“When I watch Catherine work with my son, I know I’m watching an unusually gifted teacher. Her enthusiasm and joyfulness are contagious, and my son always looks energized and happy in her presence. This comfort is just the basis of what she has accomplished with him; Catherine has taught him how to understand the sound combinations that shape words so that he can independently decipher even words he does not know by heart yet. Catherine’s creative teaching methods make every lesson time fun and unique, and her gentle instruction has made reading an enjoyable discovery for my son”

“Catherine, I am on track right now. I definitely saw a difference in my ability this last fall semester. The biggest thing I think that improved is my confidence. I went in knowing that this is something I could do. I still get nervous when it comes to test taking but after the first test last semester went very well I felt a major weight lifted off my shoulders. It wasn’t easy , but just the fact that my confidence is better makes it all the easier. I can’t thank you enough for your help last summer.”

“Catherine has an incredible knack for working with children. She is both nurturing and firm, providing encouragement and strong guidance with significant impact. Catherine worked with our son for a brief period of time in terms of weeks and hours. However, she helped him understand and apply concepts that had challenged him through years of school. I wholeheartedly and without reservation recommend Catherine’s services.”

“Catherine, we wanted other parents to know how great you were with Kyle*. Here’s a short narrative of our experience and Kyle’s: Our hearing-impaired ADHD son graduated from High School with a B average. Alas, that apparently didn’t mean he could read, write and engage in critical thinking. He struggled mightily with community college, but failed nearly every substantive course, for two years running. Indeed, one testing psychologist had said that his academic performance in high school had “exceeded his ability” and that we shouldn’t expect him to perform college level work. Catherine worked with him in a concentrated tutoring program for a few months, after which his college entrance exam scores ranked between average and extraordinary levels, depending on the subject. We credit Catherine with rapid and dramatic improvement in his skills, and in his confidence levels. He’s maintaining a 3.5 GPA at a “real” college. Thanks Catherine! ”

“Our son struggled to learn to read. It was such a challenge for him that into the first grade, he would actively and passionately avoid reading. Then, he started getting reading instruction from Dr. Conlin. Dr. Conlin was instrumental in the direct teaching and support of our son in effective strategies for reading. She also provided me and my wife with the guidance we needed to help our son at home. Now, in the third grade, our son not only reads above grade level, but he chooses to read whenever he can. I do not think our son would have the confidence and desire to read as he does without having had Dr. Conlin’s help; we are sincerely grateful to her.”

“Everything to do with reading, particularly in the classroom was difficult for my son, so much so that his second grade teachcer wanted him to repeat the grade. We refused, but recognized that school was arduous for him. He had been so excited about school, but he was now in the lowest reading group, everything was a struggle and his confidence was deteriorating. He didn’t want to fail and he would work so hard to do well, but then he would obtain C’s, D’s, and F’s…..Finally, my husband and I were referred to Catherine. We invited my son’s third grade teacher to meet Catherine with us, to discuss his situation. After the meeting both my husband (who, by the way is a teacher) and my son’s classroom teacher had the same comment. “What she said made sense”…..Catherine customized the programs she used to meet my son’s specific needs. She made the sessions something he looked forward to rather than dreaded (very important!), and he worked hard because he could see that he was making progress. In fact, although I doubt he knows it, my son made significant progress in far more than reading; his sequential processing is vastly improved, his comprehension jumped up five grade levels, and his short term memory is stronger than it had been prior to working with Catherine. Even his enunciation, which had been slushy, improved.”

“In my opinion, Catherine Conlin is a miracle worker for kids who are having difficulties learning how to read. For the past four years I have watched students who have struggled to learn how to read flourish under Catherine’s guidance. After a summer of intensive instruction with Catherine, one first grader made the biggest leap in a single trimester that we have ever seen at Dawson! I firmly believe that working with Catherine is one of the best investments that a parent can make in their child’s academic future.”

“Wow! His reading progress is nothing short of amazing! Truly, Catherine, I have rarely seen a child improve so quickly.”