Reading Instruction From an Expert
Let me teach your struggling reader to read
Meet The Expert
Troy Hubbell
Dyslexia and Literacy Specialist, CALT, MA, 15 year veteran educator and literacy expert.
My name is Troy Hubbell. As an adult with ADHD, I know what it is like to struggle in school. I was fortunate to get a world class education from people who understood how to work with kids like me who have learning differences. Nearly 15 years ago, I became a special education teacher in the U.S. public school system. My goal was to ensure that every student who entered my classroom was able to receive the same quality of education that I received. To that end, I have devoted my professional life to the study of how to help struggling readers learn to read. I have nearly 15 years of experience in special education, multiple trainings in various Orton Gillingham approaches to teaching reading, exhaustive training in Take Flight, and over 700 hours of tutoring experience. Teaching struggling readers to read is my passion and my area of expertise. I am a CALT (Certified Academic Language Therapist), dyslexia expert, structured literacy expert, and now tutor. Teaching struggling readers to read is truly my life's passion and the focus of my career.
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What I do
I provide high quality one on one reading instruction based on how science tells us students learn to read. I explicitly and systematically teach the structure of words and the structure of the English Language with lots of practice so that your struggling reader knows exactly what to do when he or she sees a new word. I also make sure that your reader has the skills and knowledge needed to comprehend what they read.
My Mission
I believe that literacy is a right. We know that nearly every child can learn to read accurately, fluently, and automatically. When you hire me, you get my personal commitment to:
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1. I will help you understand what has made reading difficult for your struggling reader and how to help them read.
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2. I will provide personalized one on one instruction to make sure your reader gets exactly what they need at the pace that is right for them.
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3. I will be you advocate for your child at their school, and determine what accommodations will help them keep up with their peers while they learn to read.
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4. I will be available and with you as long as you choose to keep me on board to get your reader caught up and ready for whatever hopes and dreams they wish to pursue.
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5. I will help your struggling reader build confidence as well as skills. How we feel about ourselves and our abilities is just as important as the abilities themselves.
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Testimonials
Merily and Carlos L (parents)
"Mr. Hubbell worked with my daughter as a teacher and then a tutor from 3rd grade through 7th grade. When she met him in 3rd grade she was struggling to read. My daughter loved tutoring with Mr. Hubbell. He helped her feel more confident, feel capable, and this resulted in her learning how to read. Even more, she actually enjoyed tutoring and learned to enjoy reading. This was made possible because Mr. Hubbell's attention to detail, caring attitude, and his ability to make learning fun and easier to understand. I'm not sure where we would be without him. I can't recommend him enough."
Tayo McGuirk (Board member of
International Dyslexia Association
Rocky Mountain Branch)
"Troy has an exceptional understanding of how literacy skills are developed, applying science-based methods to effectively teach students. He is especially skilled at supporting and motivating struggling readers, including those with dyslexia. I only wish I had known Troy when my own sons faced challenges with reading—he would have been my first choice as a tutor."
Laura G (Parent)
"My Son struggled with reading, writing and forming sentences for years. His life was turned around completely when he was able to work with Troy Hubbell. Mr. Hubbell has a special way of working with kids who struggle with ADHD and dyslexia. He made a profound impact with my Son who is now reading at his grade level which I thought would be impossible."
Expertise and Experience
What is a CALT?
A Certified Academic Language Therapist (CALT) is a credential issued by the Association of Academic Language Therapy (ALTA). ALTA is dedicated to the belief that just as a therapist or medical doctor must have extensive training and knowledge in order to be able to call themselves experts on the physical and emotional health of their patients, a literacy instructor should have to undergo similarly rigorous training in order to be called an expert in literacy. To that end, I underwent more than 200 hours of professional training, provided more than 700 hours of supervised literacy instruction, and passed multiple rigorous tests on science based literacy instruction in order to earn my credential. To be given the title of CALT, one must truly become an expert in teaching literacy.
