Skip to content

Dyslexia Therapy Reimagined

Noelle Duncan

Location: Arizona

Education: BS in Education Baylor University; M.Ed. University of California, Riverside; CALT trained at McKinney Christian Academy Multisensory Teacher Training Center

Years Experience Teaching: 16

Years Experience In Dyslexia: 4

Teaching Experience

I have taught in both preschool and elementary schools in Texas, California, Hawaii, and Georgia. I have privately tutored students as young as 4 and as old as 15 years old.

PreK
3rd Grade
4th Grade
5th grade (Early Intervention Teacher)
Science Lab teacher (1st-6th grade)
Dyslexia Therapist for students in PreK, Elementary, Middle School, High School

Professional Affiliations

ALTA (Academic Language Therapy Association)
LDT (Licensed Dyslexia Therapist)
Current Certified Texas Teacher

Programs Trained In

Take Flight and PreFlight (Scottish Rite)

Age Range You Feel Most Comfortable With:
Generally PreK- Elementary; However, in the one on one therapy setting, I truly enjoy working with middle/high school aged students, as well.

Why did you decide to become a CALT?

Dyslexia in prevalent in my family for at least the last 5 generations. Though trained as a general education teacher, I did not know enough to help fill in the gaps for my own dyslexic sons. I love the science of reading and teaching language arts, but in many of the places where I have lived and worked as an adult, I saw dyslexic students being unidentified and not remediated appropriately. I wanted to make a difference beginning with my own family and then reaching outward to my school, community, and any student struggling to learn to read. My very first Take Flight students were my sons and my nieces, but I quickly branched out to help other students outside of my family. I also began early prevention with my daughter at the age of 3 who was showing signs of dyslexia, after reading research stating that “an ounce of prevention is worth more than a pound of intervention.” I am passionate about meeting a child where they are (whether in the stage of prevention or intervention) and helping them grow to his/her reading potential.

Favorite moment working with dyslexic students?

I find joy in so many of the small moments when students make progress as they systematically acquire reading skills through diligent perseverance, practice, and patience. Those small steps over time result in growth and success that naturally bring celebration. One of my student’s mom’s communicated such joy when she heard her son “laughing out loud for the first time when he was reading a chapter book for pleasure.” Prior to dyslexia therapy, all of his energy was devoted to decoding, and he would not comprehend well enough to enjoy humor in a book. With my own son, when be began Take Flight, he could not read a 3 letter CVC word. By the time he completed Take Flight with me, he could read just about anything he laid his eyes on, and he was ready to soar!

Your goal when working with kids with dyslexia?

My goal when working with dyslexic kids is to encourage their strengths and build them up, while also identifying their weaknesses in order to work to improve those. I want to foster a love for learning and equip students with the skills needed so that they can also learn well through reading. My goal is to bring them to a level where they can enjoy reading about topics of interest. As one of my students put it, my goal is to help them “unlock their reading superpowers! “

Your teaching style, personality?

My teaching style is patient and encouraging. I work to foster a strong relationship with my students, getting to know them a little more each day as I begin our sessions with a check in of “how was your weekend or how is your day going?” I want my students to know that I care about them. My students become like my own, and I strive to always do what is best for them. While we work through Take Flight with fidelity in our day-to-day sessions to build that systematic foundation for reading success, I use data and observation to tailor review and reteaching to the individual weaknesses of each student, to help them reach their full potential.

Any family details?

I have been married to my husband for 20 years. We have 4 beautiful children, at least 2 of whom are dyslexic. My husband’s job has caused us to move 8 times in the last 20 years. We have lived in both Canada and the USA.

Back To Top