by Heather Desjardins | Apr 14, 2018 | Blog
A student stares at a blank page, several thoughts running through her head. “Where do I start?” “I hate writing.” “This is so difficult.” “What should I write about?” “My writing is terrible.” “Why even try?” For a student with learning differences, the task of...
by Heather Desjardins | Jan 10, 2018 | Blog, Guest bloggers
Are your mornings hectic? Does anyone in your family have a learning disability? Do you have trouble getting everyone out of bed and ready for school and work? If the answer to any of these is yes, then these tips are for you. Here are ways to organize your mornings...
by Heather Desjardins | Dec 1, 2017 | Blog, The Open Door posts
Approximately 40% of kids who have dyslexia will have some form of ADHD/ADD. This means that if you work in this field, there is a pretty good chance that you will have students with some attention issues. As a parent, even if your child does not have ADHD, homework...
by Heather Desjardins | Nov 1, 2017 | Blog
Meet Gerald & Piggie: Lovable, unusual best friends with a funny bone! The Elephant and Piggie Series by children’s author and illustrator Mo Willems A book review by Marion May As a reading and spelling remediation tutor for young students, I like to find out...
by Heather Desjardins | Sep 1, 2017 | Blog
Finding out that your child has a learning disability can be a very overwhelming experience. All too often doctors, teachers and family members focus on the ‘dis’ability. The list of what a child cannot do becomes long – read, write, spell, learn the times...
by Heather Desjardins | Jun 1, 2017 | Blog
Do you have fond memories of reading cute little board books to your children when they were just little toddlers? For children who struggle with reading, sometimes books can become a negative thing. It represents really hard work, or failure, or even embarrassment...
by Heather Desjardins | May 1, 2017 | Blog
Mothers are awesome, and I mean that in the original sense of the word. The Oxford dictionary defines the word “awesome” as “extremely impressive or daunting; inspiring awe”. One of the reasons I am so fortunate to work as a tutor for students with dyslexia, is...
by Heather Desjardins | Apr 1, 2017 | Blog
A book review by Marion May Dyslexia: A Complete Guide for Parents and Those Who Help Them (Second Edition) By Gavin Reid ISBN (Paperback) 978-0-470-97373-8 ISBN (Hardcover) 978-0-470-97374-5 216 pages/267 pages including appendices and index Available at some public...
by Heather Desjardins | Mar 1, 2017 | Blog
Literacy Unlimited is a non-profit organization on the West Island of Montreal, which provides free, one-on-one English tutoring for adults to improve their reading, writing and basic math skills. Low literacy has far-reaching implications. It is highly correlated...
by Heather Desjardins | Feb 1, 2017 | Blog, Guest bloggers
Parents and teacher have an urgent need for low cost, rapid, accurate identification of reading problems in order to move on with remediation as soon as possible. Yet conventional wisdom has it that one cannot diagnose dyslexia, only identify those at risk for it....
by Heather Desjardins | Jan 1, 2017 | Blog, The Open Door posts
These are three words that we often hear in education. Many parents wonder exactly what these terms mean, why each is important, and what’s the difference between them? Accommodation: Accommodation is exactly how it sounds; to accommodate students refers to how...
by Heather Desjardins | Dec 1, 2016 | Blog, Conference/event reviews, Guest bloggers
More than 200 parents, students, educators and advocates packed the Harbourfront Centre in Toronto to attend the first dyslexia conference in Canada. “Understanding dyslexia: A conference for parents, families and educators” was organized by the Ontario Branch of the...
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