Location: Arkansas
Education: MsE in Reading, CALT
Years Experience Teaching: 10
Years Experience In Dyslexia: 5
Teaching Experience
After graduating college, I worked in schools teaching 7th, 9th, and 11th grade English for five years. I left the teaching field to become at homeschooling mom to my three boys. I now have two girls, as well. Our boys and oldest daughter all have dyslexia, so it became a personal mission to help them learn to read. We enjoyed homeschooling for 8 years before entering the public school for the first time where they are all thriving! During the homeschooling years, I worked in the evenings helping adults with the skills needed to pass their GED exams while earning my master’s degree in reading. For the past four years, I have worked privately with K-12 grade students with dyslexia, ADHD, and Autism to treat reading delays.
Professional Affiliations
ALTA member
Programs Trained In
Take Flight
Barton Reading and Spelling
Age Range You Feel Most Comfortable With:
3rd grade and older
Why did you decide to become a CALT?
At the time, someone locally was offering the training to become a CALT using the Take Flight program. After doing my research, I decided it best fit my professional and personal goals of helping my own children and other children and adults learn to read. It was one of the best decisions I have every made!
Favorite moment working with dyslexic students?
I love the relationship that develops between the students and me. One of my favorite memories is having a 6th grade boy sit across from me with tear-fill eyes, choking out, “This is working.” Being able to give the gift of reading after he had waited for so long for someone help him make sense of it all was one of the best moments I’ve ever had as a therapist.
Your goal when working with kids with dyslexia?
The main goals are helping kids see themselves as readers, giving them the tools and knowledge to advocate for themselves, and creating the pathways necessary for them to be skilled readers.
Your teaching style, personality?
I work to establish a personal connection with each of my students. I normally have a positive attitude, love self-deprecating humor, puns, and sarcasm.
Any family details?
My husband and I have been married since 2004. I joke that he wanted one child, and I wanted six. So, we did the only thing possible-we split the difference and had five children! They were born 2007, 2011, 2013, 2015, and 2017. As a family, we enjoy hiking, camping, and playing games.
My husband and four of our children have dyslexia, so it has helped me to be a better, more empathetic therapist. Not only do I see they way it impacts the academic setting, but I learn through them how it impacts every area of their life.
I am also a neurodivergent thinker with ADHD. I wasn’t diagnosed until an adult because I did well in school and learned compensating strategies that allowed me to fly under the radar. Through some painful situations as an adult, I finally submitted to the testing. Rather than making me feel worse, it actually gave me a immense amount of relief to know their was a label for what I was experiencing.
