Orton-Gillingham Tutoring for Homeschoolers
If you’re a homeschool parent searching for an Orton-Gillingham tutor for homeschoolers, a homeschool dyslexia tutor, an online reading tutor for homeschool kids, or a homeschool structured literacy program that actually works for your struggling reader — you’re in the right place.
The Reading Guru offers live, one-on-one online Orton-Gillingham tutoring to homeschool families in all 50 states and internationally. Our certified and highly-experienced OG tutors specialize in teaching kids with dyslexia, ADHD, slow reading fluency, poor spelling, and “we’ve tried everything” reading struggles. We handle the specialized reading instruction so you can focus on the rest of your homeschool day.
The Method
What Is Orton-Gillingham — and Why Does It Work for Homeschoolers?
Orton-Gillingham (OG) is the gold-standard, evidence-based, multisensory approach for teaching reading to kids who struggle — especially those with dyslexia or other language-based learning differences. It’s the reading method most closely aligned with the Science of Reading and structured literacy research.
The Orton-Gillingham approach is:
- Explicit and systematic — every phonics concept, spelling rule, and syllable type is taught directly
- Multisensory — combines visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learning
- Diagnostic and individualized — pacing adjusts to your child, not a classroom average
- Cumulative — every lesson builds on the last
- One-on-one — perfectly suited to the personalized model homeschool families already use
If you’ve ever searched for “how to teach a dyslexic child to read at home,” “best phonics program for dyslexia,” “Science of Reading homeschool curriculum,” or “structured literacy at home” — Orton-Gillingham is the answer the research keeps pointing toward.
Who We Help
Common Reasons Homeschool Parents Reach Out
We hear these concerns every week:
"My homeschooler is 8 and still can't sound out simple words. I just don't know what to do."
"I need an specialized dyslexia therapist, not a generic reading tutor."
"I think my child might be dyslexic — should we get evaluated?"
"We've tried All About Reading, Logic of English, Reading Eggs, and Hooked on Phonics — nothing is sticking."
"I'm a confident homeschool mom, but reading instruction for a struggling reader is outside my wheelhouse."
"We just pulled our child out of public school because they weren't learning to read."
"My older child reads okay, but spelling is a disaster."
"Reading time has turned into a daily meltdown."
If any of these sound like you, we’d love to talk.
Why Choose Us
Why Homeschool Families Choose The Reading Guru
Highly-experienced OG tutors
Our team isn’t made up of generalist tutors who took a weekend workshop. Most hold master’s degrees in education and certifications in Orton-Gillingham, Wilson, Barton, Lindamood-Bell, or similar literacy programs. Founder Joanna Brown, M.S. Ed, C-SLDS, has been helping struggling readers for over 15 years.
Pioneers in online Orton-Gillingham tutoring
Flexible scheduling that fits homeschool life
We tutor during the school day, after lunch, mid-afternoon, or evenings. We work around co-op and community days, sports, music, family travel, and the realities of homeschool life. Online means no driving and no waiting rooms.
Works alongside any homeschool curriculum
Whether you use a classical curriculum, Sonlight, The Good and the Beautiful, Master Books, Charlotte Mason, Bookshark, Oak Meadow, Memoria Press, Torchlight, or are part of an online charter school, an umbrella school, or a co-op — OG tutoring fits in.
No dyslexia diagnosis required
You do not need a formal dyslexia evaluation, neuropsychological assessment, or IEP to start tutoring with us. If your child struggles to read, our tutors will conduct their own comprehensive reading assessments to pinpoint the gaps.
A diagnostic, individualized approach
Generic phonics programs follow a fixed sequence whether your child masters it or not. OG is diagnostic and prescriptive — your tutor adjusts every session based on what your child actually needs.
Reasonable pricing
Our Orton-Gillingham tutoring starts at $79 per session. See our Rates & Availability page for more information and our National Reading Tutoring Cost Study for how we compare nationwide.
We work with all ages
Our tutors work with children from kindergarten through high school, and beyond. It's never too late to address reading gaps and make progress. Please contact us to learn how we can help.
