From struggling to thriving with the Reading Doctor:

Kiera began her Reading Doctor journey back in May 2023 and was my first student as I began my own journey as a Reading Doctor franchisee. According to her mum, reading at home was a battle, with a diagnosis of Dyslexia and a reading age of 5-6 in Year 4, Kiera had become frustrated at her inability to read at the same level as her peers. Her parents, both avid readers, were getting more and more upset at how challenging any reading at home became. 

Then … they saw a Facebook post and took a chance on me, a new Reading Doctor just setting out and excited to make a difference. 

After an initial assessment, Kiera was assessed at Yellow level (age 5-6 years) It was clear that she loved books and stories but was not reading for meaning and had lots of gaps in phonic knowledge plus limited options when she found a word she couldn’t read. She found it challenging to focus for any length of time and her confidence in her own ability was low. On our 10 Steps to success, she put herself at Step 4 – I want to know how to read. 

Our first sessions were very lively, lots of movement breaks needed and carefully planned in but with the structured multi-sensory approach of the Reading Doctor, she began to engage more fully and for the first time began to see herself as a reader. Our thinking spark strategies gave her the opportunity to bring her wealth of story knowledge to her reading, she began experiencing success which was wonderful to see. Music really motivates her so where possible we’d include music in sessions, learning outdoors too which she loves. Getting to know Kiera has meant I have been able to plan lessons to meet her individual needs, aligned to her interests too which has meant lessons are fun and she is fully engaged. 

Fast forward two years and Kiera is now confidently reading Lime books and has a reading age of 9-10 years, more importantly she sees herself as a reader and for the first time recently has read out loud to the class, which is something she never thought she would feel confident enough to do. 

I am incredibly proud of her and how she has embraced all things ‘Reading Doctor’ even to the point where she goes to book signings with her favourite authors and always tells them about her Reading Doctor lessons! She struggled so much and is now thriving with support from the Reading Doctor program.