervention produce the best long-term outcomes. A child with a family history of dyslexia who receives targeted support at age 5 or 6 has a far better reading trajectory than a child who is not identified until age 9 or 10. If this resonates with your situation, contact The Learnability today for a consultation — we can carry out an assessment and put the right support in place before the difficulties become entrenched.

What Happens If You Wait?

We understand why parents wait. Seeking professional help can feel like an admission that something is seriously wrong. It can feel like giving up on the hope that things will improve on their own. And the process of seeking assessment and support can feel daunting and overwhelming when you are already exhausted from worrying about your child.

But the cost of waiting is real. Research is clear that reading difficulties rarely resolve on their own and that the gap between struggling readers and their peers widens over time without intervention. Children who do not receive appropriate reading support by the end of third grade are significantly more likely to remain poor readers through high school. And the emotional and psychological impact of years of struggling — the loss of confidence, the reading anxiety, the negative relationship with school and learning — can be profound and long-lasting.

The right time to act is always now. Whatever your child's age, whatever their current reading level, the right professional support can make a real and lasting difference. It is never too early and it is never too late.

What to Do Next

If you recognise your child in any of the five signs above, here is what we recommend:

Contact The Learnability for a free consultation — our specialists will listen to your concerns and help you understand what your child may need
Consider a specialist reading assessment — our Orton-Gillingham Assessment, WIST Assessment, or Lindamood-Bell Assessment will identify the specific nature of your child's reading difficulties
Start the right intervention program — based on the assessment results, we will recommend the right program from our range including Orton-Gillingham tutoring, the Wilson Reading System, the Seeing Stars program, or Visualizing and Verbalizing
Stay consistent — commit to regular sessions and stay involved in your child's progress

You can also explore our full range of reading intervention programs and special needs tutoring services on our website.

Frequently Asked Questions

My child is only 5 — is it too early to seek professional reading help?

It is never too early. In fact the earlier support begins the better. At age 5 we focus on building phonological awareness and language foundations through programs like our Talkies program. Early intervention at this stage can make an enormous difference to a child's reading trajectory.

My child's school says they will catch up — should I wait?

Research strongly advises against waiting. Reading difficulties rarely resolve on their own and the gap widens over time without intervention. Seeking professional support is always a responsible step regardless of what the school believes. You know your child best.

How quickly will my child improve with professional reading support?

Progress depends on the individual child, the severity of their difficulties, and the intensity of sessions. Many children show meaningful improvement within a few months of consistent, targeted intervention. Our specialists will give you a realistic picture of what to expect after an initial assessment.

What is the difference between a reading tutor and a specialist reading intervention provider?

A general reading tutor provides reading practice and homework help. A specialist reading intervention provider — like The Learnability — uses evidence-based, structured literacy programs to directly address the underlying causes of reading difficulties. For children with dyslexia or significant reading difficulties, specialist intervention is what produces lasting results.

How do I book a consultation with The Learnability?

Simply contact us through our website or call us at (310) 218-9466. We offer a free initial consultation and a free trial session so you can experience our approach before committing to a program.

Your Child Does Not Have to Keep Struggling

Reading difficulties do not have to define your child's relationship with learning. With the right professional support, children who have struggled for years can make real, lasting progress — in their reading skills, their confidence, and their enjoyment of learning.

At The Learnability, our specialist tutors are ready to help your child take that step. We deliver personalised, evidence-based reading intervention online through one-on-one sessions — giving your child expert support wherever you are in the United States.

Book your free trial session today and take the first step toward giving your child the reading support they need and deserve.

You can also contact us directly or call us at (310) 218-9466 — we are always happy to help.

Why Smart Children Struggle With Reading

June 27, 2026 by learnadmin

It is one of the most confusing and heartbreaking experiences a parent can face. Your child is clearly bright. They ask clever questions, solve problems creatively, remember details from conversations months ago, and show genuine curiosity about the world around them. And yet — when it comes to reading — they struggle in a way that simply does not make sense given everything else you know about them.

You may have heard comments from well-meaning people suggesting your child just needs to try harder, pay more attention, or practise more. You may have wondered yourself whether your child is simply not applying themselves. But deep down you know that is not the answer — because you have seen them try, and you have seen them struggle despite trying.

The truth is that intelligence and reading ability are not the same thing. A child can be highly intelligent and have genuine, significant reading difficulties at the same time. Understanding why this happens is the first step toward getting your child the right help. At The Learnability, we work with bright, capable children every day who are struggling with reading — and we see the difference the right support makes.

Why Intelligence Does Not Protect Against Reading Difficulties

Reading is not a natural human ability the way speaking is. Human beings are wired for spoken language — children acquire speech naturally through exposure and interaction, without formal instruction. Reading, by contrast, is a cultural invention that requires the brain to make a connection that does not occur naturally: linking visual symbols on a page to the sounds of spoken language.

This connection — between letters and sounds — is not automatic for everyone. For some children, the brain makes this connection easily and reading develops smoothly. For others, the brain processes this connection differently, making reading genuinely difficult regardless of how intelligent the child is.

Intelligence involves many different cognitive abilities — reasoning, problem-solving, memory, creativity, spatial thinking, verbal expression. Reading primarily depends on a specific set of skills known as phonological processing — the ability to hear, identify, and manipulate individual sounds within words. A child can have exceptional abilities in many areas of intelligence while still having a significant weakness in phonological processing. These are simply different cognitive systems, and one does not protect against difficulties in the other.

This is why dyslexia — the most common cause of reading difficulty — occurs across the full range of intelligence. Many of history's most celebrated thinkers, inventors, and creative minds have had dyslexia. Intelligence is not the issue. The specific cognitive skill required for reading is.

What Is Actually Causing the Reading Difficulty?

If intelligence is not the cause of a bright child's reading difficulty, what is? There are several specific underlying causes that are important for parents to understand.

Dyslexia — Phonological Processing Weakness

Dyslexia is the most common cause of reading difficulty in children of all intelligence levels. It is a neurological difference that affects phonological processing — the ability to hear and work with the individual sounds within words. A child with dyslexia may be able to understand complex spoken ideas, reason at a high level, and communicate eloquently — but still find it genuinely difficult to decode written words because the connection between letters and sounds does not come automatically to them.

Dyslexia affects an estimated 15 to 20 percent of the population and occurs across all levels of intelligence, all socioeconomic backgrounds, and all languages. It is not caused by poor teaching, lack of effort, or limited intelligence. It is a neurological difference that requires targeted, structured literacy intervention to address effectively. Our Orton-Gillingham tutoring and Wilson Reading System programs are specifically designed to address the phonological processing difficulties that underlie dyslexia.

Weak Symbol Imagery — Reading Accuracy Without Fluency

Some bright children learn to decode words — they can sound out letters and blend them together — but still read slowly, laboriously, and without automaticity. They may read the same word correctly on one line and then fail to recognise it three lines later. The underlying difficulty here is often weak symbol imagery — the ability to visualise letters and words as mental pictures.

Without strong symbol imagery, reading never becomes automatic. The child has to consciously decode every word every time, which is exhausting and slow. This is the skill targeted by our Seeing Stars program — one of the most effective interventions for children who are working hard at reading but not developing the fluency and automaticity they need.

