If you’re looking for fun ways to stimulate your brain in a way your brain can understand, we’ve got what you’re looking for. Dyslexia isn’t a disease, it’s a word. It’s a word that describes the way your brain processes information. That’s all.

And you know what, the only thing wrong with being dyslexic is thinking there is something wrong. In fact, if information was taught the way we’ve developed our dyslexia games – no one would ever know people learned different ways.

So what would you like to better at?

Dyslexia Phonics Games

Phonics can actually be fun. Repetitive phonics flash cards are not that however. If you can’t find joy in the cards and the learning, then phonics becomes work and work just isn’t natural.

So we took the cards, the phonics rules, the words lists. . . all of it and turned them into fun games, dyslexia games. And you’re going to love them. Not only that but you can use the cards all by yourself when you’re not playing a game. The kids in our classes just love our phonics games.

Reading Fluency

Sometimes phonics isn’t the issue, in fact it’s annoying when you have to work on phonics because that doesn’t help your overall reading fluency. Our kids love playing “Go Fish” with cards we created for reading fluency. They can play for hours and never know they’re really working on their fluency issues.

Watch the video of Jake playing and you’ll see how it works.

Get our Dyslexia Toolkit

We put together a great mess of games and activities in one free download. Singing games, craft games, writing and drawing games. So much great fun stuff for dsylexic learners and “that other kind of learner”.

Check out our Dyslexia Toolkit today!

An expert SAT prep tutor will also help you become comfortable with the format of the various test sections. As we do, they will show you how to approach answering the questions on the critical reading section, review and practice different types of math questions, and show you how to write a great essay. Even small advances here will improve SAT scores.

When considering different SAT prep tutors, think about whether you want to be tutored privately or if you want to be part of a group. If you work one-to-one you it may not be any more costly than in a group because you probably will not need as many sessions since each session will be specifically designed around your needs. However, if you would rather be part of a group SAT program, try to find a small group setting and be sure that the group matches your ability. This way all the students in the group are similar in ability to you and you won’t have to worry that the class will move too fast or too slow.

Also, to improve your test scores, take at least one official practice test, under timed conditions. This helps you learn how to pace yourself. But don’t let this rattle your nerves. Most students do not do that well on these tests because they don’t know how to answer the questions and they run out of time. Don’t Panic! If you are working with an expert SAT tutor, you’ll be taught the strategies and concepts to help you raise your score when you take the real SAT.

Finally, stay calm. Think about it. If you don’t get the score you want, you have options. You can retake the test at another date. Even though this is not your first choice, remember that when you retake the test, you will be more aware of how to answer the questions. And remember, colleges don’t only look at SAT scores when they are selecting their freshman class. They consider the whole child and see if it’s a good match for their school. And that’s also your goal, to find a good match for you.

Fortunately, there are many paths to take to reach the goal of graduate school (or anything else for that matter). Here are a few suggestions:

• Taking the GRE math course isn’t going to be easy, but first give it a try by taking a prep course or hire a qualified math tutor who can teach strategies and sufficient math skills in order to pass. However, that certainly won’t guarantee a good score on the exam.

• Before going through all the anguish and expense of a course or private tutoring, contact the colleges of interest and explain the situation. They help solve problems like this, and likely will be interested in helping overcome adult dyscalculia as well. When calling, speak to an admissions counselor, or the chair of the Psychology Department or the dean of the graduate school in psychology.

• Whether it’s psychology or a managerial position at work, what have you got to lose? On the flip side, think of what you have to gain by initiating an open discussion with folks? (Not every one understands how quirky the brain can be about learning certain things, so use discretion if awareness of the issue would negatively impact the situation long term. There are yet other options, first.)Before taking the GRE or even preparing for it, research graduate schools and their requirements. Some universities may not require the GRE. Research thoroughly because they have many other requirements that are similar. Many wonderful opportunities are out there, so keep researching.

Finally, remember that everyone has strengths and weaknesses. It’s important in life to find your own strengths and go with them. Don’t ruin your life with sadness or pity by dwelling on the weakness. If there is no way around math think of other options.

What’s often hard for people to budge from is the vision they’ve created for themselves at a certain school or in a certain job. But the fact is there are always ways to be doing what you love with a different title or address. Sometimes the process of overcoming adult dyscalculia means those of us who have it must dig a bit deeper to find the gold.

As an example, licensed clinical social workers (LCSW) can have very similar careers as psychologists including private practice work as psychotherapists. Often the requirements are less stringent for this degree. Many other helping careers may not require math. Make an appointment with a career counselor privately or at a nearby college to explore your options. There’s more than one path to take to find the right career.

