Dyslexia Tutor for Teens & Adults
One-on-one tutoring for teens and college students, working from what your brain already does well instead of starting over at the beginning.
Taught by a dyslexic reading specialist
Ross Herdina has worked as an educator and reading specialist for over 20 years, and is dyslexic himself. Tutoring here isn't a generic phonics program run by someone who's never lived this. It's built by someone who has.
What it costs to keep piecing it together alone
Without the right kind of support, the gap usually widens, not closes.
The reading load doesn't slow down. Every semester assigns more pages, denser text, and less time to get through it than the one before.
Grades stop reflecting what a student actually understands. The gap between what they know and what shows up on paper keeps widening.
Confidence erodes quietly. A student stops raising their hand, stops asking for help, and starts believing the workload itself is the problem instead of the support around it.
What You Can Expect
Data-Guided Assessment
We start with a screening to identify exactly which reading skills are the gap. One session pinpoints the target.
Structured, Science-Based Instruction
Evidence-based methods targeting phonemic awareness, decoding, fluency, and comprehension. No guessing.
Individualized Every Session
Your student's plan is customized to their specific needs. No generic workbooks. Targeted skill-building only.
Regular Progress Tracking
We measure improvement every 2 weeks. You'll see the data. Reading speed increases. Accuracy improves.
Pricing
1:1 Tutoring
$640/month
2 Sessions per week minimum
50 min sessions
Cancel anytime
Remote only
Monthly billing
Testimonials
Ross didn’t just help my son read. He helped him believe he could read. Before tutoring, he shut down anytime a book came out. Now he picks them up on his own. The confidence shift has been unbelievable. Ross understands dyslexia in a way most tutors don’t, and he teaches in a way that makes everything click.Sarah K.
We had tried other tutors, but nothing stuck. Ross immediately understood how our daughter learns and built a plan that actually worked for her brain. Her fluency and decoding improved within the first month, but the biggest change was her attitude.
Shawna W.
Our son used to say he was “bad at reading.” After working with Ross, he started saying, “I’m getting better every week.” Ross teaches skills, but he also teaches kids how their brain works and that was the missing piece. He’s patient, structured, and incredibly encouraging. We’re so grateful.
Miles P.
How Tutoring Works
Consultation
30 min consultation to cover background and needs of each client. Determine if a comprehensive assessment is needed.
Set A Schedule
I recommend a minimum of 2 hours a week minimum to make meaningful and measurable improvements.
Begin Tutoring
Our sessions will have explicit goals to achieve. I will provide all materials and send you necessary equipment.
Tutoring Approach
I use a structure literacy approach that is not only research based but research tested as well. It’s not just one method or practice. I pull from the best practices based off the student’s needs.
I create a customized plan that integrates all aspects of reading literacy.
FAQs
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In short,
Masters in the Arts of Instruction
Reading Certification provided by the state of Minnesota.
A more complete story -
In 1998 I began advocating for dyslexia students by being a guest speaking at universities around my area. I began tutoring dyslexic students in 2002 once I was trained in the i.t.a. phonics literacy approach. In 2006, I received my reading teacher certification and completed my Masters in the Art of Instruction. My masters program was based in the science of reading and certified me to administer not only screening tests, but diagnostic tests as well. Diagnostic tests are the ones that pinpoint the areas of struggle to customize targeted interventions.
Other reading programs that are phonics based, only teach how to address letter sound, blending, and spelling. My expertise incorporates those, but also specialized fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension.
I spent the next 15 years teaching reading, English, and Social Studies to general education and special education students.
In 2007, I built a structured literacy program for first generation immigrant students learning to read and write English. From 2009-2012, I built and instructed an intervention reading program using structured literacy foundations for 9-12 grade students.
After that, I moved onto teaching social studies subjects from 2012-2015. It was in 2015 I went back to building and instructing reading intervention programs and training tutors in structured literacy to build a team of community tutors.I finished my career in public schools by working as an instructional coach and strategic planning consultant. However, I felt the pull back to working with dyslexia students as this is a central part of my identity.
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For phonics, I use a structured literacy phonics approach. Similar programs are Orten Gillingham and Wilson Reading. In regard to vocabulary and fluency, I use Repeated Oral Assisted Reading, morphology word analysis, and best practices from the What Works Clearinghouse.
It is important to note that I am certified as a reading teacher, not just one reading approach or program. The reading certification is a higher degree of expertise than certifications in phonics programs. I am qualified to analyze programs for their strengths and weaknesses to augment/supplement them to fit each student's specific needs.
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Yes, upon request.
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We will establish a baseline from the first day using a variety of tests depending upon the tutoring requested (e.g. vocabulary, comprehension, phonics, fluency, etc). Each tutoring session will involve a summary of skills and performance. Every two weeks, we will perform assessments like a CBA as a monitoring tool.
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This all depends on the client’s needs and capacity. For the most successful reading tutoring impacts, I recommend 3 times a week, but that is demanding and difficult to execute for many. Therefore, we will customize an approach that works for every client’s schedule and capacity.
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Yes
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As a reading specialist, I do far more than phonics instruction. The diagnostic tests we cover the first few sessions will detail specific needs and target interventions. No lesson is a scripted lesson from a box curriculum.
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There are a variety of assessments depending on if we are assessing for phonemic awareness or oral and receptive language. Here are a few assessments we run among many depending on the student needs.
ORI-6 - Qualitative Reading Inventory
AAT-R - Phonological Awareness
Yopper-Singer - Phonemic Awareness
TOWL-3 - Test of Early Writing Language
Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT-5)
Expressive Vocabulary Test (EVT-3)
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For younger students, after a skill is taught, the lesson involves play based approaches where they get to use the skill in multiple contexts. For older students, the lesson is based around engaging in their interests and showing application to their academic success.
How to teach to dyslexic strengths.
Example Dyslexic Struggle - Essay Writing
Old Method
Dyslexics are lateral thinkers. Also called non-linear thinkers.
This means writing essays can be a huge struggle for them.
A traditional essay writing process looks like this.
Create an outline of the paper.
start with the introduction, then do the body paragraphs.
Finish with a conclusion.
The Struggle
This linear process doesn’t support a lateral thinker - a dyslexic thinker.
It can create an overwhelming feeling of stress from cognitive overload.
This process limits the capacity of a dyslexic thinker.
If only a small shift in process was used, this could be avoided.
New Method
There is an alternative. We can use lateral thinking process tools that support dyslexic thinking strengths.
A great example is the mind map.
The writing process could look like this.
Map all of the ideas that are connected to the topic.
Place them in order of significance.
Start writing the details needed.
Add an introduction and conclusion.