Weak Concept Imagery — Reading Without Understanding

Another pattern that parents of bright children frequently describe is the child who can read the words on a page accurately but cannot tell you what they have just read. They process the text as a string of words rather than a meaningful whole. This difficulty — known as weak concept imagery — affects reading comprehension rather than decoding.

A bright child with weak concept imagery may perform well in spoken discussions, show excellent general knowledge, and demonstrate strong reasoning skills — but still struggle significantly with reading comprehension tasks at school. This is the skill developed by our Visualizing and Verbalizing program, which teaches students to create vivid mental images from language, transforming passive word recognition into active meaning-making.

ADHD and Attention Difficulties

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder frequently co-occurs with reading difficulties. A child with ADHD may have the phonological processing skills needed to read but find it extremely difficult to sustain the attention and effort required for reading tasks. Reading demands concentrated, sustained focus — precisely the kind of effort that is most challenging for children with ADHD.

ADHD and dyslexia co-occur in a significant proportion of children, making careful assessment essential. Our special needs tutoring is designed to support children with complex profiles including co-occurring ADHD and reading difficulties.

Processing Speed Difficulties

Some intelligent children have a significant weakness in processing speed — the ability to perform cognitive tasks quickly and automatically. Reading requires rapid, automatic processing of visual symbols and their corresponding sounds. A child with slow processing speed may be able to perform each step of reading correctly but still read very slowly because each step takes more time than it should. This is not a reflection of their intelligence — it is a specific cognitive weakness that can be directly addressed with the right support.

Visual Processing Difficulties

Some children have difficulties with the visual processing aspects of reading — tracking across a line of text, maintaining their place on the page, or processing the visual detail of letters accurately. These difficulties are distinct from dyslexia but can also cause significant reading challenges in otherwise bright and capable children.

The Twice-Exceptional Child — Gifted and Struggling at the Same Time

There is a term used in education for children who are both gifted in some areas and have a learning difficulty in others: twice-exceptional, often abbreviated to 2e. These children present a particular challenge because their gifts can mask their difficulties, and their difficulties can mask their gifts.

A twice-exceptional child might use their high intelligence to develop sophisticated coping strategies that hide their reading difficulty. They may memorise entire passages, use context clues skillfully, or rely on their exceptional verbal ability to compensate for poor reading. As a result, they may not be identified as struggling until the demands of the curriculum outpace their ability to cope — often in upper primary school or even secondary school.

By this time, the gap between their intellectual potential and their reading ability has often become significant — and the emotional impact of years of struggling while appearing to manage can be profound. Many twice-exceptional children develop significant anxiety, low academic confidence, and a deep frustration with school that does not reflect their true capability.

At The Learnability, we have significant experience working with twice-exceptional children. We understand how to identify the specific nature of their difficulties beneath the surface of their strengths, and how to deliver targeted, evidence-based intervention that addresses their reading challenges without underestimating their intelligence.

Why Telling a Bright Child to Try Harder Does Not Work

One of the most damaging responses to a bright child's reading difficulty is telling them to try harder. These children are almost always already trying harder than their peers. They are expending enormous amounts of cognitive effort to achieve results that come far more easily to children without reading difficulties. Telling them to try harder communicates that the problem is one of effort or attitude — when in reality it is a specific cognitive difficulty that effort alone cannot fix.

The impact of this message on a child's self-concept can be severe and long-lasting. A bright child who is told they should be able to do better — and who knows they are trying their hardest — can only conclude that there is something fundamentally wrong with them. This is the origin of the low self-esteem, reading anxiety, and school avoidance that so many children with unaddressed reading difficulties develop over time.

What bright struggling readers need is not more effort — it is the right kind of support. Targeted, structured literacy intervention that addresses the specific underlying cognitive difficulty, delivered by a specialist tutor who understands both the challenge and the child's strengths. This is exactly what we provide at The Learnability.

What Parents Can Do Right Now

If you recognise your child in this guide — bright, capable, curious, and yet genuinely struggling with reading — here is what we recommend you do:

Validate your child's experience — let them know that their reading difficulty is not their fault, not a reflection of their intelligence, and not something they can fix by trying harder. They need to hear this clearly and repeatedly.
Seek a proper assessment — our Orton-Gillingham Assessment and WIST Assessment can identify the specific nature of your child's reading difficulties and guide the right intervention.
Choose evidence-based intervention — make sure any program or tutor you choose uses a structured literacy approach grounded in the Science of Reading. General reading practice is not enough for children with specific reading difficulties.
Act now rather than waiting — the research is clear that earlier intervention produces better outcomes. If you have concerns, today is the right day to act.

You can explore our full range of programs — including our reading intervention programs, Lindamood-Bell programs, and special needs tutoring — or contact us directly to speak with a specialist today.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can a child be gifted and have dyslexia at the same time?

Absolutely. Dyslexia occurs across the full range of intelligence, including in highly gifted children. In fact, some research suggests that gifted children with dyslexia are particularly likely to be overlooked because their intelligence allows them to develop coping strategies that mask their difficulties. A proper assessment is the most reliable way to identify what is really happening.

My child's teacher says they are fine — should I trust my instinct?

Yes. Teachers see children in a group context and may not be aware of the strategies a bright child is using to cope. If you have consistent concerns about your child's reading despite reassurances from school, seeking an independent assessment is a completely reasonable and responsible step. You know your child better than anyone.

Could it be a vision problem rather than dyslexia?

Vision problems can contribute to reading difficulties, and it is worth having your child's vision checked by an optometrist. However, the vast majority of reading difficulties — including in children who have had their vision checked — are caused by phonological processing difficulties rather than visual acuity problems. A reading assessment will identify the true nature of the difficulty.

Will reading intervention affect my child's confidence?

Done well, reading intervention builds confidence as well as skills. As a child begins to make progress — to decode words more accurately, to read more fluently, to understand what they read — their self-belief grows alongside their ability. At The Learnability, we place equal importance on building our students' confidence and their reading skills.

How do I explain dyslexia to my child?

Keep it simple, positive, and honest. Dyslexia means their brain works differently when it comes to reading — not better or worse, just differently. Many brilliant and successful people have dyslexia. With the right support, they can absolutely learn to read well. Emphasise their strengths, normalise the difficulty, and make sure they know they are not alone. Contact us and we can guide you through this conversation.

Your Bright Child Deserves the Right Support

A child who is intelligent and struggling with reading is not a contradiction — it is a reality that thousands of families across the United States face every day. The reading difficulty is real. The intelligence is real. And with the right targeted, evidence-based intervention, the reading difficulty can be addressed without ever dimming the brightness that makes your child who they are.

At The Learnability, our specialist tutors understand both sides of this picture. We know how to deliver structured literacy intervention that meets a bright child where they are — respecting their intelligence, addressing their specific difficulty, and building the reading skills and confidence they need to thrive.

Book your free trial session today and take the first step toward unlocking your child's full reading potential.

You can also contact us directly or call us at (310) 218-9466 — we are always happy to help you find the right path forward for your child.