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While my supervised instruction was completed using a curriculum called Take Flight, I recognize that in providing literacy instruction I am not teaching a curriculum. I am teaching my student. To that end, I ensure that the instruction I provide is based on the science of how kids learn to read and make sure that each student receives instruction individually tailored to that student.
FAQ
How long are sessions and how long will it take for my reader to learn to read?
I strongly recommend one hour sessions for 3 or more days per week. Most students can learn to read proficiently in two to three years but each student is different.
I don't know if my reader has dyslexia. Can you still help?
Absolutely. While many of us struggle with different parts of reading, we all need the same set of skills in order to read. The instruction I provide will benefit any type of struggling reader because it will target the set of skills that every type of reader needs whether they have dyslexia or not.
Does my reader need a diagnosis of dyslexia or another medical diagnosis?
No diagnosis of any kind is necessary to work with me. I will use the first session to evaluate your reader's skills to figure out what we need to work on. Then I will make a plan to help fill in whatever gaps I find. A diagnosis will usually come with testing that can provide helpful information, but I can collect all the information I need with the tools I have as well. You don't need any additional resources or testing for me to be able to help.
How do I know if your services are right for my reader?
The science tells us that every person needs to learn the same set of skills in order to read. What changes from person to person is how difficult it is to learn that set of skills, how motivated the reader is to learn that set of skills, and which of the skills we need are deficient and causing problems for that reader. The science tells us that 95% of students can learn to read with the right intervention. Nearly anybody can be taught to read. Many students will progress easily and quickly in their reading with the degree of intervention I provide. Some students will need more time and more support. I can never promise an outcome, but I can promise that I will use every tool I have to give your child the best instruction possible. I will communicate honestly and openly about any unexpected challenges and next steps throughout the tutoring process. I don't want to waste your time or your money. My goal is to get your child reading proficiently l as quickly as possible.
How old does my reader need to be for your services?
I would recommend that a child be in second grade (age 7-8) before beginning tutoring and will work with students up through any age. Even adulthood. It is never too late to learn to read. I can work with 1st grade students (ages 6-7) but they may not have the attention span yet to do a full online tutoring session. I evaluate younger students on a case-by-case basis. In my experience, kindergarten students are too young to do this kind of online learning effectively. In the resources section of my site, I provide recommendations for younger learners who are at risk of reading struggles.
What curriculum do you use?
The curriculum that I have seen that provides the most tools and the best scope and sequence for most struggling readers is Take Flight. Take Flight was developed by Scottish Rite Hospital For Children, a pediatric hospital that focuses both on illness and learning disabilities. That said, I don't teach a curriculum. I teach students. I have many tools in my toolkit, and I believe the right tool is the tool that most helps the learner in front of me. I have materials and training from IMSE, Orton Gillingham International, The Academy of Orton Gillingham Practitioners, Dr. Louisa Moats' LETRS training, Wilson Reading, Really Great Reading, and many many more wonderful organizations that provide training in science-based literacy instruction. I also have multiple tools and trainings for comprehension and written production.
Do you use Orton Gillingham/OG?
Yes. Orton Gillngham, also known as OG, is not a copyrighted term and there are many companies that provide curricula or approaches that they call OG. To be called an OG approach, the instruction must be explicit, prescriptive, diagnostic, multisensory, direct, structured, and cumulative. In other words, it has to follow a logical order of things to teach, it has to be multi sensory, it has to be based on the student's deficits and have a way to measure the student's progress towards closing those deficits, and it has to be taught so that the reader is explicitly shown the skills they need so that nothing is left to chance. Every tool I use meets these criteria.
I tried an OG tutor or another kind of tutoring and it didn't work. Can you still help?