(photo from Henry Winkler's Twitter account. see below)

Henry Winkler, most famously known as “the Fonz” from Happy Days was awarded an honorary OBE from the Queen of England for his work raising awareness of dyslexia in the U.K. British ambassador Nigel Sheinwald presented the OBE during a ceremony at the British Embassy in Washington, D.C.

Winkler said   “Receiving this honor is a very humbling experience. My goal when I started working with children was never to bring accolades on myself, but instead to change how people think about those around them for whom learning is a struggle”

He continued to say, “I am flattered to have had my work recognized in this manner, and hope to continue showing kids that their learning difficulty isn’t a disability.”

British Ambassador Mr Sheinwald said: “Through him, thousands of young people have seen a role model and an inspiration for overcoming their learning challenges.” The United Kingdom does often honor non-citizens for their distinguished services benefiting the UK.

Winkler wasn’t diagnosed with dyslexia until adulthood,  finally recognizing some of the learning difficulties that faced him as a child. Since then he has toured schools all over the UK for the talking about the dyslexia.

Dyslexia is a learning disability that affects the way the brain organizes information. While it’s classified as a disease, dyslexia doesn’t make someone slower or less intelligent. Persons with dyslexia can learn how their brain learns and adapt the way the assimilate information.

Henry Winkler’s portrayal of  “the Fonz” on Happy Days earned him two Golden Globe awards.  More recently he starred as Captain Hook in 2009 in Liverpool, England. He has also written a series of 17 books for children about Hank Zipzer, a boy with dyslexia, whose experiences are based on the actor’s own childhood struggles.

Henry Winkler is one of many celebrities with Dyslexia, but is certainly outstanding in his efforts to raise awareness.

Studying for the SAT and the ACT isn’t like studying for a multiple choice geometry test. From the scoring to the types of questions, there’s definitely a strategy that needs to be learned. While these tests attempt to be objective in their quest for your knowledge, you have an upper hand if you truly understand the strategy.

Our classes are based on real SAT and ACT exams, not from the copies. And we put students together who are at the same level because your collective insights make it a better class.  There’s no real benefit to going beyond 12 students in a class, so we cap our ACT & SAT Summer Prep classes.

You’ve got options when it comes to studying for these tests, but we offer something unique that others don’t. We’re experts at studying. Our teachers are experts in their subject areas – so we’re going to give you two things in one class.  You’re going to walk away understanding how to learn easier with better study habits and test taking skills. AND you’re going to walk away with all the knowledge you need to be successful at the SAT and ACT.

We’ve been helping students for decades do better in school. Our capping the class at 12 makes it easy for us to help you understand how your mind thinks. Everyone is a little different. While some of us do better visually learning, others may need that visual audio combination. Let us help you understand how to combine your way of thinking with great SAT and ACT test taking strategies.

Our math tutoring services are not contract based, which can be daunting just to get started. In addition, we make sure all our tutors have Master’s Degrees AND we guarantee to you that if you’re not getting everything you need – we’ll switch you to a new tutor. No problem.

Our tutors cover many, many different areas in New York and Massachusetts, so please call us if you’re not directly in the Westchester of Chappaqua.

Our Elementary School Math Tutors

Our goal at the elementary level is to help kids learn while they’re having fun. Doing math shouldn’t be a chore, argument or occasion to whine. Each student’s lessons are individually prepared by our tutor based on their school and fundamental needs. Our goal is to make sure your student exceeds the concerns of his teachers and the requirements of his grade level.

Our goal is also to help them feel better about themselves as they succeed in math. Self Esteem is a huge part of learning. When your proud of yourself and your abilities, learning becomes that much easier and fun!

Our tutors typically help with understanding numbers, adding, subtracting, measuring, multiplying, dividing, fractions, ratios, geometry, and problem solving. And don’t forget, we also concentrate on motivation, focus, concentration and organization. Each tutoring session should help to prepare the student to do better on their own, not prepare them to be in tutoring forever.

Our Middle School Math Tutors

Teens and studying are not always an easy mix. We understand that and work to make math easier for the student. Each lesson is tailor made to the student with specific focus on teaching the student how to organize and focus their assignments to make them easier and less time consuming.

At this level we continue to work on the areas identified by the parents and the school, but we also emphasize understanding. We help the student to identify and organize the clues in each math problem and then how to apply strategies to solve those problems. Math at this level isn’t necessarily memorizing rules, it’s often learning how to break down problems.

Our Middle School Math tutors focus on the basics of numbers, ratios, geometry, multiplication and division, fractions, equations, decimals, percents and problem solving. High school brings on a new level of problem solving; our goal is to prepare them for that.

Our High School Math Tutors

At this level the focus is on identifying weaknesses in the fundamentals to help make the hard math problems seem much easier. High school students are spread out in terms of subject but most problems occur with either Algebra, Integrated Algebra, Geometry, Algebra 2/Trigonometry, Trigonometry, Statistics, Pre-Calculus, and Calculus.