Does Dyslexia Affect Math? Understanding Dyscalculia

June 27, 2026 by learnadmin

When parents discover their child has dyslexia, their focus naturally centres on reading and spelling. But many of these same parents notice something else — their child also struggles with numbers, maths facts, telling the time, or understanding sequences. And they wonder: is this connected to the dyslexia, or is something else going on?

It is an important question, and one that does not have a simple yes or no answer. Dyslexia and maths difficulties are linked in some children — but they are caused by different underlying processes. Understanding the difference between dyslexia and dyscalculia, and how they can overlap, is essential for making sure your child gets the right support for all of their needs.

At The Learnability, we work with children who have a range of learning profiles — including children whose difficulties go beyond reading alone. In this guide we explain the relationship between dyslexia and maths, what dyscalculia is, and what parents should do if their child is struggling in both areas.

Does Dyslexia Cause Maths Difficulties?

Dyslexia does not directly cause maths difficulties — but it can significantly affect how a child experiences maths in several important ways.

Reading and Language in Maths

Maths is not purely about numbers. A significant part of maths — particularly from primary school onward — involves reading and understanding written word problems, following multi-step written instructions, reading graphs and charts, and processing mathematical language and terminology. A child with dyslexia who struggles to read accurately and fluently will naturally find these aspects of maths more challenging, not because their mathematical reasoning is weak, but because the language demands of the task create a barrier.

Working Memory

Many children with dyslexia have difficulties with verbal working memory — the ability to hold and process information in their mind while completing a task. This affects reading, but it also affects maths. Carrying numbers in long multiplication, remembering the steps of a multi-stage calculation, or holding the beginning of a word problem in mind while working through to the end — all of these tasks depend on working memory, and all can be affected by the same underlying processing differences that contribute to dyslexia.

Sequencing and Automaticity

Learning multiplication tables, performing column arithmetic, and following the steps of a mathematical procedure all require automaticity — the ability to perform sequences of steps quickly and without conscious effort. Many children with dyslexia have difficulties with automaticity and sequencing, which can make these aspects of maths persistently challenging even when the child understands the underlying concepts.

Directional Confusion

Some children with dyslexia experience directional confusion — difficulty distinguishing left from right, or confusing the orientation of symbols. This can affect maths as well as reading, leading to errors such as reversing digits (writing 21 instead of 12), misreading the direction of mathematical operations, or struggling with spatial concepts in geometry.

So while dyslexia does not directly cause maths difficulties, it can create real and significant challenges in maths through these indirect pathways. This is why a child with dyslexia who is struggling in maths deserves a thorough assessment that looks at all of these contributing factors — not just their reading. Our Orton-Gillingham Assessment and WIST Assessment give a comprehensive picture of a child's learning profile that informs exactly this kind of holistic support planning.

What Is Dyscalculia?

Dyscalculia is a specific learning difficulty that directly affects a child's ability to understand and work with numbers. Just as dyslexia is not about intelligence but about a specific neurological difference in processing language, dyscalculia is not about intelligence — it is about a specific neurological difference in processing numerical information.

Children with dyscalculia have difficulty understanding the fundamental concept of number — what numbers mean, how they relate to each other, and how they can be combined and manipulated. This is sometimes called a weakness in number sense, and it affects everything that follows in mathematics — from basic arithmetic right through to algebra, geometry, and statistics.

Dyscalculia is estimated to affect between 3 and 7 percent of the population — a significant proportion, though it is much less widely understood and recognised than dyslexia. Many children with dyscalculia go through their entire school career without being identified, simply being labelled as "bad at maths" without anyone understanding why.

Signs of Dyscalculia in Children

The signs of dyscalculia can appear from the earliest years of schooling and become more apparent as mathematical demands increase. Parents should look out for the following signs:

In Early Childhood (Ages 3 to 5)

Difficulty learning to count in sequence
Unable to understand that the last number counted represents the total quantity
Struggling to recognise which of two groups has more objects
Difficulty learning the names of numbers
Struggling to understand concepts such as more, less, bigger, smaller

In Primary School (Ages 5 to 11)

Difficulty memorising basic number facts such as addition and multiplication tables despite extensive practice
Counting on fingers well beyond the age when most children have moved past this strategy
Struggling to understand place value — the difference between units, tens, and hundreds
Difficulty with mental arithmetic even for simple calculations
Consistently losing track of steps in multi-stage calculations
Struggling to tell the time on an analogue clock
Difficulty handling money and making change
Confusing mathematical symbols such as plus, minus, multiplication, and division

In Secondary School (Ages 11 and Above)

Persistent difficulty with algebra, fractions, and percentages despite effort and instruction
Struggling to estimate or judge whether an answer is reasonable
Difficulty interpreting graphs, charts, and data
Poor understanding of mathematical sequences and patterns
Significant maths anxiety — becoming visibly distressed by maths tasks
Avoiding any subject or career path that involves numbers

If several of these signs are present — particularly if they persist despite good teaching and genuine effort — a proper assessment is strongly recommended. Contact The Learnability to speak with one of our specialists about the right next steps for your child.

How Common Is It for Dyslexia and Dyscalculia to Co-Occur?

Research suggests that dyslexia and dyscalculia co-occur in approximately 40 percent of individuals who have either condition. This is a significant overlap — but it is important to understand that they are separate conditions with different underlying causes, and a child can have one without the other.

A child with dyslexia alone may perform perfectly well in maths once the language and reading barriers are removed. A child with dyscalculia alone may read well but struggle significantly with numerical concepts. And a child with both conditions — sometimes called a dual exceptionality — faces challenges in both reading and maths that require support in both areas.

This is why accurate assessment is so important. Without a thorough assessment, it is easy to misattribute maths difficulties to dyslexia, or to assume that a child who is getting reading support does not need any additional help with maths. A comprehensive assessment identifies exactly what is going on and ensures that support is targeted at the right areas.

How Are Dyslexia and Dyscalculia Different?

While dyslexia and dyscalculia can co-occur and share some common features — such as difficulties with working memory and automaticity — they have different core deficits:

Dyslexia — core deficit in phonological processing, affecting the ability to connect sounds to letters and decode written language
Dyscalculia — core deficit in number sense, affecting the ability to understand and work with numerical quantities and relationships

Because the core deficits are different, the interventions needed are also different. Reading intervention — such as our Orton-Gillingham tutoring or Wilson Reading System — targets phonological processing and is effective for dyslexia. Maths intervention for dyscalculia focuses on building number sense, numerical reasoning, and mathematical fluency through structured, concrete, multisensory approaches.

At The Learnability, our special needs tutoring is designed to support children with a range of learning profiles, including those with co-occurring difficulties in reading and maths. Our tutors understand how to identify what each individual child needs and how to deliver targeted support across multiple areas.

What Other Conditions Can Affect Maths Performance?

Dyscalculia is not the only condition that can cause maths difficulties. Several other conditions — some of which commonly co-occur with dyslexia — can also significantly affect a child's ability to learn and perform maths:

ADHD

Attention difficulties can make it very hard for a child to sustain the focus needed to complete multi-step maths tasks, remember procedures, or check their work carefully. Many children with ADHD have significant maths difficulties that are related to attention and working memory rather than number sense.

