The Literacy Keys - Dyslexia resources and structured literacy tips by an Orton Gillingham tutor

Tracy Young, Orton Gillingham Tutor, Dyslexia Specialist & Mom of a Dyslexic Kid
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If you’re raising a child with dyslexia or a kid who’s struggling to read, write, and spell, stop guessing what to do next. I’m Tracy Young, a Certified Orton-Gillingham tutor, dyslexia specialist, and this podcast will empower you to unlock reading, writing, and spelling success for your child. You’ll uncover structured literacy tips and practical advice about dyslexia (in plain English) to help you turn I can't into I can. Follow our weekly episodes and share them with others! Contact TheLiteracyKeys.com for a dyslexia tutor.

  1. 5d ago

    High School Tutoring: Why Do Teens Hate Tutoring? Blame the Alphabet (+ The Fix)

    When was the last time anyone asked your teenager what they actually think of high school tutoring? My daughter Alexandrine joins me to provide her perspective. By the end of this episode you'll know why tutoring quietly fails so many in high school, and exactly what to look for and how to: Tell the difference between a tutor with one week of training and one with hundreds of logged hours Ask the three questions that reveal whether someone can actually connect with a teenager Understand why I use spelling, not decks, to find the gaps in an older student's reading Use the three-session rule to save you from spending six months with the wrong fit Choose from four real ways to pay for tutoring, including your state's ESA funds Alexandrine was diagnosed with dyslexia as a junior in high school, and she will tell you plainly that she despised high school tutoring. Her first tutor was wonderful with little kids but had limited experience with a sixteen-year-old taking AP classes. They talked about the alphabet. Alex shut down completely, and stayed shut down. That wasn't a discipline problem or a bad attitude. It was a mismatch, and it's the most common reason tutoring stops working for older students. Virtual tutoring wasn't really a thing and we didn't have many high school tutoring options. If you're not sure whether your teen needs tutoring, testing, or something else entirely, book a free 15-minute consultation. No pressure and no pitch, just a clear next step. https://theliteracykeys.com/contact Resources mentioned: PRIDE Reading Program, a scripted Orton-Gillingham curriculum for parents UFLI, from the University of Florida, affordable and downloadable ESA vendor states Follow the show so next week's episode finds you and if you know another parent whose teenager has quietly given up on tutoring, please share this episode. Cheers,  Tracy Young,  Orton Gillingham Tutor The Literacy Keys p.s. Check out episodes on YouTube Chapters 00:00 Starting the high school tutoring conversation 08:36 How to choose the right tutor for your child 16:33 Customizing Orton Gillingham for different age groups 25:00 Resources for all parents of struggling readers in high school

  2. Jul 30

    Struggling Reader? Think of Swiss Cheese (+ How to Fill the Holes and Reading Gaps)

    Today's thirteen-year-olds read at about the same level teens did back in 1971. If you're raising a struggling reader that explains a lot. By the end of this episode, you'll reframe your child's struggling reading as Swiss cheese, holes you can find and fill. Kids who slip past the early school years get very good at hiding. They memorize, they guess, they lean on others. That isn't laziness. It's a gap in the system, and gaps can be filled. I'm Tracy Young, an Orton-Gillingham trained, ALTA-certified tutor and the mom of a dyslexic daughter. In this episode I walk you through how to help a struggling reader who is already past the early grades. Here's what you'll walk away with: A way to find your child's real reading level The one kind of instruction older kids almost never get A plan for finding books that respect a fourteen-year-old's age and their reading level at the same time If you'd like help mapping your own child's reading holes, book a free 15-minute consultation at The Literacy Keys. No pressure and no pitch, just a clear next step. If this episode resonated with you, please share it, follow the show so next week's episode finds you, and leave a quick rating. Cheers, Tracy Young, Orton Gillingham Tutor at The Literacy Keys p.s. Check out episodes on YouTube Chapters (00:00) The fear every parent of an older struggling reader knows (01:30) You are not imagining it, and you are not alone (04:00) Why so many older kids slipped through (06:30) The myth that steals years: "it's too late after nine" (08:30) How to help struggling readers: five things to do at home this month (14:00) Getting the school to act (18:00) Protecting the reader, not just the reading Checkout Episode 27 Struggling Readers Aren't Broken: Science of Reading for Parents with Brett Tingley & Laura Stewart transcript

  3. Jul 23

    Who Kicked? How to Improve Reading Comprehension in tweens, teens and adults (+3 tips to improve comprehension)

