I worked at Lindamood-Bell. AMA.

[Anonymous]

Some friends and I have experience working as seasonal clinicians at LMB. Since I've seen people ask about it on DCUM I thought I'd make myself available for questions.

[Anonymous]

No idea the magic you guys work but I have a student with dyslexia who was utterly transformed by Lindamood Bell. So thank you for what you do.

[Anonymous]

Why do some programs and tutors say that the public school services (like OG) are going to "undo" all of the progress made and that tutoring must continue multiple times a week, through the school year?

I've heard it from two private tutors and one program. (not LB to be clear).

Why? Is that real or a sales pitch?

Dx = dyslexia dysgraphia,

[Anonymous]

My son made huge gains with VV after being stuck for years.

Do you think this is something a parent could work on with their kid? We ran out of money to keep going on. I have been trying to get the schools to use the program with no avail.

[Anonymous]

Do you like working there?

[Anonymous]

Why is it so expensive? Do the tutors actually make decent money?

I wish we could do LMB but I have 2 kids with dyslexia/dysgraphia and we can’t afford it. They each go to a private tutor 3x a week for less.

[Anonymous]

What kind of education do you have and what kind of training do they provide? I've always heard that it borders on scam.

[Anonymous]

My middle school aged child was just diagnosed with dyslexia recently, but only with a deficiencies in phonological awareness, decoding fluency and orthographic coding. Comprehension is strong so we didn't catch these weaknesses before. A program like LB is so expensive and time consuming. Would individual tutoring to target these deficiencies make more sense for him than a full program?

[Anonymous]

Here’s my take on it:
-LMB is a well thought and well researched program that has a strong evidence base behind it.
- The company that provides LMB Zim its centers is a profit making company with revenue and profit goals.
- I have heard that the teachers/tutors have several weeks of training in LMB methodology but they don’t require significant other experience as an educator
- Advertised pay rates are pretty low ($20-$30/hour) compared with the rates parents pay ($100-$132 in our area). The difference is what pays the system of evaluators, center rent, and administration. And the greater the difference, the more profit is made per student.
- Because LMB is a program with a strong evidence base, it can be life changing for some students.

OP: tell me what I am right/wrong about here!

[Anonymous]

Anything for adults?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why do some programs and tutors say that the public school services (like OG) are going to "undo" all of the progress made and that tutoring must continue multiple times a week, through the school year?

I've heard it from two private tutors and one program. (not LB to be clear).

Why? Is that real or a sales pitch?

Dx = dyslexia dysgraphia,

I can only speak to my own experience, so I'm not sure why someone else from another program might say that. I can say that a lot of repetition and high frequency of practice do seem to be supported by research. I'm no sure what public school services might undo.

FWIW, if it were my child, I would absolutely take advantage of any free resource available to me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

My son made huge gains with VV after being stuck for years.

Do you think this is something a parent could work on with their kid? We ran out of money to keep going on. I have been trying to get the schools to use the program with no avail.

I'm so glad VV helped! Yes, I think it's something you can do at home. You can order a training manual online through Gander Publishing or grab a used copy through Amazon. The great thing about VV is that it can be applied to any text.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do you like working there?

It's complicated.

I really enjoy the kids. Even the ones who have challenging behavioral issues all have great personalities. Since we get to work with them individually, we get to see their senses of humor and learn more about their interests and their individual strengths than a typical teacher might. The work is also meaningful.

There are certainly some challenges, though. I feel like the Glassdoor reviews sum those up really well. For the year-round staff it's a hard job to hang on to for very long both because of compensation issues and burnout.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why is it so expensive? Do the tutors actually make decent money?

I wish we could do LMB but I have 2 kids with dyslexia/dysgraphia and we can’t afford it. They each go to a private tutor 3x a week for less.

I wish I knew. It is expensive.

No, the clinicians do not see that money. In the DC area, pay was just bumped from $15/hr. to $16/hr. this year. The consultants who create the lesson plans and occasionally work directly with the children are paid a little more but not much. The organization is perhaps a little top heavy on the management side. It also incurs some significant recruiting and training fees due to staff turnover and the need for seasonal replacement. Rumor has it it that it's still hard for centers to maintain profitability and that the sales targets set by the corporate office are aggressive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Anything for adults?

Yes, LMB works with adults too. The program and materials can be easily adapted for use with all ages. Pacing is always customized to the learner as are acknowledgements for achieving milestones.