Dyspraxia (Developmental Coordination Disorder)

Dyspraxia affects motor coordination and spatial awareness, which can make written maths work — such as lining up columns correctly, forming numbers neatly, or understanding spatial geometry concepts — significantly more challenging.

Anxiety

Maths anxiety is a real and significant phenomenon that affects children at all ability levels. A child who has experienced repeated failure in maths may develop genuine anxiety around mathematical tasks that impairs their performance independently of any underlying learning difficulty. Addressing the anxiety as well as the underlying skill gaps is important for these children.

What Should Parents Do If Their Child Struggles With Both Reading and Maths?

If your child is struggling with both reading and maths, the most important first step is to seek a comprehensive assessment that looks at the full picture. This will identify whether dyslexia, dyscalculia, or both are present, and will guide the development of a targeted support plan that addresses all of your child's needs.

Here is what we recommend:

Contact The Learnability for a free consultation — we will listen to your concerns and help you understand what assessment and support your child may need
Request a comprehensive assessment — our Orton-Gillingham Assessment and WIST Assessment provide detailed information about your child's reading profile
Prioritise reading intervention first — in most cases, addressing reading difficulties first is the right starting point, as many maths difficulties in children with dyslexia are linked to the language and working memory demands of maths tasks
Monitor maths progress alongside reading — as reading improves, maths performance often improves too; if significant maths difficulties persist, targeted maths intervention can be introduced

You can explore our full range of services — including our reading intervention programs and special needs tutoring — or contact us today to speak with a specialist.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is dyscalculia as common as dyslexia?

Dyscalculia is estimated to affect 3 to 7 percent of the population, compared to 15 to 20 percent for dyslexia. It is less common but still affects a significant number of children. It is also much less widely recognised and understood, which means many children with dyscalculia go without support for longer than children with dyslexia.

Can a child be good at maths and have dyslexia?

Absolutely. Many children with dyslexia have strong mathematical reasoning and perform well in maths — particularly in conceptual and problem-solving aspects. Their difficulties are specific to the language and reading demands of maths tasks rather than numerical understanding itself. Dyslexia does not predict maths ability.

How is dyscalculia diagnosed?

Dyscalculia is typically identified through a comprehensive assessment carried out by an educational psychologist or specialist assessor. The assessment looks at numerical processing, working memory, mathematical reasoning, and academic achievement in maths. Contact The Learnability for guidance on the right assessment pathway for your child.

Will reading intervention help my child's maths too?

For children whose maths difficulties are linked to dyslexia — particularly difficulties with word problems, mathematical language, and working memory — reading intervention often does have a positive impact on maths performance. As decoding becomes more automatic and working memory is less consumed by reading, more cognitive resources become available for maths tasks.

My child hates maths and refuses to do it — what should I do?

Maths avoidance and maths anxiety are very common in children with dyscalculia or maths learning difficulties. The first step is to seek assessment and appropriate support so that the underlying difficulty is addressed. Alongside this, building your child's confidence through small, achievable successes and removing the pressure of timed or performance-focused maths tasks can help reduce anxiety. Speak to our team — we can help you find the right approach for your child.

Support Your Child in Reading and Maths Today

Whether your child is struggling with reading alone, maths alone, or both together, the most important thing you can do is seek the right assessment and support without delay. Learning difficulties do not resolve on their own, and every term without appropriate support widens the gap between your child and their peers.

At The Learnability, our specialist tutors are experienced in supporting children with a wide range of learning profiles — including those with co-occurring dyslexia, dyscalculia, ADHD, and other learning difficulties. We deliver personalised, evidence-based support online through one-on-one sessions, tailored precisely to your child's individual needs.

Book your free trial session today and take the first step toward giving your child the comprehensive support they need and deserve.

You can also contact us directly or call us at (310) 218-9466 — we are always happy to help you find the right path forward for your child.

Can Children Outgrow Dyslexia?

June 27, 2026 by learnadmin

It is one of the most common hopes parents hold when they first learn their child has dyslexia: maybe they will grow out of it. Maybe with a little more time, a little more practice, and a little more maturity, the reading difficulties will simply fade away. It is a completely understandable hope — and one that every parent of a struggling reader deserves an honest answer to.

The answer, based on decades of scientific research, is clear: children do not outgrow dyslexia. Dyslexia is a lifelong neurological difference that does not disappear with age or time. But here is what the research also tells us — and this is the part that every parent needs to hear — with the right structured literacy intervention, children with dyslexia can develop strong, confident reading skills and go on to achieve remarkable things in school, in careers, and in life.

At The Learnability, we work with children and families every day who are navigating exactly this question. In this guide, we will give you the full picture — what dyslexia is, why it does not go away on its own, what actually does change as children grow, and what you can do right now to give your child the best possible outcome.

What Is Dyslexia and Why Does It Not Simply Go Away?

Dyslexia is a specific learning difficulty caused by neurological differences in the way the brain processes language. Brain imaging research — particularly the landmark work of Dr Sally Shaywitz at Yale University — has shown that people with dyslexia use different neural pathways when reading than people without dyslexia. These differences are present from birth and do not disappear as a child gets older.

The core challenge in dyslexia is phonological processing — the ability to hear, identify, and manipulate the individual sounds within words. This makes it difficult to connect letters to their sounds, to decode unfamiliar words accurately, and to develop the automatic word recognition that fluent reading requires. Because these are foundational skills that the brain needs to read, and because the neurological differences that cause the difficulty are not outgrown, dyslexia itself does not simply resolve with time.

What this means in practice is that a child with dyslexia who does not receive appropriate intervention will not wake up one morning and find that reading has become easy. The difficulty will persist — and in many cases, the gap between a dyslexic child and their peers will widen over time rather than close, because reading is a skill that builds on itself. The more a child reads, the better they get. A child who avoids reading because it is hard falls further and further behind.

What Does Change as a Child With Dyslexia Gets Older?

While dyslexia itself does not go away, several things do change as children with dyslexia grow older — and it is important for parents to understand what these changes mean.

Coping Strategies Develop

Many children with dyslexia become remarkably skilled at developing strategies to manage their difficulties. They may use context clues to guess unfamiliar words, rely heavily on memory, ask others to read things for them, or avoid situations where their reading difficulty might be noticed. These coping strategies can mask the underlying difficulty, making it appear — to teachers, to parents, and sometimes even to the child themselves — that the problem is less severe than it actually is.

This is one of the reasons why some children with dyslexia are not identified until later in their school career, when the demands of the curriculum outpace their ability to cope. The strategies that worked in early primary school are no longer sufficient when complex reading and writing tasks are required across every subject.

Reading Accuracy May Improve — But Fluency Often Does Not

With time, exposure, and effort, some children with dyslexia do improve their reading accuracy — they learn to decode words more reliably, even if it takes them longer than their peers. However, reading fluency — the ability to read quickly, accurately, and with expression — often remains weak without targeted intervention. Reading feels effortful rather than automatic, which limits how much a child reads for pleasure and how efficiently they can access written information for learning.

