Most families respond to a hard school year by packing summer with tutoring, literacy camps, and catch-up programs. A National Board Certified Teacher and Reading Specialist with 25 years in Title I classrooms explains why that instinct can backfire — and what ADHD and dyslexia brains actually need to arrive at September ready.

Your child's reading struggles may have started before they ever held a book. Learn what the research says about oral language — and what you can do today.

Your child reads the passage. You ask what it was about. They stare at you. Not because they weren't paying attention — because their brain processes information differently, and passive reading doesn't give it anything to hold onto. Here are four visual annotation strategies that change that: text mapping, color-coded sticky notes, GIST summaries, and sketchnotes. No tutoring required.