No More Hiding At Work

A Smart, Professional Woman With a Secret Reading Deficit Hires a Reading Tutor and Gains Six Grade Levels in One Year

Marilyn, a successful nurse and mother of five, had a secret: despite her intelligence and professional achievements, she struggled with reading. She avoided promotions requiring extensive writing and found it difficult to decode longer words. Even though she could engage in complex discussions and showed excellent comprehension, her reading tested at a fifth-grade level.

When Marilyn came for tutoring, she chose Michelle Obama's "The Light We Carry" as her reading material. Despite its advanced vocabulary, her motivation to read this book proved transformative. Over just one year, her reading fluency improved from fifth to twelfth-grade level—far exceeding typical progress.

A Good Reading Tutor for an Adult Can Identify Where the Exact Gaps in Understanding Occurred Along the Way

Marilyn's journey revealed that reading challenges often have specific underlying causes. In her case, she had difficulty blending consonant sounds, frequently adding extra vowel sounds between them. This fundamental gap in phonics understanding persisted despite her other achievements. Through focused practice, including reading aloud for 30 minutes during each lesson, she began correcting these pronunciation issues.

We discovered that working memory also played a crucial role in her reading challenges. To address this, we incorporated logic games into our sessions—a technique that research shows can improve working memory by up to 40%. Combined with vocabulary-building exercises and new decoding strategies, these tools helped Marilyn progress toward her secret dream: pursuing a master's degree.

You Can Remediate Your Reading at Any Age!

Marilyn's story demonstrates that adult readers often make remarkable progress due to their focus and determination. Her success shows that with the right support and techniques, it's possible to overcome long-standing reading challenges at any age. Whether your goal is career advancement, academic achievement, or personal growth, dedicated reading tutoring can help unlock your potential.