Emotional Impact Can Deepen

Without appropriate support, the emotional impact of dyslexia often becomes more significant as children get older. Young children who struggle with reading may simply be confused or frustrated. Older children develop a much clearer awareness of how they compare to their peers, and many begin to internalise the message that they are not as capable or as intelligent as other students. Low self-esteem, reading anxiety, school refusal, and a deeply negative relationship with learning are all common in older children and teenagers with unaddressed dyslexia.

This is one of the most compelling reasons to intervene early. The academic impact of dyslexia is significant — but the emotional and psychological impact of years of struggling without support can be even more profound and long-lasting.

What Does the Research Tell Us About Long-Term Outcomes?

The research on the long-term outcomes of dyslexia without intervention is sobering — and every parent deserves to know it.

A landmark long-term study by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development found that 74% of children who are identified as poor readers at the end of third grade remain poor readers through high school if they do not receive appropriate intervention. This is not a small or temporary gap — it is a persistent difficulty that follows children through their entire education without the right support.

The same research found that the earlier intervention begins, the better the long-term outcomes. Children who receive structured literacy intervention in kindergarten or first grade make significantly more progress and require significantly fewer hours of support than children who begin intervention in third grade or later. Every year without appropriate support narrows the window of optimal intervention.

However — and this is critical — the research also shows clearly that children with dyslexia who receive appropriate, structured literacy intervention can make excellent progress at any age. It is never too late to benefit from the right support. Children in upper primary school, secondary school, and even adulthood can and do make meaningful, lasting improvements in reading with the right approach.

Can the Brain Change With the Right Intervention?

One of the most extraordinary findings in dyslexia research is that structured literacy intervention does not just teach children to read better — it can actually change the way the brain processes reading. Dr Sally Shaywitz's brain imaging research at Yale demonstrated that children with dyslexia who received intensive, structured literacy instruction showed measurable changes in brain activation patterns after the intervention — with their brains beginning to use the same efficient neural pathways as typical readers.

This finding is genuinely remarkable. It means that the right intervention does not just work around dyslexia — it can help the brain develop more effective reading pathways. The neurological basis of dyslexia may be permanent, but the brain's response to targeted, evidence-based instruction is real and measurable.

This is why the approach matters so much. Not all reading support produces this kind of change. The interventions that have been shown to produce measurable brain changes are structured, explicit, multisensory programs — exactly the kind of programs we offer at The Learnability, including our Orton-Gillingham tutoring, the Wilson Reading System, and our Lindamood-Bell based programs.

What Should Parents Do Instead of Waiting?

If your child has been identified with dyslexia, or if you suspect they may have dyslexia, the single most important thing you can do is stop waiting and start acting. Here is what we recommend:

Step 1 — Seek a Proper Assessment

A proper assessment is the foundation of effective intervention. It identifies the specific nature and severity of your child's reading difficulties, confirms whether dyslexia is present, and provides the information needed to choose the right intervention program. At The Learnability, we offer the Orton-Gillingham Assessment and the WIST Assessment, both of which give a detailed picture of your child's reading profile and guide our program recommendations.

Step 2 — Choose a Structured Literacy Program

Not all reading support is equally effective for children with dyslexia. The approach that research consistently shows works best is structured literacy — explicit, systematic, sequential, and multisensory instruction that directly targets phonological processing and decoding. Programs that are not grounded in structured literacy are unlikely to produce lasting results for children with dyslexia.

At The Learnability, all of our reading intervention programs are grounded in structured literacy. Whether your child works with our Orton-Gillingham tutors, follows the Wilson Reading System, or uses the Seeing Stars program for reading accuracy, they are receiving the kind of intervention that the research supports.

Step 3 — Be Consistent and Patient

Progress with dyslexia intervention is real but it takes time. The brain needs repeated, consistent exposure to new reading pathways to build and strengthen them. Weekly sessions over a sustained period, combined with regular practice between sessions, produce the best results. Parents who stay engaged, stay patient, and stay consistent give their children the best possible chance of success.

Step 4 — Address the Emotional Impact Too

Reading skill is important — but so is how your child feels about themselves and about learning. Make sure your child knows that dyslexia is not their fault, that it does not reflect their intelligence or their potential, and that many successful and remarkable people have dyslexia. Build their confidence alongside their skills. Celebrate every step of progress, however small.

At The Learnability, our tutors understand the emotional dimension of dyslexia as well as the academic one. We create a warm, supportive environment in every session where children feel safe to try, to make mistakes, and to grow. You can find out more about our approach by visiting our contact page and speaking with one of our specialists.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can mild dyslexia go away on its own?

No. Even mild dyslexia does not resolve without intervention. Children with milder dyslexia may develop coping strategies that mask their difficulties, but the underlying phonological processing weakness remains and can become more apparent as academic demands increase. Early intervention is recommended regardless of severity.

My child is 12 and was just diagnosed — is it too late?

It is absolutely not too late. Children and teenagers diagnosed later in their school career can and do make significant progress with the right structured literacy intervention. The intervention may need to be more intensive and sustained than it would have been at an earlier age, but the progress is absolutely achievable. Contact us today and we will create a personalised plan for your child.

Will my child with dyslexia always struggle with reading?

With the right intervention, most children with dyslexia can develop functional reading skills that allow them to access the curriculum, enjoy books, and succeed academically. Reading may always require more effort for them than for non-dyslexic peers, but the gap can be closed significantly with consistent, structured literacy support.

How long does dyslexia intervention take?

The duration of intervention depends on the severity of the difficulty, the age of the student, the intensity of sessions, and how consistently the program is followed. Some students make significant progress within a few months. Others need more sustained support over a longer period. Our specialists at The Learnability will give you a realistic picture of what to expect after an initial assessment.

What is the most effective intervention for dyslexia?

The most effective interventions for dyslexia are structured literacy programs — explicit, systematic, sequential, and multisensory. The Orton-Gillingham approach and the Wilson Reading System are among the most well-researched and effective programs available. At The Learnability, we also offer the Seeing Stars program and Visualizing and Verbalizing for students who need additional support with reading accuracy and comprehension.

Your Child Can Become a Confident Reader

Dyslexia does not go away — but it does not have to hold your child back either. With early identification, the right intervention, and consistent support, children with dyslexia can develop the reading skills they need to thrive in school and beyond. The research is clear, the programs are proven, and the results are real.

At The Learnability, our specialist tutors are experienced in supporting children with dyslexia at every age and stage. We deliver personalised, evidence-based reading intervention online through one-on-one sessions — giving your child expert support wherever you are in the United States.

Book your free trial session today and take the first step toward giving your child the reading confidence they deserve.

You can also contact us directly or call us at (310) 218-9466 — we are always happy to talk through your concerns and help you find the right path forward for your child.

10 Early Signs of Dyslexia Parents Often Overlook

June 27, 2026 by learnadmin

Most parents have heard the word dyslexia. But far fewer know what it actually looks like in a young child — especially in the early years, before formal reading instruction has even begun. Dyslexia does not suddenly appear when a child starts struggling to read in first grade. The signs are there much earlier, often as far back as age 3 or 4, quietly signalling that a child’s brain is processing language differently.