What's the Difference Between a Regular Reading Tutor and an Orton-Gillingham Tutor?
This is one of the most common questions homeschool parents ask. Short answer:
A regular reading tutor does general practice — reading aloud, sight word drills, comprehension questions. They often have no specialized training. They can help a typical learner, but they rarely move the needle for a child with dyslexia or significant reading gaps.
An Orton-Gillingham tutor uses a structured, multisensory, evidence-based approach specifically designed for struggling readers. Our OG tutors have hundreds of hours of specialized training, and know how to teach the mechanics of reading — phonemic awareness, phonics, syllable types, morphology, and spelling rules — explicitly and systematically.
If your child is a struggling reader, you almost certainly need a highly-experienced OG tutor, not a generalist.
Online Orton-Gillingham vs. In-Person: Which Is Right for My Homeschooler?
At The Reading Guru, most of our homeschool families choose online OG tutoring because:
- It works anywhere — including rural areas with no local specialists
- It saves driving time
- You get access to a top-tier tutor regardless of where you live
- Sessions are highly engaging with interactive digital letter tiles, screen-share manipulatives, and multisensory tools
For families in New York City, Denver, or Austin, we also offer in-person Orton-Gillingham tutoring.
How Long Will It Take My Homeschooler to Catch Up?
Every child is different, but here’s the honest answer:
- Most students need 1–2 sessions per week, 30–60 minutes each
- Parents typically see a confidence boost within the first month
- Measurable improvement in reading fluency and decoding usually shows up in 3–6 months
- Full remediation of dyslexia is a marathon — many students benefit from a year or more of consistent OG instruction
Our goal is to make ourselves obsolete. We want your child to become an independent reader as quickly as possible.
Can I Reinforce OG Skills Between Sessions?
Yes, and many homeschool parents do. Your tutor can give you appropriate decodable books or other Orton-Gillingham reading materials. We generally don’t recommend online games or other types of practice beyond simply reading books. If your child can spend 20 focused minutes a day reading, it will meaningfully accelerate progress.
If you’d rather not add anything to your plate, or your child is unwilling to read outside of the sessions, that’s fine too. Your child will still make progress from the tutoring sessions alone.
Ready to Get Started?
If you’re a homeschool parent looking for an online Orton-Gillingham tutor, a dyslexia specialist, or a reading tutor who actually knows what they’re doing — let’s talk. A free phone consultation with us is useful even if you’re just exploring your options. We serve homeschool families in all 50 states and internationally.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions From Homeschool Parents
Can I do Orton-Gillingham at home myself?
What's the best Orton-Gillingham curriculum for homeschoolers?
Is online OG tutoring really as effective as in-person?
How do I know if my homeschooler has dyslexia?
Common signs include: difficulty learning letter sounds, slow or choppy reading, guessing at words, poor spelling, avoiding reading, and extreme fatigue after short periods of reading. Read more in our blog post on the signs of dyslexia. If you work with The Reading Guru, your tutor will start by doing an assessment of reading gaps.
Do you work with families outside the United States?
Yes. We tutor homeschool students worldwide via online sessions. Our tutors are primarily based in the United States, but we do have a few based internationally, so we can help families in almost every time zone.
Can you help with high school homeschoolers or older struggling readers?
What if my homeschooler has ADHD or another learning difference along with reading struggles?
OG’s multisensory, hands-on, one-on-one format works exceptionally well for kids with ADHD, autism spectrum disorder, auditory processing disorder, dysgraphia, and executive function challenges, in addition to reading struggles. Please contact us for more information.
Is Orton-Gillingham the same as the Science of Reading?
Can I get a grant or use my ESA to pay for tutoring?
How much does an Orton-Gillingham tutor cost?
Across the country, you’ll find rates from roughly $60 to $200 per session depending on tutor credentials, region and length of session. Our online tutoring at The Reading Guru starts at $79 per session, which reflects the master’s-level credentials of our tutors. See our 2026 National Reading Tutoring Cost Study for a full breakdown. After a consultation, we’ll provide full information for costs of working with the right tutor for your child.