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From Reluctant Student to Voracious Reader


Girl reading book

In two years, Beatrice (known as Bea) went from being unable to read to devouring Nancy Drew books. However, Bea, a sixth grader from Illinois, isn’t just a fan of mysteries—she enjoys a wide variety of genres.

This wasn’t always the case. In third grade, Bea struggled with reading. By fourth grade, her literacy challenges led her to Wilson® Dyslexia Practitioner (W.D.P.) and tutor Allison Kay.

“I went to Bea’s house at the beginning of the pandemic,” said Allison. “We met twice a week. I wore a mask, but when you’re working with students with dyslexia, they need to see your face and mouth.”

The pair transitioned to remote lessons and later adopted a mix of in-person and video conferences, eventually completing Step 12 of the Wilson Reading System® (WRS).

Bea didn’t understand the relationship between graphemes and phonemes or how to divide multisyllabic words.

“Bea knew the sounds of the alphabet but couldn’t use them to identify or make closed-syllable words,” recalled Allison. “I taught her a lesson, we reviewed it, and Bea taught the lesson back to me,” Allison explained. “Each time we met, we repeated this pattern.”

Bea soon demonstrated progress. In the beginning of her journey, she never wanted to read aloud, but soon began to enjoy the activity as her literacy skills increased.

Since completing WRS, Bea has become a strong reader. She continued to meet with Allison every week to work on comprehension. The remainder of the time, Bea read aloud.

The biggest change is that Bea genuinely loves reading; she’ll come home from the library with 20 books.

“She has turned into a voracious reader,” said Allison. “She reads everything, but Nancy Drew and the Friendship List Series by Lisa Greenwald are her favorite.”