The problem is that many of these early signs are easy to miss. They can look like normal developmental variation, shyness, immaturity, or simply a child who is “not ready yet.” Parents and even teachers often reassure themselves that the child will catch up — and precious months and years pass without the targeted support the child needs.

At The Learnability, we believe that every parent deserves to know what the early signs of dyslexia look like — so they can act early, get the right help, and give their child the best possible chance of reading success. In this guide we share the 10 early signs of dyslexia that parents most commonly overlook, along with what to do if you recognise them in your child.

What Is Dyslexia? A Quick Overview for Parents

Dyslexia is a specific learning difficulty that affects the ability to read, write, and spell. It is neurological in origin — meaning it is caused by differences in how the brain processes language — and it is not related to intelligence, effort, or the quality of teaching a child has received. Children with dyslexia are often bright, creative, and capable in many areas. Their reading difficulty is not a reflection of their potential.

The core challenge in dyslexia is phonological processing — the ability to hear, identify, and work with the individual sounds in words. This makes it difficult to connect letters to their sounds, decode unfamiliar words, and build the automatic word recognition that fluent reading requires.

Dyslexia is one of the most common learning difficulties, affecting an estimated 15 to 20 percent of the population. It runs in families, so if a parent, sibling, or close relative has dyslexia or a history of reading difficulties, the chance of a child having dyslexia is significantly higher.

The good news is that with the right structured literacy intervention — such as the Orton-Gillingham approach or the Wilson Reading System — children with dyslexia can make excellent progress and develop strong, functional reading skills. Early identification is the key that unlocks this progress.

10 Early Signs of Dyslexia Parents Often Overlook

1. Difficulty With Rhyming

Long before a child reads their first word, the ability to rhyme is one of the clearest early indicators of phonological awareness — the foundation of reading. Most children naturally enjoy and quickly grasp rhyming through nursery rhymes, songs, and playful language. They find it easy to complete a rhyme, identify words that rhyme, or make up silly rhyming words.

Children with dyslexia often find rhyming genuinely difficult. They may not notice that “cat” and “hat” sound similar. They may struggle to produce a word that rhymes with “dog” even after hearing multiple examples. This difficulty is not about vocabulary — it is about the child’s ability to hear and manipulate the sounds within words. It is one of the earliest and most reliable warning signs of dyslexia.

2. Slow to Learn the Alphabet

Learning the names of the letters of the alphabet is one of the key tasks of the pre-school years. Most children can sing the alphabet song and begin to recognise individual letters by age 4 or 5. Children with dyslexia often struggle to remember letter names, even after repeated exposure and practice. They may know some letters one day and forget them the next. They may confuse the names of visually similar letters.

This difficulty with letter learning is directly related to the phonological processing weakness that underlies dyslexia. If your child is significantly slower than their peers to learn the alphabet despite regular practice, it is worth paying attention to.

3. Confusing Letters That Look Similar

Perhaps the most well-known sign of dyslexia — and one of the most misunderstood — is the reversal and confusion of letters, particularly b and d, p and q, and sometimes m and w. Many people assume that all children go through a phase of reversing letters and that children with dyslexia simply do this more than others. The reality is more nuanced.

While some letter reversal is normal in the earliest stages of learning to write, children with dyslexia tend to persist with these confusions significantly longer than their peers. If a child is still regularly reversing b and d at age 7 or 8, and still confusing visually similar letters despite instruction and practice, this is a sign that warrants further assessment.

4. Difficulty Learning to Tie Shoelaces or Tell the Time

This one surprises many parents. Dyslexia is primarily a language-based difficulty, but it often co-occurs with challenges in sequencing and automaticity — the ability to perform multi-step tasks automatically without having to think through each step. Learning to tie shoelaces requires remembering and executing a specific sequence of steps. So does reading an analogue clock.

Children with dyslexia often find these tasks significantly harder and take longer to master them than their peers. If your child is struggling with sequencing tasks like shoelaces, directions, or routines — alongside other signs on this list — it may be part of a broader dyslexia profile.

5. Trouble Remembering the Names of People and Objects

Rapid automatic naming — the ability to quickly and automatically recall the names of familiar objects, colours, numbers, or letters — is another core component of phonological processing. Children with dyslexia often have difficulty with rapid naming, which shows up as hesitation when naming everyday objects, mixing up the names of familiar people or things, or taking significantly longer than peers to retrieve words they clearly know.

You might notice your child saying “the thing” or “you know, that” frequently instead of quickly retrieving the right word. This word-finding difficulty is a common but often overlooked early sign of dyslexia.

6. Difficulty Following Multi-Step Instructions

Children with dyslexia often have difficulties with verbal working memory — the ability to hold and process spoken information in their mind. This can make it challenging to follow instructions that have more than one or two steps. A child may remember the first part of an instruction but lose the second or third part before they have had a chance to act on it.

This is sometimes mistaken for inattention or behaviour issues. Parents and teachers may assume the child is not listening or not trying. In reality, the difficulty is in holding and processing the verbal information — a core feature of the phonological processing weakness that underlies dyslexia.

7. Mispronouncing Words or Mixing Up Sounds in Words

Children with dyslexia often have difficulty with the precise sequencing and production of sounds within words. This can show up as mispronouncing familiar words — saying “aminal” instead of “animal,” “pasgetti” instead of “spaghetti,” or consistently mixing up the sounds in words they use regularly. While some mispronunciation is entirely normal in very young children, persistent mispronunciation of familiar words beyond age 5 or 6 can be an early indicator of phonological processing difficulties.

8. Avoiding Reading and Writing Activities

Young children who are beginning to sense that reading and writing are harder for them than for their peers often develop avoidance behaviours. They may claim to be tired when it is time to read, develop sudden stomachaches before school, become distressed or angry when asked to read aloud, or find any possible distraction to avoid sitting down with a book.

This avoidance is not laziness or a lack of effort. It is a completely understandable response to a task that feels genuinely difficult and — for many children — embarrassing. If your child shows consistent distress or avoidance around reading and writing, it is a sign that they are struggling and need support. Our reading intervention programs are designed to rebuild both skills and confidence simultaneously.

9. A Family History of Reading Difficulties

Dyslexia has a strong genetic component. Research shows that if one parent has dyslexia, a child has a 40 to 60 percent chance of also having dyslexia. If a sibling has dyslexia, the risk is similarly elevated. If you or your partner struggled with reading, spelling, or language at school — even if you were never formally diagnosed — this family history is an important risk factor to be aware of.

Children with a family history of dyslexia should be monitored closely for early signs and considered for early assessment even before significant difficulties emerge. Prevention and early intervention are always more effective than waiting for a child to fall behind.

10. Reading Below Grade Level Despite Good Effort

This is the sign that most parents notice first — and often later than they should. When a child is clearly trying, clearly intelligent, clearly engaged in school, and yet is still reading significantly below their grade level, something is getting in the way. Hard work and good intentions alone will not close the gap if the underlying phonological processing skills needed for reading have not been developed.

