I want to share this thoughtfully, because I know it really does come from a place of privilege. We’ve made significant sacrifices—skipping vacations, putting off new cars, and cutting back on extras—to be able to afford our CALT, and I’m very aware that this level of support isn’t financially possible for every family.

Before finding our current tutor, we paid $75/hour for a certified Wilson tutor. For our child, it just wasn’t the right fit, and I don’t think the level of training was enough to support a child with more severe dyslexia. We now work with a CALT who is still in training and will likely be fully certified by the end of this year. We started with her last year and also pay $75/hour. Close friends of ours use a fully certified CALT and pay $110/hour. From what we’ve seen, around $100/hour seems fairly typical in this area, since CALTs set their own rates.

Again, I know this perspective isn’t accessible to everyone, but if it’s an option, I wouldn’t hesitate to change course if something doesn’t feel like it’s working. Dyslexia intervention really requires consistency—usually 3–4 sessions a week—which is a big commitment for everyone involved. Even with the right fit, progress often takes time (at least a couple of years), so it’s important that the tutor truly understands your child and that you’re seeing steady growth. Early intervention matters so much, and you don’t get that time back.

From my understanding, the programs that helped the most were multi-sensory, hands-on, and very individualized. For younger kids especially, in-person tutoring made a big difference for us, and we didn’t find online tutoring as effective at that stage.

Op here. May I ask how much they normally charge per hour in person in montgomery county for tutoring? Does that matter much if that person is qualified or accredited? Can it be a college kid in certain major for cheaper rate? Do you do online or in person? I assume it is better in person for young kids. I am looking to calculate how much I coulf afford.

Intensive tutoring should be a priority, OP, but make sure to continue with at least one EC that’s in an area of strength and she loves. Kids need to feel successful in at least one thing to maintain their confidence.

PP: I wanted to add, we chose to focus very heavily on intervention after the diagnosis. One of the most helpful pieces of advice I received early on was not to rely on the school alone for remediation.

There are three other children in my child’s grade with the same diagnosis. Each family made thoughtful but different choices based on their child’s needs. One family pursued tutoring once or twice a week. Two others chose to prioritize sports as a way to build confidence and self-esteem, which has clearly been a strength for their children.

I don’t believe there is a single “right” approach, and I don’t share this to judge any of those decisions. What I can say is that, for our child, intensive early intervention made a significant difference. She is now reading chapter books for pleasure — something that felt out of reach in second grade, when she often came home in tears because she couldn’t read at the same level as her classmates. From my understanding, her other dyslexic classmates still struggle with reading.

New poster, dyslexia remediation should be your priority. My 5th grader has mild dyslexia, he now reads for pleasure and passed advanced in reading SOL in 4th. He still does 3 hours of dyslexia intervention with a CALT every week, has been working with a CALT since diagnosis in second grade.

Search this forum for CALT info (or ASDEC). If you don’t use a CALT make sure the tutor is certified and not just trained in Wilson (or others, there are many OG based methods approved for intervention).

Anonymous wrote:Was it recommended to do OG tutoring? If so you need to make that the priority. My dyslexic DD does it 3 times a week for 55 minutes. It is time consuming and expensive but worth it. Going over their work with them is not going to do it. OG tutoring will teach your kid to read in a way that makes sense for their brain. It has been like flipping a light switch for my kid.

Are you in DC? If so, can you share the turor’s info?

Was it recommended to do OG tutoring? If so you need to make that the priority. My dyslexic DD does it 3 times a week for 55 minutes. It is time consuming and expensive but worth it. Going over their work with them is not going to do it. OG tutoring will teach your kid to read in a way that makes sense for their brain. It has been like flipping a light switch for my kid.

We’ve never had insurance cover the OG instruction but who knows. Doesn’t hurt to look into it.

Delaying appropriate remediation will only make it harder for her in the future, have an impact on self esteem and it’s likely that her out of school interests will increase, not decrease. There is nothing to be gained by kicking the can down the road, only things to be lost. Your kid has a learning disability. The time to address it is right now, not a nebulous time in the future.

It all sucks. BTDT. There’s nothing for it besides to do it.

It’s not that it HAS to be before 3rd grade, but that the research shows that if it is, there is a good chance of staying at grade level. If it happens later the chance of getting to and staying at grade level falls. The reasons are complex, but probably the main issue is volume of reading. The more you read, the better you read. The amount that dyslexic students read is lower than non-dyslexic students, so they keep falling behind.

If nothing else, do lots and lots of audiobooks! That will help with vocabulary and content knowledge, which also lags in dyslexic kids because they read less.

Insurance is also complex. Depending on your provider they may pay something for some types of remediation, but it is very unlikely. In general dyslexia remediation is considered an academic rather than a health service. However, a few plans do cover some dyslexia therapy in certain cases.

Op here. It is school aftercare that I have to pay, and it is really loud with almost 100 kids being there. No,it will not be appropriate to send anyone there at aftercare to do private tutoring.

May I ask why it has to be before third grade begin? Does private tutoring covered by insurance, can I still submit something to insurance company? She has provisional autism, should I push for autism diagnosis to get any tutoring covered if possible?

You want her full remediation program to be done before third grade begins. If fully remediated by third grade, dyslexic kids then often develop typically/keep up. If remediation is done after third grade the gap between their development and peers’ is likely to persist into adulthood. The time to act for a kid you know is dyslexic is NOW. For a kid who is simply picking up reading a little more slowly than others in 1st, sure, some at home work may be appropriate. Not a dyslexic kid.

Plan for 1 hour 3 times a week for a year and a half. I’d see if you can figure out how to get that provided during the aftercare time. Is it a private after care? Can a tutor go in? Evening is not at all ideal for a little kid. How about before school? Drop any activities that don’t bring kid energy and joy (aside from dyslexia remediation, which will not bring joy in short term).

How old and what is her reading level?

If her reading level is below grade level or she’s barely holding on, drop some ECs to make space for appropriate remediation. Do it now and run it to ground. Do not wait. It’s hard but do it anyway.

Kid has dyslexia, and she does scout, team sport and individual sports. All those EC take a big chunk of her time every week, especially the weekends and some weekend evenings. She is also in daily school aftercare till 6pm at the earliest. I am exhausted, and she wants downtime to relax. I could not figure out the balance between school & interests for dyslexia kid if I want to help her to review school work. Is there a guideline how much time should a dyslexia kid spend based on age outside of school time on a daily or weekly basis for the best result to avoid burn down? She needs those ECs because it is fun and help her ti build confidence. I do not want her to hate school because she already feels school is tough as a first grader. She does not have homework yet. Is 15min daily enough, or should we do at least 30 min a day? We have not paid for tutor yet because we do not have time. Her practice/game schedule is all over the week and subject to change every season.