Dyslexia is the most common learning difference, affecting an estimated 15-20% of the population. Yet many children go years without a diagnosis. The good news: with the right structured literacy instruction, virtually all students with dyslexia can learn to read and write proficiently.

1. Difficulty Rhyming and Playing with Sounds

A child who struggles to rhyme, count syllables, or identify beginning sounds may be showing early signs of dyslexia.

2. Slow, Labored Reading

A child who reads slowly, one word at a time, with significant effort - even after months of instruction - may be experiencing a reading difficulty that will not resolve with more time alone.

3. Difficulty Decoding Unfamiliar Words

Children with dyslexia often guess at unfamiliar words based on context or first letters rather than sounding them out. Dyslexia is fundamentally a difficulty with phonological processing.

4. Spelling That Does Not Improve With Practice

Many children with dyslexia study their spelling words, pass the Friday test, and still misspell those same words in free writing the following week. This is because their difficulty is with phonological memory, not effort or intelligence.

5. Avoiding Reading and Writing Tasks

Watch for a child who consistently chooses not to read for fun, complains of headaches before reading tasks, or finds elaborate ways to avoid writing.

6. Letter and Word Reversals Beyond Age 7

While young children frequently reverse letters like b, d, p, and q, most correct this by age 7-8. Persistent reversals beyond this age can be a sign of dyslexia.

7. A Family History of Reading Difficulties

Dyslexia is highly heritable. If a parent, sibling, or grandparent struggled with reading, your child is at significantly higher risk.

What to Do Next

Act early. At 3DS Tutoring, we use the Orton-Gillingham Approach - the gold standard for dyslexia intervention. Reach out for a free discovery call and we will discuss what you are seeing and recommend next steps.

If your child is struggling to read, you have likely encountered a dizzying array of program names: Orton-Gillingham, Wilson Reading, Reading Recovery, Balanced Literacy, and more. How do you know which approach is actually backed by research?

What Is Structured Literacy?

Structured Literacy teaches reading explicitly, systematically, sequentially, cumulatively, and multisensorially - directly aligned with what decades of cognitive science tell us about how the brain learns to read.

The Orton-Gillingham Approach

Developed in the 1930s by neurologist Samuel Orton and educator Anna Gillingham, OG is not a single scripted program but an approach. Every rule is directly taught. Skills build from simple to complex. Students see, say, write, and feel each letter-sound connection simultaneously.

How OG Differs From Balanced Literacy

Balanced Literacy teaches children to use meaning, syntax, and visual cues to guess at unfamiliar words. For the 20-30% at risk for reading difficulties, this is not enough - these students need explicit, systematic phonics instruction delivered in volume.

The Bottom Line

At 3DS Tutoring, Loretta Farmer uses the Orton-Gillingham Approach in its pure, diagnostic form - tailoring every lesson to the individual student rather than following a script.

Every parent has been there. Your child stares at a page of math problems, frustrated and overwhelmed. You sit down to help, and twenty minutes later you have essentially done the homework yourself while your child watched.

1. Ask Questions Instead of Giving Answers

Instead of telling your child the answer, try asking what they think comes next. Asking questions keeps your child in the driver's seat and forces them to activate their own thinking.

2. Go Back to the Concrete

When a child is stuck, the concept beneath the numbers often is not secure. Reach for physical objects - pennies, blocks, anything countable. This is the foundation of the CRA (Concrete-Representational-Abstract) approach we use at 3DS Tutoring.

3. Normalize Mistakes

Research on growth mindset consistently shows that children who believe their abilities can grow through effort outperform those who believe intelligence is fixed - especially in mathematics.

4. Connect Math to Real Life

Find math in everyday moments: How much change should we get back? When math has purpose and context, it becomes less threatening.

5. Know When to Step Back

If homework sessions consistently end in tears, that is important information. Frustration at this level usually means the work is too hard for the child's current level, or there is an underlying difficulty like dyscalculia that needs professional attention.

SAT prep is not a sprint. The students who see the biggest score improvements start early, practice strategically, and build real skills rather than memorizing tricks.

6+ Months Before: Assess and Plan

Take a full-length official practice SAT under real test conditions - timed, no interruptions. Score it honestly. At 3DS Tutoring, we do this diagnostic work in our first sessions so every hour of prep targets the highest-leverage areas.

4-6 Months Out: Build Core Skills

This is not the time for practice tests - it is time to shore up foundational weaknesses. In Math, linear equations, systems, ratios, and quadratics account for a disproportionate share of questions. In Writing, grammar and punctuation rules are learnable and often yield the fastest score gains.

2-4 Months Out: Timed Practice and Review

Take a practice test every 2-3 weeks. Every missed question should be analyzed: Was it a concept gap? A careless error? A time management issue? Build a personal error log. Fixing a pattern is far more efficient than randomly drilling questions.

Final Week: Rest

Do not cram. The research on sleep and cognitive performance is unambiguous: a well-rested brain outperforms an exhausted one regardless of how many practice tests it has taken.

Homeschooling is growing faster in Ohio than almost anywhere in the country. But Ohio has specific legal requirements, and navigating them without guidance can be confusing.

The Legal Framework

Ohio allows homeschooling under Ohio Revised Code Section 3321.04. This is a legal exemption you notify your school district about - not a right you need to apply for.

Annual Notification

Each year, notify your local school district superintendent in writing by the first day of the school year. Include your child's name, age, and address; assurance that instruction will be provided by a qualified person; and a list of subjects to be taught.

Required Subjects

Ohio requires instruction in: language arts (reading, spelling, writing, grammar), geography, U.S. and Ohio history and government, mathematics, science, health, physical education, fine arts including music, and first aid and safety.

The Annual Assessment

Each year, provide evidence of your child's academic progress. Ohio offers four options: a nationally normed standardized test, a portfolio review by a certified teacher, a written narrative assessment by a certified teacher, or another superintendent-approved method. Most families use the portfolio review.

How 3DS Tutoring Helps

We help with legal notification, curriculum selection, ongoing tutoring for children with learning differences, and portfolio reviews for the annual assessment. Reach out for a free discovery call.