Beware the Snake Oil!

We are looking for additional resources for Braden.  Naturally, this means making lots of phone calls and asking the very basic of questions: what can you do to help my son?  I recently had a business owner make the following claims.

• I can teach your son to turn his dyslexia on and off at will.
• In just a few sessions, I'll do what takes Barton 3 to 5 months.
• I will quickly put him a full year or two ahead of his peers, regardless of where he's at now.

... and then she added the following:

I've been doing this for 30 years.  I used to believe in doing therapy with phonics and OG, but the kids tend to lose what they learn once they quit.  I use hands-on methods, which will fully remediate his disability by reprograming the way he thinks.  I first do a full evaluation to determine his strengths, and then I teach him according to those strengths.  My personal goal is to put your child two years ahead of his peers.

Wonderful, right?  The sweet aroma of success for my son - just an arms reach away and oh so painless was beckoning to me, tempting me with the promise it held.  "Just follow me," it said, "I'll make life easy for him.  I'll take away his pain.  I'll even cure him of his awkward social skills.  No longer will he be a weird kid.  Everyone will love him!"

I knew it was all smoke & mirrors, but I really wanted to believe her.  When I asked the tutor what her rates were, she somehow glossed over the question so that I forgot I ever asked.  When I asked what methods she would use to help my son, she emphasized retraining Braden's brain with her amazing approach.  We were on the phone for about 15 minutes and she didn't give me a single straight answer other than to state she didn't believe in the OG approach.

Plus, she seemed to never have heard of the Decoding Dyslexia movement.

Say whaaat? 

One thing was clear: she knew how to prey upon desperate parents.  There is no miracle cure.  Slow and steady wins the race: always.

So the advice I give is to truly listen to the person on the phone.  Are they interested in hearing your struggles?  Are they interested in hearing your child's story?  Are they interested in the other methods you have used?  What are their opinions of those methods?  Do they offer thoughtful explanations for why the methods may not have worked? 

Most importantly, do they show an interest in helping you find the resources you need for your child?  If there is one thing I have learned about quality professionals within the dyslexic community, it's that they have a genuine passion for what they do, and if they can't help your little dyslexic, they'll want to help you find someone who can. 

If they're heavy on promoting their product, profit is all they're interested in.  Your child's success is not a concern for them.  Remember, if it sounds too good to be true, it is.  If it sounds like a miracle cure, it isn't.  It's snake oil.