If your child is reading below grade level despite consistent effort and regular practice, they need targeted structured literacy intervention — not more of the same. Programs like our Wilson Reading System tutoring and Orton-Gillingham sessions are specifically designed to address the underlying difficulties that hold struggling readers back.

What to Do If You Recognise These Signs

If you have read through this list and recognised several of these signs in your child, the most important thing you can do is take action — and take it now. You do not need to wait for a formal diagnosis to begin seeking support. The earlier a child receives targeted intervention, the better their long-term outcomes will be.

Here are the steps we recommend:

Book a free consultation with The Learnability — our specialists will listen to your concerns and help you understand your child’s needs
Consider a reading assessment — our Orton-Gillingham Assessment and WIST Assessment can identify the specific nature of your child’s difficulties
Start structured literacy intervention — our tutors will recommend the right program based on your child’s individual profile
Stay involved — the more you understand about what your child is learning and how you can support them at home, the faster their progress will be

You can explore all of our services — including our special needs tutoring and full range of Lindamood-Bell programs — on our website, or contact us directly to speak with a specialist today.

Frequently Asked Questions

At what age can dyslexia be identified?

Early signs of dyslexia can be identified as young as age 3 or 4 through observation of phonological awareness, language development, and early literacy skills. A formal assessment is typically most reliable from age 5 or 6 onward. However, if you have concerns at any age, early consultation is always the right step.

Can a child have some of these signs without having dyslexia?

Yes. No single sign on this list definitively confirms dyslexia. However, the more signs are present — especially in combination — the more likely it is that a child has dyslexia or another reading-related difficulty that warrants assessment and support. A proper assessment is the only way to know for certain.

My child’s teacher says they will catch up — should I wait?

Research consistently shows that reading difficulties rarely resolve on their own without targeted intervention. If you have concerns, seeking an independent assessment and consultation is always a responsible step — regardless of what a teacher believes. You know your child best, and your instinct is worth trusting.

Is dyslexia curable?

Dyslexia is a lifelong neurological difference — it does not disappear. However, with the right structured literacy intervention, children with dyslexia can develop strong, functional reading skills and go on to achieve excellent academic and professional success. Early intervention makes this significantly more achievable.

What is the best program for a child with dyslexia?

The best program depends on your child’s individual profile, age, and specific areas of difficulty. At The Learnability, we offer a range of evidence-based programs including Orton-Gillingham, the Wilson Reading System, the Seeing Stars program, and Visualizing and Verbalizing. Our specialists will recommend the right program after an initial consultation and assessment.

Act Early — Your Child’s Reading Future Starts Now

Dyslexia does not have to define your child’s relationship with reading. With early identification and the right structured literacy support, children with dyslexia can and do become confident, capable readers. The signs are there if you know what to look for — and now you do.

At The Learnability, our specialist tutors are experienced in supporting children with dyslexia from the earliest years through to adulthood. We deliver personalised, evidence-based reading intervention online through one-on-one sessions — giving your child expert support wherever you are.

Book your free trial session today and take the first step toward giving your child the reading support they deserve.

You can also contact us directly or call us at (310) 218-9466 — we are always happy to talk through your concerns and help you find the right path forward for your child.

Can a Child Have ADHD and Dyslexia at the Same Time? Signs, Differences & Support Strategies (2026)

June 6, 2026 by learnadmin

Many parents notice their child struggling in school and wonder what might be causing the difficulties.

Perhaps your child has trouble focusing during lessons, frequently forgets instructions, avoids reading activities, or becomes frustrated with homework. Many families are surprised to learn that a child can have both ADHD and dyslexia at the same time.

This raises important questions:

• Can a child really have both conditions?

• How are ADHD and dyslexia connected?

• What signs should parents watch for?

• What kind of support can help?

The good news is that children with ADHD and dyslexia can absolutely succeed when their challenges are properly identified and addressed.

What Is Dyslexia?

Dyslexia is a language-based learning difference that affects a person's ability to read, spell, decode words, and recognize written language efficiently.

Children with dyslexia often struggle with:

• Difficulty sounding out unfamiliar words

• Problems recognizing letter-sound relationships

• Slow reading development

• Frequent spelling mistakes

• Difficulty reading fluently

• Trouble remembering sequences of letters and sounds

Dyslexia is not caused by poor teaching, lack of effort, or low intelligence. Many children with dyslexia are highly intelligent and capable learners who simply process written language differently.

What Is ADHD?

ADHD stands for Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, a neurodevelopmental condition that affects attention, focus, impulse control, organization, and self-regulation.

Children with ADHD may understand information perfectly well but struggle to stay focused long enough to complete tasks efficiently.

Types of ADHD

Predominantly Inattentive Type

Children may:

• Lose focus easily

• Forget instructions

• Misplace school materials

• Appear distracted

• Have difficulty completing assignments

• Struggle with organization

Predominantly Hyperactive-Impulsive Type

Children may:

• Have difficulty sitting still

• Talk excessively

• Interrupt others frequently

• Act before thinking

• Struggle to wait their turn

Combined Type

This is the most common form of ADHD and includes symptoms of both inattention and hyperactivity.

Can a Child Have ADHD and Dyslexia at the Same Time?

Yes.

A child can absolutely have both ADHD and dyslexia at the same time.

Research suggests that these two conditions frequently occur together. Many children diagnosed with dyslexia also display symptoms of ADHD, while many children with ADHD experience reading-related challenges.

This is known as a co-occurring condition or comorbidity.

How Common Are ADHD and Dyslexia Together?

Many parents are surprised to learn that ADHD and dyslexia frequently occur together.

Children with dyslexia are more likely to have ADHD than children in the general population. Likewise, children with ADHD have a higher likelihood of experiencing reading difficulties, including dyslexia.

Because these conditions often overlap, professionals carefully examine both reading skills and attention-related behaviors during evaluations.

ADHD vs Dyslexia: Understanding the Differences

Although ADHD and dyslexia can occur together, they affect learning in different ways.

How Dyslexia Affects Learning

Children with dyslexia often struggle with:

• Decoding words

• Reading fluency

• Spelling

• Phonological awareness

• Word recognition

How ADHD Affects Learning

Children with ADHD often struggle with:

• Sustaining attention

• Organization

• Time management

• Following directions

• Task completion

• Executive functioning

ADHD vs Dyslexia Comparison Table

(Insert comparison table here)

Signs of Dyslexia Parents Should Watch For

Preschool Signs

• Delayed speech development

• Difficulty learning nursery rhymes

• Trouble recognizing rhyming words

• Family history of dyslexia

Elementary School Signs

• Reading below grade level

• Slow reading speed

• Frequent spelling errors

• Difficulty reading aloud

Middle and High School Signs

• Slow reading pace

• Difficulty studying from textbooks

• Trouble taking notes

• Difficulty learning foreign languages

Emotional Signs

• Frustration with reading

• Anxiety about school

• Low confidence

• Avoidance of reading activities

Signs of ADHD Parents Should Watch For

• Difficulty paying attention

• Frequent forgetfulness

• Trouble following instructions

• Difficulty staying organized

• Excessive talking

• Fidgeting

• Restlessness

• Impulsivity

Signs Your Child May Have Both ADHD and Dyslexia

Children with both conditions may:

• Read below grade level

• Have difficulty sounding out words

• Make frequent spelling mistakes

• Lose focus during reading activities

• Avoid homework

• Become frustrated with schoolwork

• Forget instructions

• Have difficulty staying organized

Why ADHD and Dyslexia Are Sometimes Misdiagnosed

Because ADHD and dyslexia share some overlapping symptoms, children are sometimes misdiagnosed or only partially diagnosed.

