My son struggled mightily to learn how to read. At the end of junior kindergarten, he could only identify seven letters in the alphabet. By the end of grade one, he could barely write his own name. The school and his teachers seemed mystified by how to help him. And I had tried everything I could think of: lettered magnets on the fridge, reading aloud to him, having him read aloud to me, Kumon, even volunteering at the school in their reading program to see how other kids learned and to build a relationship with his teacher. Nothing seemed to make any difference. I was tired and frustrated and afraid. And worst of all, my son—who is incredibly bright, both in intelligence and in personality—was losing his spark. He thought the reason he couldn’t learn how to read was because he was “stupid.”
But then I found Kate McQuiggan. Kate helped my son to understand that his struggles with reading weren’t his fault. She explained to him that some brains are wired differently and that she would help to learn in a way that worked for his particular wiring. And then that’s exactly what she did.
Kate uses scientific-based approaches that leverage children’s own innate curiosity to help them to learn how to read. These approaches inspired my son’s love of learning in a way that the rote-style of teaching could never do. And while Kate’s approach to literacy is grounded in science, the results felt to me like nothing short of magic. Within two years, my son was reading above grade level. Kate made learning fun again and my son felt incredible pride in his accomplishments as a result of their time together. He no longer needs help with his reading, so Kate has moved to helping him to express himself through writing. She has become a deeply valued person in my family’s life and I can’t imagine where my son would be if we had not found her, all those years ago.
Chanda C.
Our daughter, who has a learning difference/disability, has always struggled with reading comprehension, grammar, writing and reading out-loud. We were quite concerned that she would have great difficulty passing her high school English credits without extensive assistance, as she was lost. We were also concerned how this would negatively affect her after high school. Throughout high school Kate worked with her with patience and compassion, always taking the time to explain concepts in a way where she would both understand and participate. When our daughter would start to talk about movies or comic books, Kate would acknowledge her and gently redirect her, or incorporate her interests into the lesson. Kate also was in regular contact with teachers at our daughter’s school to make sure they were on the same track. To our relief, grades greatly improved in a handful of subjects, and when our daughter received her high school diploma, and an award for “Most Improved Student” we immediately shared this accomplishment with Kate as without her, I have no idea where we would be. Thank you Kate for everything you have done for our family. I recommend Kate without hesitation.
Marc C.
My daughter really benefited from tutoring with Kate. As a very introverted child diagnosed with Dyslexia, (my daughter) really flourished with Kate’s one-on-one guidance and support. Kate was always very sensitive to my daughter’s specific needs and used a variety of methods to help her succeed. She is now in Grade10. Not only is she doing well but has great memories of her tutoring sessions with Kate. I would, and have recommended Kate to families of my own students and to personal friends of mine.
Marilyn P.