At the harder math levels, less emphasis is placed on self-esteem, focus and organization and more is placed on breaking down problems into their smallest parts and building an answer using sound math strategies.

Our tutors focus on:

• Fractions, decimals and percents
• Algebra
• Geometry
• Algebra 2/Trigonometry
• Trigonometry
• Statistics
• Pre-Calculus and Calculus
• Word Problems
• Motivation
• Focus, Concentration, and Organization
• All New York State NYS Regents exams, other state exams, and local school exams

Our Math Special Ed Tutors

Using games and fun activities—along with carefully selected books and workbooks—and our STRONG Methodology, your child will become comfortable with the math that they are required to know. Each lesson is designed specifically around your child’s needs and learning style.

We work with students who are living with Dyscalculia, dyslexia, dysgraphia, ADD, and many other learning distractions.  We help the students learn how to overcome the challenges that modern school provides these children. With a little confidence and know-how, our Special ED math students learn to teach themselves.

Please, call for an appointment or a private consultation today.

(845) 628-7910 • (914) 238-1850

Unlike children, most of whom couldn’t understand this article in its entirety, adults really just need to be shown why the problem exists and how to solve it. The rest they can do themselves – even if that means putting themselves in a tutoring situation to help overcome the problem.

Dyslexia, dyspraxia, dysgraphia and dyscalculia are all different types of learning disabilities that affect adults as well as children. An adult learning disability isn’t something to be scared of, it’s not permanently debilitating and it can be overcome with sheer will and patience.

The bottom line is this, a person with an adult learning disability has  SUCCESSFULLY learned whatever it takes to make it to adulthood. That means one thing. . . the problem doesn’t prevent you from learning. The problem just makes it hard to learn the way others want you to. The first step, of course, is to figure out how your brain wants to learn – and then have someone show you how to do that.

Learning disabilities are primarily a communication system that flows from information to your brain. They’re called a disability because some flows of communication don’t match the way teachers are taught to teach. But it’s not the teacher’s fault either. Since everyone learns slightly differently, the system is designed for them to learn the approach that suits most people. The rest of us have to work around it or figure it out on our own. Fair or not, it’s the way life is sometimes.

What we do is help adults identify that pattern of information flow that their brain enjoys the best. Then we figure out how to adapt that adult’s life to the new way of thinking. And when we say adapt, we really mean it. We help you to figure what situations really need the attention of the new way of thinking. What are the constraints of those systems and how can we devise a good plan together. Just like kids, a good plan goes a long way.

Call us so we can help you get past the frustrating part. There’s nothing wrong with your brain, the problem lays in how we feed it information that needs to be recalled later.

Summer is a time for fun, vacations and jobs. But there are others who spend some of their summer vacation in school. Whether you’re just trying to get ahead, failed the Regents Exam or need to take the 20 hour NYS MS Summer School course, we’ve got you covered.

In both Westchester and Putnam Counties (Mahopac and Mt. Kisco), we’re offering all the summer education help you need. We’ve got a 10 hour MS Study Skills course and two 20 Hour MS Courses that meet the NYS Summer School requirements. Not only that but we can help you be a better student, get a fantastic grade on next year’s Regents exam or just brush up on your reading or math.

If you’re interested in enrolling for our summer program, don’t hesitate to fill out our Registration Form and get it in before all the classes fill up. (Yep, just like summer camp – our classes fill up)

Regents Exam Review

Students who passed their Regents Exam course, but failed the actual exam can attend our Regents Review classes. We’ll be working with students in the following areas:

• Algebra, Chemistry and U.S. History/Government
• Global History, Comprehensive English and Geometry
• Trigonometry, Writing and Reading>/li>
• Living environment, Global Studies and Earth Science

NY Summer School Reading Program

The absolute most important subject in school is reading. Because of that we put a lot of emphasis during the summer on reading, making sure our students are ready for school in the fall. Our summer reading program is top notch, whether you do our in-home tutoring option or come to our offices.

Our tutors are well versed in all levels of school from 1st and 2nd graders learning their sight words to 10th and 11th graders reading advanced biology. You can be assured that we’ll take your child’s reading progress very personally and will do our best to get him/her ready for the fall. The only step left is giving us a call.

If you’re interested in enrolling for our summer REGENCY program, don’t hesitate to fill out our Registration Form and get it in before all the classes fill up. (Yep, just like summer camp – our classes fill up)

Josh struggles in school because writing is so hard for him. Even though he tries writing until his hand hurts, he can’t ever seem to form the letters correctly or put his thoughts on paper. He has trouble copying from the board and he can’t take legible notes. He has trouble writing down his homework assignments which frustrates his parents because they can’t help him with his homework. They can’t decipher what he writes. His teachers ask him to rewrite his papers because they can’t read them. His spelling is abysmal and his grammar, punctuation and capitalization are just as poor. Josh even struggles in math class because his numbers get mixed up. One column of numbers somehow ends up in the other column and his fours look like nines and his sixes never seemed to be closed so they are misinterpreted as ones.

