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Frequently Asked Questions

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This 20-minute demo is not an entire lesson.

It is a small portion of six different lessons. You will see how we explain syllable types, and how we use them to make syllable division and spelling simple and logical.

What we’re demonstrating is taught at the end of Level 3 and the beginning of Level 4 in the Barton Reading & Spelling System. So we assume students have already mastered the seven essential phonemic awareness skills, the sounds of the short vowels, all the consonants, and the five most common digraphs.

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Q: Was that an entire lesson?
A: No. It was a small portion of six different lessons. You saw how we explain syllable types, and how we use them to make syllable division, and spelling, simple and logical.

Q: Is the entire lesson in color?
A: No. Only the first 20 minutes of a lesson are in color. The rest of each lesson is in black and white, using paper and pencil.

Q: What are the steps in a Barton lesson?
A: To see the steps in our lesson plans, click here.

Q: How long does a lesson take?
A: A tutoring session should never last more than an hour.

For detailed information on lesson length and frequency, click here.

Q: I’m trained in a different Orton-Gillingham system. This is so much easier than what I learned.
A: You’re right.

During the many years Susan Barton tutored dyslexic adults, teenagers, and children, she was trained in seven different Orton-Gillingham-based methods, as well as three of the Lindamood-Bell programs.

When creating the Barton Reading & Spelling System, she combined the best ideas from these systems – then simplified and organized the material for ease and effectiveness.

Susan Barton also created new procedures that incorporate the latest research on phonemic awareness and fluency.

Plus she created many techniques to teach spelling rules and patterns – so that a student’s spelling improves as much as their reading. The Barton System teaches spelling much more strongly than any other Orton-Gillingham-based system.

Susan also wanted to create a system that tutors without college degrees or teaching experience, and who might be dyslexic themselves, could use successfully.

The Barton Reading & Spelling System is the result of years of development and “beta testing” in Adult Literacy programs and Elementary schools. That’s why it works so well—whether the students are adults, teenagers, or children.

Thousands of people around the world – homeschool parents, volunteer tutors in adult literacy programs, reading and resource specialists, and professional tutors – use the Barton System to improve the skills, and the lives, of people with dyslexia.

Q: Can I become a tutor?
A: Yes – IF you can pass our tutor screening.

To learn more about becoming a tutor, click here

Q: Why do you use nonsense words?
A: In order to be able to read and spell multi-syllable words, a student must be able to easily read and spell any one-syllable word – whether they’ve seen it before or not.

That’s because each syllable in a multi-syllable word looks like a nonsense word. So only when students become fast, accurate, and comfortable reading nonsense words, will they master reading and spelling multi-syllable words.

Q: Does tutoring have to be one-on-one?
A: One-on-one is ideal. Parents paying a tutor should demand one-on-one.

Experienced teachers in a school setting can use the Barton System in small groups of up to 3 students.

To learn how and why, click here.

Q: I’m a homeschool mom. Can I teach all my children at the same time?
A: Maybe, but we don’t recommend it.

Children with dyslexia progress at different rates, and they make mistakes during tutoring. Think how embarrassing it would be if a younger brother or sister made fewer mistakes, and progressed faster, than an older sibling.

So we recommend one-on-one tutoring – even in a homeschool.

Q: How young or old can a student be?
A: The Barton System has been used successfully with children as young as 5-and-a-half and adults as old as 70.

None of the procedures in the Barton System will offend an older student.

But a student must FIRST be able to pass our Student Screening.

To learn more about the Barton Student Screening, click here.

Q: How do I learn the Barton System?
A: Most Barton tutors learn from the tutor training DVDs included inside each level of the Barton System. Watch the DVDs on a Saturday afternoon, and start tutoring on Monday.

To learn what’s included in each level of the Barton System, click here.

If you’d rather learn in a group setting, you can attend our week-long course, “The Barton System—Live” taught each summer by Susan Barton herself.

Click here to learn more about our Summer Seminars.

Or Susan Barton can be hired to give a one-day workshop at your school called “The Barton System: Just The Rules.” To check availability and the cost of doing on on-site training day, call our office at 408-559-3652 and ask for Lisa.