A child with dyslexia may appear inattentive because reading tasks are difficult and frustrating.

A child with ADHD may appear to have reading difficulties because they struggle to maintain focus during instruction.

This is why comprehensive assessment is so important.

How Professionals Diagnose ADHD and Dyslexia

Who Can Evaluate a Child?

• Educational psychologists

• School psychologists

• Neuropsychologists

• Reading specialists

• Pediatricians

How Dyslexia Is Evaluated

• Phonological awareness

• Decoding skills

• Reading fluency

• Reading accuracy

• Spelling abilities

• Reading comprehension

How ADHD Is Evaluated

• Parent questionnaires

• Teacher questionnaires

• Behavioral observations

• Attention assessments

• Executive functioning skills

Why Early Identification Matters

Early intervention can help:

• Improve academic performance

• Build confidence

• Reduce frustration

• Prevent learning gaps from growing

• Support emotional well-being

Best Learning Strategies for Children With ADHD and Dyslexia

Use Structured Literacy Instruction

Programs such as the Wilson Reading System and Orton-Gillingham-based approaches can help children develop strong reading foundations.

Break Learning Into Smaller Steps

Large tasks can feel overwhelming. Smaller steps improve focus and motivation.

Use Multisensory Learning

Examples include:

• Saying sounds aloud

• Tracing letters

• Using magnetic letters

• Reading and listening simultaneously

Provide Frequent Movement Breaks

Short movement breaks can improve attention and emotional regulation.

Use Visual Supports

Helpful tools include:

• Checklists

• Visual schedules

• Graphic organizers

• Color-coded materials

How Online One-on-One Tutoring Can Help

Children with ADHD and dyslexia often require more individualized support than traditional classrooms can provide.

Online one-on-one tutoring offers:

• Personalized learning plans

• Individual attention

• Flexible pacing

• Progress monitoring

• Reduced distractions

• Increased confidence

When Parents Should Seek Professional Help

Parents should consider seeking support if they notice:

• Reading progress significantly below grade level

• Persistent spelling difficulties

• Frequent homework battles

• Difficulty focusing

• Teacher concerns

• Declining confidence

Ready to Help Your Child Build Confidence and Academic Success?

If your child is struggling with ADHD, dyslexia, reading difficulties, attention challenges, or learning-related frustrations, you do not have to navigate the journey alone.

At Learnability, we provide personalized one-on-one online tutoring designed to meet each student's unique learning needs.

Contact Learnability Today

📞 Phone: (310) 218-9466

🌐 Website: https://thelearnability.com

📩 Contact Us: https://thelearnability.com/contact-us/

Take the first step toward helping your child become a more confident, capable, and successful learner.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can a child have ADHD and dyslexia at the same time?

Yes. Many children experience both conditions simultaneously.

What is the difference between ADHD and dyslexia?

ADHD primarily affects attention and executive functioning, while dyslexia primarily affects reading and language processing.

Can online tutoring help?

Yes. Personalized one-on-one tutoring can provide targeted support for both reading development and attention-related challenges.

Final Thoughts

ADHD and dyslexia are learning differences, not limitations. With early identification, evidence-based intervention, personalized instruction, and consistent encouragement, children can develop the skills, confidence, and strategies needed for lifelong success.

Learning Disabilities

What Is SDP Funding?

Who Qualifies for SDP Funding?

What Can SDP Funding Be Used For?

How to Apply for SDP Funding

Step 1 — Gather Documentation of Your Child's Needs

Step 2 — Contact Your State Education Department

Step 3 — Complete the Application

Step 4 — Choose Your Provider

Step 5 — Begin Tutoring

Why Choose The Learnability for SDP-Funded Tutoring?

Specialist Expertise

Comprehensive Assessment

Fully Online and Accessible

Full Documentation Support

Proven Programs

Other Funding Options for Specialist Tutoring

IEP Funding

State Scholarship Programs

Health Insurance

Non-Profit Organizations

Frequently Asked Questions

Does my child need a formal diagnosis to use SDP funding with The Learnability?

How much SDP funding is available?

Can SDP funding be used for online tutoring?

How long does the SDP funding application process take?

What if my SDP funding does not cover the full cost of tutoring?

Do Not Let Cost Be a Barrier to Getting Your Child the Support They Need

What Is a Special Needs Tutor?

What to Look For in a Special Needs Tutor

1. Specialist Training in Relevant Programs

2. Experience With Your Child's Specific Needs

3. A Diagnostic and Individualised Approach

4. One-on-One Delivery

5. Clear Progress Monitoring

6. Strong Rapport With Children

7. Regular Communication With Parents

Questions to Ask Before Choosing a Special Needs Tutor

Warning Signs to Watch Out For

Why Online Special Needs Tutoring Works

Frequently Asked Questions

Does my child need a diagnosis before accessing special needs tutoring?

What is the difference between a special needs tutor and a learning support assistant?

How often should my child see a special needs tutor?

How long will my child need special needs tutoring?

How do I get started with The Learnability?

Find the Right Special Needs Tutor for Your Child Today

Sign 1 — Your Child Is Reading Below Grade Level Despite Regular Practice

Sign 2 — Your Child Is Avoiding Reading or Becoming Distressed by It

Sign 3 — Your Child's Teacher Has Raised Concerns

Sign 4 — Your Child Can Read the Words But Cannot Understand What They Read

Sign 5 — You Have a Family History of Dyslexia or Reading Difficulties

What Happens If You Wait?

What to Do Next

Frequently Asked Questions

My child is only 5 — is it too early to seek professional reading help?

My child's school says they will catch up — should I wait?

How quickly will my child improve with professional reading support?

What is the difference between a reading tutor and a specialist reading intervention provider?

How do I book a consultation with The Learnability?

Your Child Does Not Have to Keep Struggling

Why Intelligence Does Not Protect Against Reading Difficulties

What Is Actually Causing the Reading Difficulty?

Dyslexia — Phonological Processing Weakness

Weak Symbol Imagery — Reading Accuracy Without Fluency

Weak Concept Imagery — Reading Without Understanding

ADHD and Attention Difficulties

Processing Speed Difficulties

Visual Processing Difficulties

The Twice-Exceptional Child — Gifted and Struggling at the Same Time

Why Telling a Bright Child to Try Harder Does Not Work

What Parents Can Do Right Now

Frequently Asked Questions

Can a child be gifted and have dyslexia at the same time?

My child's teacher says they are fine — should I trust my instinct?

Could it be a vision problem rather than dyslexia?

Will reading intervention affect my child's confidence?

How do I explain dyslexia to my child?

Your Bright Child Deserves the Right Support

Does Dyslexia Cause Maths Difficulties?