We’ve been so lucky to find Leslie. She has been so wonderful and helpful. Our daughter has been taking sessions with her for a year now. We’ve seen such great improvement and confidence out of her in that time. We don’t even live locally and have decided to stick with her doing zoom sessions over a local therapist. She really cares about her students and always has the same bright personality everyday and that consistency is something our daughter really responds to. She is excellent at communicating with me as a parent as well. She sets up a plan and lets me know where we are and where we hope to get. I really appreciate that because we previously saw a few speech language pathologists and I never felt like we had a plan. They would do shorter sessions with different exercises. Once the sessions were over it was like out of sight, out of mind. We we’re never really able to see the same kind of progress we’ve seen with Leslie, not even close. For example, I often find my daughter teaching things she has learned in sessions with Leslie to younger siblings. Or writing words they have learned to spell together in her pictures she doodles. I also frequently see her using decoding tricks she has taught her when sounding out words. All of this shows me she’s learning valuable tools that she can use out in the world on her own. We really can’t say enough good things about her and hope that if you have a child who struggles you give Leslie the opportunity to help them!

Starting in the first grade, I knew my son was struggling with reading. I met with the school every year until fifth grade. Time and time again, I was promised that he was not too far behind, and that he would catch up. Although the school offered remedial reading services, they were not provided with any consistency, and they were not addressing his needs specific needs. He fell further and further behind. By the time we reached fifth grade my son was reading at about a second grade level, and the reading problem was becoming a self-esteem problem. Although I regret not trusting my gut much earlier, I am so thankful that I found Leslie.

My son carried a lot of baggage from many years of negative experiences struggling with reading, and I honestly wondered how this tutor would be able to help. The moment I met Leslie, I was immediately put at ease.

Leslie took a lot of time to listen to my son’s history and experience. She wanted to know all about what we had tried and how he was feeling. She spent a lot of time getting to know him; not just his experiences with reading but what he loved to do. Leslie tailors her lessons to things that not only work for him, but also motivate him.
Leslie has approached my son with such kindness, and conveyed that she is going to provide a safe, supportive and fun environment. My son often ends lessons with Leslie proudly and wants to recount the skill he learned, or share his notebook used in her instruction. More importantly, he speaks about what he has learned with excitement. He says things like “Look mommy, I have less misspelled words to correct because of what I have learned from Leslie” or “now I can read this book because Leslie helps me.” She has instilled confidence in him.

Leslie makes it clear to my son that the lesson is his special time with her. She focuses on him and his specific needs. She has built a strong relationship with my son. He knows that Leslie not only cares about him, but about his family and other activities that he is involved in. Leslie’s personal interest has helped to motivate him to improve. Many times when we read together, my son is able to articulate how to pronounce a particular word by recounting something he has learned from Leslie. She has the unique ability to give instruction that he cannot only relate to during the class session, but also carry with him when reading on their own.

Throughout the time Leslie has been instructing my son, I have been able to observe a truly exceptional individual who has instilled confidence in my son. He is progressing in his reading because of the time, effort and energy she has poured into him. I am impressed with her professionalism and the depth of relationships she has built with my son. She is truly gifted and a blessing to those struggling to read.

We cannot say enough good about Leslie. Our son has dyslexia and dysgraphia. He struggles with transitions and going places, at times. However, he never complains about seeing Ms. Leslie. He tells his friends that he can't do things because he has Ms. Leslie time. She gives him space to be who he is, and teaches him in a way that he feels confident and strong. He remembers what she is teaching and she is always finding new ways to approach learning for him. She is adaptive and supportive of her students. When he had to memorize a pledge, she spent 2 sessions just working on that with him so that he could succeed. We are so very grateful for Leslie.

My son has dysgraphia and had worked with several tutors before Leslie. None have helped him as much as Leslie has. We are so happy to have found her! She has given him confidence in spelling, which has helped with his confidence in writing. She has helped him use various tools to complete writing assignments in school, and he has much more confidence now that he has learned to use the tools and the spelling tricks she taught him. He is actually retaining what she teaches versus what the other tutors tried to teach him. Her patience and positive attitude are so refreshing when dealing with his learning challenges.