    If you've been searching for how to improve reading comprehension for your tween, teen, or even yourself, this episode hands you the missing piece that everyone forgets to share. Plus you’ll find three fixes you can try this week. Somewhere between Middle School and High School the format of our books change. The sentences get longer, twistier, and they start hiding "who did what to whom" inside layers of clauses. So someone who was a perfectly fine reader in the lower grades can suddenly hit a wall in reading comprehension. New research suggests that understanding sentence structure can provide improved comprehension in older students. In this episode, I walk you through that research in plain English, including the sneaky little sentence that inspired this title. After listening, you'll: Know why readers suddenly struggle in the upper grades, and why it's not laziness, attention, or too much screen time. Be able to spot the exact moment a tricky sentence derails your child's understanding, using one simple question that takes thirty seconds. Have three practical ways to improve comprehension at home this week, including the one technique with the strongest research behind it. Understand what not to waste your time on.Walk away knowing a short list of learnable patterns. If your older student is hitting this wall and you're wondering whether this is the missing piece or something more, let's figure it out together. Book a free 15-minute consultation at The Literacy Keys If you know another parent whose child has hit a mysterious reading comprehension wall, please share this episode with them. Don't forget to follow the show so next week's episode finds you. Cheers, ⁠Tracy Young, Orton Gillingham Tutor⁠ ⁠The Literacy Keys ⁠ p.s. - Check out episodes on ⁠YouTube⁠ Resources mentioned: Natalie Wexler, "A (Relatively) Easy Way to Boost Reading Comprehension" Chapters 00:00 How to improve reading comprehension 01:50 Unmasking the problem 08:10 What outperforms vocabulary in reading comprehension? 18:20 Avoid this activity 24:32 Unlock reading comprehension transcript

  4. Jul 16

    Graphic Novels for Kids...Real Reading? Yes, and Here's Why (+ 5 Ways to Build a Reader)

    A parent's guide to graphic novels for kids: what they build, what to skip, and how to choose well. After this episode, you'll view graphic novels for kids for what they really are: a powerful tool to build a confident reader. Right around age nine, the number of kids who read for fun falls off a cliff. Researchers call it "the decline by nine," and it hits struggling readers the hardest. In this episode, I'll share why your child is not giving up on reading if they choose this genre. Think of graphic novels for kids as your child opening another door. Discover the surprising history of the format, what the research says about how pictures lighten the decoding load, and why the Yale Center for Dyslexia and Creativity calls graphic novels "grand equalizers." After listening, you'll: * Understand why so many kids quietly quit reading around age nine * See how graphic novels for kids free up brain power to enjoy the story * Spot the difference between layouts  * Have five simple, low-pressure ways to build a love of reading  * Feel confident saying yes to graphic novels for teens without letting your child off easy If the decoding underneath is still a real battle, that's the work I do every day. Book a free 15-minute consultation at https://theliteracykeys.com/contact/ to discuss your needs. If you know another parent whose kid only reads graphic novels, share this episode with them, and click that follow button so next week's episode lands right in your feed. Resources mentioned: American Library Association, Best Graphic Novels for Children reading list: https://www.ala.org/gncrt/2023-best-graphic-novels-children-reading-list

  5. Jul 9

    Struggling Readers Aren't Broken: Science of Reading for Parents with Brett Tingley & Laura Stewart

    It’s never too late for a teen to read well! This episode is all about explaining the Science of Reading to Parents, minus the jargon. think of it as a roadmap. By the end of this episode, you'll know exactly why struggling readers get stuck even when they’re in high school and three moves to help your child catch up, starting this week. Here's what nobody tells you: most reading help is built for little kids. Then when your child hits middle school, the support disappears, and you're left with a teen who's been told to "try harder" for years. Tracy sits down with Laura Stewart, Chief Academic Officer at 95 Percent Group, and Brett Tingley, founder of Parents for Reading Justice, to translate the Science of Reading for Parents into plain, kitchen-table language. All three are moms of dyslexic children. They've lived this. After listening, you'll: Spot the hidden foundational gaps that get mislabeled as a "comprehension problem" Know what to say the next time someone tells you to "wait and see" Understand why rebuilding your teen's trust comes before rebuilding their skills Walk away with the Science of Reading for Parents playbook Brett used to transform her entire district, starting as "the cupcake mom" Know that it is never too late for struggling readers to catch up If this episode has been helpful, follow the podcast, share it with another parent, and leave a rating.  Your support helps more parents find us.   Cheers, ⁠Tracy Young, Orton Gillingham Tutor⁠ ⁠The Literacy Keys ⁠ p.s. - Check out episodes on ⁠YouTube⁠ RESOURCES Resources mentioned: Parents for Reading Justice A free virtual conference Science of Reading 3.0 (featuring Brett Tingley's chapter on parents as advocates) 95 Percent Group parent resources CHAPTERS 00:00 Personal Connection with Struggling Readers 03:06 Brett Tingley's Journey 06:06 Foundational Gaps in Older Students 17:39 Adopting Science of Reading 23:25 Empowering Parents transcript

  6. Jul 2

    Do You Need to Wait Until 3rd Grade to Test for Dyslexia? A Dyslexia Therapist Debunks the Testing Myth (+ How to Start Intervention at Home)