Q: I’m skeptical. I’ve tried a lot of systems – from The Phonics Game to Vision Therapy to a Sylvan Learning Center. Nothing has helped very much.
A: If you’ve already tried any of these:

• Hooked on Phonics
• The Phonics Game
• Reading Recovery
• Fast Forward
• Sylvan, Kuman, Score or other learning centers
• Vision therapy
• Medicines
  - motion-sickness pills
  - herbal remedies
• Neurodevelopmental exercises, such as:
  - Patterning,
  - Cranial adjustments,
  - Brain Gym,
  - Corrective Crawling.
  - Interactive Metronome
  - or other such “therapies”

without much success, your child may have dyslexia. Independent, scientific, replicated research does NOT support the use of these systems for children with dyslexia.

To learn why, click here.

Q: Will the Barton System really work?
A: Yes, but only if:

• the tutor can pass our Tutor Screening
  and
• the student can pass our Student Screening

You don’t have to take our word for it. Independent, scientific, replicated research supports our approach – for students who have dyslexia.

To read that research, click here.

Parents, tutors, and students will tell you how well it works.

To read what they say about the Barton System, click here.

We guarantee your satisfaction. Here’s our guarantee:

If at any time, for any reason, you are not satisfied with the quality or effectiveness of the Barton System, you can return it for a complete refund.

Q: What if I get stuck or don’t understand something?

A: We offer free unlimited support for anyone using the Barton System.

If you have a question or need help, just call us at 408-559-3652 or send an email to Info@BartonReading.com.

Q: I’m in England. Is the Barton System suitable, given the differences in spelling between British English and American English.
A: The Barton Reading & Spelling System was designed by an American who was very aware of the spelling differences.

Fortunately, there are only three major differences in spelling between British English and American English. The first difference doesn’t appear until Level 7. And in Level 9, The Influence of Foreign Languages, we explicitly teach the other two.

So the Barton System is appropriate for both American and British students.

However, our tutor training DVDs are currently available only in NTSC format, not PAL. So you must use a DVD player that can play NTSC discs.

Q: How much does the Barton System cost?
A: The Barton System is surprisingly affordable – especially compared to the alternatives.

We have two prices. The Single Tutor price is for one tutor. The Site License price is for sites with many tutors.

For the prices of those two options, click here.

Q: How long will it take?
A: No two people with dyslexia learn at exactly the same pace, so we can provide an estimate.

If a student has classic, moderate dyslexia, and is tutored twice a week in a one-on-one setting, for an hour each time, it will take 2 to 3 years to complete all ten levels of the Barton System. After those 2 to 3 years, a formerly struggling student will read well and spell competently at the mid-ninth grade level.

Students with mild dyslexia often complete the system sooner, while students with severe dyslexia may need more time.

A student can make faster progress if tutored more often. A child tutored 3 or 4 times a week will progress much faster.

Q: Does the Barton System cure dyslexia?
A: No. Use of the Barton Reading & Spelling System can prevent (or fix) the reading, spelling, and writing failure caused by dyslexia.

But no one can “cure” dyslexia. We teach them to read and spell in ways that makes sense to them — logical ways that require very little memorization. With this training, they can succeed in school and in life – and they can put their gifts to good use.

Yes, people with dyslexia do have talents and gifts in one or more of these areas:

• Art of all types – painting, sculpting, weaving, graphic arts, etc.
• Music – both vocal and instrumental.
• Spatial skills – they can visualize in three-dimensions, and tend to think in pictures rather than words.
• Machines – they tend to be very skilled at working with, and fixing, machines – copiers, cars, computers, farm equipment, etc.
• Athletics – many of our highest-paid athletes and coaches are poor readers and spellers.
• Imagination – their minds are busy and constantly creating things.
• Creative Thinking – they naturally think “outside the box.” They often find patterns or “see” solutions that no one else notices.
• Curiosity – they love to know “why” things work – or don’t work.
• Intuition – their intuition is right more often than wrong.

Who would want a world without people with these talents?

But they need to complete school, with their self-esteem intact, in order to use their gifts and talents.

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