Our Story

Being a teacher in Australia and England, and both a teacher and Principal in the United States, Sue understood that dyslexia was a world-wide issue, regardless of socio-economic status.  She became driven to identify the cause of these underlying learning challenges and gain as much information, formal training, and certifications in the field as possible.  She was determined to not only help Mitch, but to also help the students at her school showing warning signs of dyslexia. While she had always encountered these struggling students in her classroom, her teacher training had not adequately equipped her with the knowledge to understand how to assist them in their numerous learning challenges. This led her to question:  "How many other teachers were in the same position?"  

  

With formal Orton Gillingham (OG) training under her belt and certifications in a number of OG-based programmes, Sue became a passionate advocate for all students with dyslexia. As Principal, she arranged to have her entire staff OG trained so that good teaching practices and methods could be implemented to meet the needs of “all learners” in her primary school.  Over the years, Sue’s experience and reputation for helping struggling students expanded beyond her school.  The demand for tutoring brought the opportunity to partner with a neuro-psychologist and start her company, DyslexAbility, where she successfully tutored dyslexic students struggling with reading, writing and spelling throughout Oahu, Hawaii.  

  

Mitch’s life also changed dramatically during this time, as he was enrolled in a “dyslexic friendly” high school where he was taught using a multisensory, systematic, synthetic phonics approach, and learning finally began to make sense. His confidence soared, as did his reading, writing, and spelling abilities - and he successfully graduated from Year 12 in 2014. 

  

Sue’s dream was always to return home to Melbourne and continue to share her knowledge and expertise in order to help as many children as possible who, like Mitch, struggled with similar learning difficulties. Upon Mitch’s graduation from Year 12 in Hawaii, this dream finally came true.  In October of 2014, Sue returned to Melbourne with her family and, after a year of relief teaching, she quickly realised the vast need for continued specialised tutoring for students with dyslexia in Australia.   What started out in her home garage has now expanded into a warm, nurturing, learning centre where every student’s individual needs are specifically tailored to. 

  

With Mitch’s permission, Sue would like to share an essay he wrote during his final year of High School English, expressing his feelings about his learning challenges and the despair and anxiety that many dyslexic learners can harbour. By reading this monologue, it is Sue and Mitchell’s hope that parents struggling with the survival of everyday classroom life, and the countless hours of worry, therapy, appointments, tantrums, self- loathing and doubt, will understand that the veil of uncertainty can be lifted. In the right hands, with the right tutor implementing OG methodology and pedagogy, each dyslexic student can read, write and spell at grade level and beyond. Mitch has demonstrated that dyslexia is not a life sentence of failure, but a gift if harnessed correctly. And so DyslexAbility continues in Melbourne…