When we found Leslie my son was a stressed out second grader struggling daily in school with anxiety over reading. At the time he did not have an official dyslexia diagnosis, but I knew something wasn't right. We decided to start tutoring with Leslie right away, while working on getting to the bottom of what was going on. My son is quite shy generally and HATES trying to read. Leslie has been absolutely amazing from day one. She immediately built a rapport with my son, and made sure that overall he did not feel pressure or anxiety while working together in their sessions. My son took to her style of teaching immediately and has been actually excited to work with her on a weekly basis. He has come leaps and bounds in the 2 years they have worked together. He has gained confidence in himself when reading and is able to move through more difficult texts, for him, putting the skills he has learned from Leslie to work instead of breaking down and giving up. My son is not on grade level for reading, YET, but honestly this was never my highest priority. I wanted him to gain the confidence in himself to keep trying. Our school system is not equipped to give my son the one on one attention he needs to learn to read with dyslexia. I cannot thank Leslie enough for the time she has devoted to helping my son continue to improve in reading and feel better about reading overall! 

Leslie has been the miracle we needed to help our daughter with her reading, writing and anxiety. Leslie is such a positive, calm and upbeat tutor. My daughter loves and looks forward to her sessions every week. Erica is more confident and uses the techniques that Leslie has taught her every day. I can't believe how my daughter has blossomed over the last 2 years under Leslie's instruction. Erica no longer cries and get's upset when faced with writing or reading assignments. Her spelling and handwriting has also really improved as well. School work use to be agonizing for her and she would cry over having to write a few sentences or a paragraph. Thanks to Leslie, she has tools to help her and to help her focus and decode. Dyslexia will always be a struggle for Erica, but thanks to Leslie's calm, upbeat personality and her ability to connect with Erica, Erica is open to working hard with her every week to learn how to overcome the barriers, hurdles and frustration she faces with her dyslexia. I am so HAPPY we found Leslie - to us she is a Miracle Worker!!

After several years of worrying that my son was not catching-on to reading, I finally had him tested and learned that he is dyslexic. Although I did not doubt the diagnosis, it was very hard to hear. I knew this was going to be a very long journey for my family. I started researching how I could best help my son, and quickly learned that time was of the essence -- I needed to find an experienced tutor so that my son would not fall further behind. After sorting through the skills and experience of many, many tutors, I chose Leslie and feel extremely fortunate to have her working with my son. She is everything you could hope for in a tutor! Leslie has many years of experience as a teacher and reading tutor, and is certified as a Wilson Reading Program instructor, which is considered the gold-standard reading program to teach dyslexic children. She is extraordinarily kind and patient, and absolutely dedicated to helping my son succeed. My son’s reading skills have improved dramatically since she has been working with him this past year, and together they are steadily making their way through the Wilson program. My son’s self-confidence has improved, and now he is even willing to read aloud at school. Leslie also has provided me with excellent feedback, and is always available and willing to speak with me further. I highly recommend Leslie to work with your child -- we are so glad she is on our team!!!

-- Janene M. Smith

Leslie is a uniquely qualified, specifically trained and experienced tutor, with a gifted nurturing temperament and a disciplined teaching methodology specifically honed, over her years, to treat my grandson. My grandson is 9 years old and has a sever ADHD reading disability. Just in the 4 months since he has been with Leslie, we have seen a steady and remarkably positive improvement and can now see the light at the end of what seemed to be a
hopeless situation. He is now reading and enjoying it and the whole experience has effected his overall confidence and self esteem. Don't make the mistake like I did...thinking that just a regular reading tutor could help. He needed a highly and specifically trained ADHD teacher. Leslie is a gift from God for our boy and we feel blessed to have found her, as she is saving his future for us.

Leslie is a wonderful tutor! My daughter, who has dyslexia, has made amazing strides working with her for the last year. My daughter instantly connected with Leslie and through the Wilson program, is now able to read grade level texts. Her fluency, decoding and comprehension have all improved and the work done in tutoring mirrors what she is doing in school. Thanks, Leslie!!

Leslie has been great with my daughter who was diagnosed with dyslexia. In the time that Leslie has been working with my daughter, I can already see the difference in her confidence and skill level. She has made a huge difference in the path my daughter has taken in education. She is a God send and I am very happy to have found her!