    Has your school told you to wait until third grade to test for dyslexia? A dyslexia therapist says that advice is wrong! Learn your legal rights, the red flags schools miss, and how to start helping your child at home today because time is precious. In this episode of The Literacy Keys, Host Tracy Young sits down with Faye Cassell, a certified dyslexia therapist (CALT) and licensed dyslexia therapist in Texas with over 20 years of experience supporting struggling readers. Faye is also an IEP and 504 mom, so she's been in the trenches on both sides of the table. Faye and Tracy share actual stories from the trenches including one mother Faye worked with , who spent +200 hours fighting her child's school for services. That's roughly the same number of hours it takes to remediate a child's reading. This conversation is about sharing war stories to ensure thisndoesn't happen to your family. In this episode, you'll learn: - Why "we don't test until third grade" is a myth, and the exact written request that requires your school to respond under IDEA - What a certified dyslexia therapist actually is, and how to tell a CALT from other OG tutors - Why dyslexia can go completely undetected in a bright child - Faye's brilliant "plate of hors d'oeuvres" trick for staying calm and in control at your next IEP or 504 meeting - How to start structured, multisensory intervention at home instead of waiting on the school's timeline Wondering whether your child needs testing, tutoring, or accommodations? Head over to The Literacy Keys and book a free consultation with Tracy. Finally, if you know another parent who's been told to wait and see, please share this episode with them. And follow The Literacy Keys Show for weekly advice on unlocking your child's literacy. RESOURCES https://homereadingcoach.com/

  7. Jun 25

    Summer Learning Loss: Is Your Child Really Forgetting It All? (+ 5 easy wins to prevent summer slide)

    Summer learning loss hits struggling readers hardest. Every summer, kids can lose one to three months of reading progress, and summer learning loss hits the hardest with children who already work twice as hard just to keep up. Every fall, school data captures this loss. The good news is that you can prevent this from happening to your child. Research shows that a few minutes of reading several times a week holds the line. You don't need a curriculum, or a summer school setup at your kitchen table to get there. After listening to this episode, you'll: Know how to protect your child's reading gains Turn one simple setting into a daily reading workout Build a low-pressure summer rhythm that prevents summer learning loss Host Tracy Young specializes in older students, and she keeps every strategy warm, doable, and free of shame. If a podcast isn't enough and you want an individualized plan for your child, reach out today at https://theliteracykeys.com/contact/. Tracy works virtually with older students using a structured Orton-Gillingham approach built for their age, and she'd love to talk about your needs. If this information was helpful, please share it with one more parent who's watching the summer slide creep in, and follow the show so you never miss an episode. Cheers, ⁠Tracy Young Orton Gillingham Tutor⁠ ⁠The Literacy Keys ⁠ Check out our episodes on ⁠YouTube⁠ CHAPTERS 00:00 Welcome 03:34 Summer Learning Loss is Preventable 08:11 Boost Fluency & Confidence 17:19 Avoid Pressure Cooker Summer

  8. Jun 18

    AI and Education: What Every Parent of a Struggling Reader Needs to Know (+3 guardrails you can put in place)

    AI in education can be a lifeline for kids, or a shortcut that costs them. A lot is changing with artificial intelligence and education. In this episode, Host Tracy Young walks you through where AI genuinely helps a neurodivergent learner, where AI quietly does the thinking their brain was supposed to do, and the one question that tells you which is which. Brand new 2026 research from Common Sense Media found that 86 percent of kids ages 9 to 17 are now using AI, and 44 percent of parents have never had a single conversation with their child about it. The kids most likely to lean on AI heavily for schoolwork are the ones who already struggle with focus, reading, and writing. After listening, you'll: Spot the difference between AI that supports your child's growth and AI that quietly undermines Know what to do if your dyslexic or dysgraphic child gets falsely flagged for AI cheating Walk away with three simple guardrails you can put in place at home this week, even on a busy night If you want help building a plan for your child, head over to theliteracykeys.com/contact/ and book a free 15-minute consult. We’ll talk through where your child is at, what is getting in the way, and what to do next. If this episode helped, please share it with another parent who is quietly worrying about the same thing, and follow our show so you don't miss next week's conversation. Resources mentioned The Common Sense Media Census: AI Use by Tweens and Teens, 2026 — Read the full report transcript

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If you’re raising a child with dyslexia or a kid who’s struggling to read, write, and spell, stop guessing what to do next. I’m Tracy Young, a Certified Orton-Gillingham tutor, dyslexia specialist, and this podcast will empower you to unlock reading, writing, and spelling success for your child. You’ll uncover structured literacy tips and practical advice about dyslexia (in plain English) to help you turn I can't into I can. Follow our weekly episodes and share them with others! Contact TheLiteracyKeys.com for a dyslexia tutor.

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