But Josh is smart. So what’s going on here?

Josh needs a dysgraphia diagnosis which is a learning disability that makes writing difficult.

Children with dysgraphia can sit in front of a blank piece of paper for hours. If they are told that they can’t leave their room until they have written a legible well written paper, they’ll never leave their room. These kids often have wonderful and creative thoughts but can’t get them onto paper. They can tell you what they want to say but are unable to write it.

For some, writing is such a slow and tedious process, that they don’t have the patience to sit still long enough to write. Other kids will write fast and furiously, skipping words, getting sentences and paragraphs in the wrong order, never capitalizing and spelling everything wrong. Often they can’t read their own handwriting. The end result is the same: poor grades and an aversion to writing.

Often these children stop writing because, even if they can get the paper written, they’re terrified that their teacher or their parents will insist they revise and rewrite.

Some children may also have actual physical problems with writing that are related to poor eye-hand coordination or lack of fine-motor skills. These children tend to avoid writing, even something as simple as their homework assignment.

What are the symptoms of dysgraphia?

• Poor handwriting because of difficulty forming letters
• Good ideas but difficulty getting the same thoughts onto paper
• Difficulty copying from the board or from a book
• Overly long time spent when required  to write a paper
• Difficulty with spelling, punctuation and grammar

A diagnosis of dysgraphia, a writing disorder, is not appropriate if the child does not have all the symptoms. Some children are simply poor spellers, some have poor motor skills and some simply haven’t learned punctuation and grammar yet. Because children can have different challenges with writing, you’ll want to pick and choose from the list below to help them improve and learn to enjoy writing.

Five Strategies for Writing at Home and School:

•    Use a computer. Encourage your child to use a computer when at all possible—especially as they become proficient at keyboarding.

•    Set up short practice sessions. For young children, practice writing individual letters, words, sentences, or short paragraphs. Keep the sessions appropriate (in subject and in length) to your child’s age, maturity level and personality. For example, 5 to 10 minutes for 6 year olds because they are just learning how to write, 15 to 30  minutes for 7 – 10 year olds, 30 to 45 minutes for middle schoolers and and 60 minutes and more for high schoolers. Depending on their maturity level, personality and desire to write, more time is great. But for the struggling writer, more time may be counterproductive.

•    Help with spelling. During a writing session, if your child has trouble spelling, spell the words for her. If the primary goal is writing, stopping often to look up a word interferes with the creative process. Or encourage her to ignore spelling until the draft is written. Use the spell-check function of your computer’s word processing program.

•    Have your child tell you what he wants to write about. Then write his thoughts on paper. This can be in list form, on a web (main idea in the middle of a circle and thoughts are on spokes coming out of the circle), or outline form. Then decide together which ideas should be in the beginning of the paper, which should be in the middle and which should be at the end. Number the ideas and cross out the ones that do not belong. Then have your child write or type the final copy by writing one thought after the other.

•    Avoid making your child rewrite excessively.  Forcing a child with a writing disorder  is drudgery that often turns him off to writing.

Dysgraphia can certainly affect children’s grades, test scores, and even their attitude toward school. If you suspect that your child may have dysgraphia or if your child has had a dysgraphia diagnosis, call us and we can help you understand what kinds of modifications that can be made at school that will make all the difference.

The only caveat to that might be a brain injury. Often times injury to specific parts of the brain cause paralysis to specific functions of the body. Since the brain is divided into parts, each directing a different facet of the body, injury to one part may compromise that function. Injury to the area of the brain that affects your fine motor skills may, in fact, cause dysgraphia.

Whether the dysgraphia symptoms are caused by a brain injury or not is  un-important. What is vital is dysgraphia can be overcome with a type of educational therapy. A typical classroom experience does not help train the brain and fine motor skills the way a dysgraphic brain needs. Just like a soccer player needs to spend a great deal of time developing his foot skills, a dysgraphic needs the same kind of practice.

Fortunately, just like in soccer – practice doesn’t have to be hard, or boring. And the practice doesn’t even have to seem like practice – it can be plain ‘ole fun. Take a look at our Dysgraphia Toolkit. It’s chock full of games, crafts and ways to use your imagination to help overcome the symptoms of dysgraphia.

Don’t stop in your quest for dysgraphia information. While you may be dismayed in finding answer to the causes of dysgraphia, let us help you understand how to overcome dysgraphia and write like you’ve always wanted to. We’d love to help you understand how to use our dysgraphia toolkit to the best of your ability.

Just call us!