Deborah Spear, M. Ed., CALT is a Certified Academic Language Therapist and has been in private practice since 2002. She provides one-on-one and small group academic therapy for students with dyslexia and other language difficulties. She also provides therapist training, IEP consultations, and follow-up testing services.
While working for Fairfax County Public Schools as a special education teacher and educational diagnostician, she saw firsthand the obstacles many students in the public school system faced (and continue to face) in receiving appropriate remedial instruction for reading disabilities (read the complete story here). Since leaving the public schools in 2000, Deborah has achieved reading certifications and pursued additional training in numerous systems specifically designed for students with language disabilities including the following:
Sounds in Syllables
Wilson Language Systems
39° Masonic Learning Center Orton-Gillingham program (an IMSLEC accredited program)
Lindamood-Bell Phoneme Sequencing (LiPS)
Seeing Stars
Jr. Great Books
Handwriting Without Tears
Deborah is also a Trainer for Sounds in Syllables (IMSLEC accredited) and the Director of the Atlantic Seaboard Dyslexia Education Center’s Summer Clinic in Reston, VA. in Rockville, MD. She is Vice-President of the DC Chapter of the International Dyslexia Association, a member of the International Dyslexia Association, and a certified member of the Academic Language Therapists Association.
Deborah believes that all students who have dyslexia can learn to read. Research shows that structured, multi-sensory, diagnostic, and prescriptive academic language therapy provides the therapeutic approach necessary to develop the underlying language structure for learners with dyslexia. Deborah’s certifications and experience make her a highly sought after Trainer and Clinician.
Virginia Dyslexia Therapy 