Almost certainly yes. As both a special education teacher and as a tutor, I have successfully taught many students to read who had struggled even when provided with prior science based intervention. When an intervention does not work, there are three potential reasons. The first is that it may not have matched the student's deficit. The second is that it may not have had enough time per session to show results or may not have continued long enough to show results. The last is that it may not have been frequent enough to show results. All of these are variables that we can change in a personalized plan for your reader. There are some very rare circumstances that might impact whether a student is able to learn to read which might lead me to point you towards other services, but these are very rare. I will always be up front about what you can and cannot realistically expect for your reader. I don't want to take your money or time if I do not believe I can help your reader, and as I have said, nearly every student can be taught to read.
Why I am different
Exceptional Quality
I only use instructional materials and methods that are validated by the latest science on how students learn to read.
I provide personalized one on one instruction designed for the specific needs of your student.
I am not just here during tutoring sessions. When you hire me, I commit to helping your child learn to read. You can message me any time for help, guidance, and support.
In addition to my services as a literacy expert and tutor, I am also available to help you navigate the school system. I can be of particularly help if you live in the United States. As a veteran U.S. special education teacher I can help you understand the IEP and 504 process. I can help you understand what to ask for and how to advocate for your student.
I understand that all learning occurs in the context of a relationship. Many students come to me struggling with self esteem challenges and other learning challenges beyond struggles in literacy. I believe in teaching the whole student. To me, a successful student not only learns how to read, but how to learn, how to advocate for themself, how to trust themself, and how to overcome challenges.
Why does my child struggle to read and what works to help them?
If you are a proficient adult reader, you probably don't remember the early days of learning to read. When many of us look at a word, we don't have to think about it. It seems automatic and easy. However, for many adults, and for many young students struggling to learn to read, it doesn't feel so easy. We learn to read through a process called "orthographic mapping". Orthographic mapping is a very complex process, but it ultimately means that we map letters to sounds, words, and meanings in our brains in such a way that we can look at a word and automatically figure out what that word says and means. While some lucky students are able to learn to read with little instruction, most students need to be explicitly taught how words work in order to read and spell new words. This requires a deep understanding of the English language, and unfortunately, too many teachers aren't even given enough training to understand what these rules are, much less to teach these rules to their most struggling students.
The simple equation that explains reading.
Reading = word recognition x language comprehension.
This equation, often referred to as the simple view of reading, is one way that researchers have found to explain how reading works and why it is so challenging for so many students. It shows that your ability to read is the same as your word recognition skills multiplied by your language comprehension skills. If either one of those skills is 0 you can't read.
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Word Recognition
Word recognition refers to our ability to map the spelling patterns of English to the sounds they represent, as well as our ability to recognize the meaningful parts of words. When we see a word for the first time, we sound the word out using what we know about how the spelling patterns in that word are usually pronounced. The better our understanding of those patterns is, the more likely we are to be able to sound it out successfully. After we have sounded out a word or spelling pattern out a sufficient number of times, we become able to read that word automatically. It becomes what researchers call a "sight word", and we can access it using faster pathways in our brain than we used when we were learning it. Most students who struggle to read are struggling with word recognition and will need very specific and direct instruction in order to master this skill.
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Language Comprehension
Language comprehension refers to our ability to understand spoken and written language. Once a word is sounded out, we activate the same parts of our brain that help us understand spoken language to help us understand what we just read. This process is natural for most people. A baby left in a room with piles books will likely never learn how to read without direct instruction, but a baby who is able to watch and hear adults speak will learn to speak and understand speech all on their own. There are some students who are able to read words, but struggle to understand what they read. This is a much more rare thing to struggle with, and these students also need very explicit direct instruction in how language works in order to be successful.​​ Fortunately, if your student struggles with language comprehension, there are ways to help.
Fluency
Fluency is the goal. We want students to be able to easily and effortlessly apply their word recognition skills and language comprehension skills in order to navigate any kind of text they might encounter. Equally, we want students to be equipped with science based strategies that they can rely on if they are reading a particularly difficult text.
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