FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
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General FAQs
No. Dyslexia and other similar learning difficulties stem from neurological differences and there is no cure per se. The OG-based multisensory tutoring we employ is widely considered to be the best known approach for teaching children how to strategize to best optimize learning with their learning difference. We offer highly effective strategies and techniques that help them to manage their difficulties with reading, writing and math.
We like to use terms like learning difference or learning difficulty instead of learning disability, but we are referring to the same thing. We feel that many children labeled as learning disabled aren’t really disabled at all; there’s no problem with their ability to learn, it’s simply that they do so differently from most people. For this reason, we like to avoid the label of disabled and instead use the more positive terms difference and difficulty. We do acknowledge and respect that other professionals in the field and many parents do like the use of certain labels for very valid reasons such as eligibility for an IEP in the school system, or as validation for and recognition of the problems they have been working through with their children.
We are open Monday-Friday and closed on weekends. Please see our calendar page for our lesson start times.
Yes, we are closed on all statutory holidays. We are also closed for two weeks at the end of December for our Winter Break and one week in March for our Spring Break. Symbols operates with a year-round registration with no pre-determined end date, and lessons do continue throughout the summer. For exact closure dates please see our calendar.
Registration is always open. There are no formal registration dates, as Symbols operates with a year-round continuous registration. Parents and guardians may contact us at any time to register their children. We accept new students throughout the year, depending on availability in our schedule.
We often maintain a waitlist, and will proactively reach out to those on our waitlist, in the order we were originally contacted, when availability appears.
All student registrations are continuous and year-round, including throughout the summer months. Students continue in their regular schedules throughout the year until we are provided with 1 month's written notice to stop tutoring. Lessons that fall on any closure dates, including statutory holidays, our 2-week Winter Break and our 1-week Spring Break are not billed.
We do not offer any camps or group tutoring. All of our tutoring is individualized and 1-to-1.
Symbols Lessons FAQs
The Orton-Gillingham approach is a phonics-based, multisensory method of teaching that is systematic and sequential. It was originally developed by Dr. Samuel Orton (a neuropsychiatrist and pathologist) and Anna Gillingham (an educator and psychologist) in the first half of the 20th century to help children who had extreme difficulties with reading and writing. The Orton-Gillingham approach has been refined over the decades, truly standing the test of time, and has successfully helped many children with dyslexia and other learning differences, for which it is widely accepted as the most effective approach.
You can read more about OG on this page of our website.
Multisensory learning means learning using more than one of our senses, or learning using as many modalities as possible. The four pathways to learning we employ in our multisensory tutoring are visual (sight), auditory (hearing),tactile (feeling/touch) and kinaesthetic (physical movement, like tossing a ball back and forth while spelling a word). Not everyone learns well just visually or aurally, which is one of the reasons the traditional classroom can fail children with learning differences. Our multisensory tutoring significantly improves learning by delivering the same message using more than one sense.
As a general rule we like our students to consistently work with the same tutor, but should situations arise when a tutor is sick or on vacation the student may be provided with a substitute tutor. We also have cases, due to scheduling-related difficulties with placing a student with a single regular tutor, where the parent may request that the student be split between two tutors as an alternative to being placed on a waitlist until a single tutor becomes available; while we don’t usually encourage this kind of arrangement, we’re happy to accommodate it. Due to our careful record keeping and our policy requiring lesson plans to be prepared at least a day in advance, any of our tutors can deliver any student’s lesson with ease, so substituting single lessons, or split tutor arrangements are usually very successful at Symbols.
We are always happy to answer any questions from parents about a student’s progress either over the phone, through email or in person. Meetings can be scheduled with our Director of Education at no additional cost. Furthermore, both parents (as well as any other family members, teachers or other professionals who work with your child) can be included in lesson summary emails and monthly progress report emails, so that everyone is always on the same page.
No. We specialize in 1-to-1 individualized, multisensory tutoring, and that is all that we offer. This is for two reasons:
- Children who are struggling, especially those who are struggling due to a learning difference, require individualized support and the undivided attention of their tutor. A lesson with more than one student, by definition, cannot be individualized. Having even just one additional child in a lesson changes the lesson dynamic, changes the focus of the lesson (it is rare that 2 or more children would need help with the exact same aspect of the exact same concept and can be taught in the exact same way), and it dilutes the tutor’s attention. Our students need and do best 1-to-1, so that is all that we offer.
- We strive to be the best at what we do, and to us, that means specializing in one and only one thing: 1-to-1 individualized, multisensory tutoring. Offering other services, like small group classes, will take our focus and attention away from being the best at what we do and from our quest to constantly improve the quality of our specialized service.
Billing and Account FAQs
Our current rate is $95 per lesson. There are no additional fees or taxes. Our lessons are a full 60 minutes in length. Included at no extra charge are:
- All lesson materials, including home kits for students enrolled in online lessons.
- Emailed session notes after every lesson summarizing material covered, engagement level, and any other pertinent details.
- Bi-monthly emailed progress reports.
- An optional 5-minute discussion with your child's tutor after every lesson to review lesson content, progress and homework.
- Automatic lesson reminder emails sent 24 hours before each lesson.
- Free consultations with our Director of Education when you have questions or would like an update on your child's program and progress.
- Lesson planning. Unlike many other learning centers and private tutors, Symbols tutors are paid not just by the lesson, but also for their time spent planning and preparing lessons. Lesson prep is absolutely crucial to lesson quality, which is why we provide our tutors with the incentive to take their time to do it right.
Symbols rewards families by keeping them at the lesson rate they paid when they joined Symbols for the entire time they are continuously enrolled, regardless of future price increases. We currently have families paying rates as much as 25% lower than our current rates, having stayed with us through several years of rate increases.
We invoice near the end of each month for that month’s lessons. Invoices are due upon receipt, and for those who have provided their credit card information, invoice balances are processed to the credit card we have on file once the invoice has been sent.
We accept Visa, Mastercard and Interact e-Transfers.
We also accept payment from 3rd-party funding providers, including:
- BC's Autism Funding Unit (AFU)
- homeschooling organizations (like SelfDesign and HCOS)
- various schools and school districts in unique situations in which they can pay for a student's tutoring with us
- charities like Variety and CKNW
Our current policies can be found on this page of our website.
It depends. While our remedial tutoring services are eligible to be claimed, according to the CRA’s website you will need a medical practitioner to “certify in writing that these services are necessary.” We recommend that you check with your accountant for additional details and advice.
Yes, we accept payment from 3rd-party funding providers, including:
- BC's Autism Funding Unit (AFU)
- homeschooling organizations (like SelfDesign and HCOS)
- various schools and school districts in unique situations in which they can pay for a student's tutoring with us
- charities like Variety and CKNW
Quick links
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“In a matter of weeks Eiko learned at Symbols what she hadn’t managed to learn over years of school.”
“Our son, Thomas, really enjoys coming to Symbols. After coming to Symbols for a couple of weeks he asked me, 'Mum, can I come here everyday instead of going to school?' He comes away with more and more self-confidence about his writing every session. Phenomenal! The methodology works great. Well worth the cost.”
“We recommend Symbols to anyone who as a child with dyslexia or other learning challenges as the teachers work hard with your child to create a successful learning experience.”