The IEW curriculum centers around learning to identify key words in text, and taking those key words to create sentences, paragraphs and papers in the student’s own words. Our tutors help the student use the key words, and the ideas they chose from the text and “talk out” what they want to say. Typically this process delivers an a-ha moment where the student realizes they can write about what they think, and that their thoughts and opinions matter.

Aspire has used it successfully to help students we tutor to gain confidence in writing and overcome the belief that they can’t write and have nothing to say. Our first goal when teaching writing, is to give the child the foundation that they can write about the thoughts they are thinking. When they come to this realization, writing becomes more achievable.

Typically, we teach children with dyslexia how to handwrite their notes and thoughts, and then how to dictate it into a Google Doc using Speech to Text technology available on their computer. Speech to text still has problems and mistakes, so editing is always challenging, but we work carefully with students on this process as well.

The biggest stumbling block for writers, is they will only choose wording they already know how to spell. Children whose handwriting is extremely laborious, and who are years behind in spelling, must first get these skills more automatic before writing tutoring can be successful. Aspire recommends our writing services to students who have graduated from an Orton-Gillingham program or can demonstrate near grade-level reading and spelling on a standardized test.