Est. in Urbandale, Iowa – Serving Students Nationwide Through Online Tutoring

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Learn more about what we do at Aspire Academy and how we can help your child succeed. 

Dyslexia Testing Des Moines

We’re Here to Help

Is your child bright and intelligent, but struggles with reading, writing and spelling?  Do they guess at short words, stumble through long words, and tire easily when reading? Have they had help in school for reading, but still struggle? 80% of students who struggle with reading have undiagnosed dyslexia, and they need a very specific method to master reading. We help students master reading every day, and we don’t give up on them.

We help students from kindergarten through high school. Most students simply need the Orton-Gilligham method to learn to master reading and excel at school. We get to the heart of your child’s reading, writing and spelling challenges by pinpointing what is causing their weaknesses, and then we tailor every lesson to their specific needs. That is why we use the Orton-Gillingham method. It’s philosophy is to teach children to be able to break the reading code based upon their skill set, and build from the simple to the complex, at their pace. Every lesson is taught one-on-one with the same tutor every time.

We provide a home-like atmosphere and services where children feel comfortable and excel! Our tutors are mothers and adults whose specialty is working with children who struggle. All of our tutors are trained in the Wilson Reading System, an Orton-Gillingham method.

Aspire Academy provides:

What is Dyslexia?

“Dyslexia is a specific learning disability that is neurobiological in origin. It is characterized by difficulties with accurate and/or fluent word recognition and by poor spelling and decoding abilities. These difficulties typically result from a deficit in the phonological component of language that is often unexpected in relation to other cognitive abilities and the provision of effective classroom instruction. Secondary consequences may include problems in reading.  comprehension and reduced reading experience that can impede growth of vocabulary and background knowledge.”

Adopted by the IDA Board of Directors, Nov. 12, 2002. This Definition is also used by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD). Many state education codes, including New Jersey, Ohio and Utah, have adopted this definition.

Dyslexia is a heritable condition that is believed to be linked to three genes.  It is neurobiological, and it is believed to be a different brain organization. It has been proven that people with dyslexia use areas on the right side of the brain to read, instead of the more efficient left-side.

School Kids Reading Book Together

What is Orton-Gillingham?

Orton-Gillingham (OG) is a direct, multisensory, structured, and diagnostic way to teach the connections between sounds and letters. It allows struggling readers to master the reading code.

The OG approach offers clear, straightforward instruction on the sound each alphabet letter makes and how those letters are combined to represent words.

This method is not new or a fad but has been widely used and validated in classrooms, private tutoring and research for over 80 years. There are many publishers of Orton-Gillingham methods. At Aspire Academy, we use the Wilson Reading System created by Barbara Wilson. It takes the Orton-Gillingham method and teaches it using the five building blocks of reading in every lesson. It has robust vocabulary, plenty of decodable text for practice of skills, and prescribed ways to teach prefixes, suffixes, sight words, latin roots and base words. It provides training, published materials and a robust web site as resources to schools, teachers, tutoring.

What Our Clients Are Saying

Cheri K
Cheri K
September 10, 2023
We struggled with the school acknowledging an issue. I called around to different agencies and went through Aspire's assessment. It determined an issue however, they acknowledged it in the most positive manner. We were able to continue testing in order to have my HSA pay indirectly for the tutoring. Aspire Academy assigned us to our tutor and we began the sessions. We were two years behind reading grade, and they caught my child up in 1 summer of lessons. We continued lessons to improve and have only seen positive results. I'm not sure how their lessons helped but they have helped my child succeed. We also receive reviews and assessments through the academy and they have helped me navigate teaching at home. They are so helpful. I feel like I have new friends and encourage anyone with concern to start here!
Amy Brandau
Amy Brandau
September 9, 2023
Aspire Academy has been wonderful! My child loves meeting with her "tutor". It's FUN to learn how to read! The "tutor" routinely gives my child advice on how to understand and manage her co-diagnosis of ADHD too.Without Aspire Academy, I have no doubt my child would still be below grade level in reading. She has been on grade level for the last two years and LOVES to read. In addition to reading, they spend time on writing skills, which is actually the bigger need.In addition, Heidi is a great resources to help you understand psychologist reports and understanding what dyslexia and dysgraphia are and how they present themselves.If your child has dyslexia and the school isn't using a Orton-Gillingham or Wilson reading program - talk to Heidi NOW!
Mikki Stier
Mikki Stier
September 7, 2023
The Aspire experience is amazing. The staff welcomes you and your family into their program. They openly talk about the program and the process to assist your child with Dyslexia. Her teacher is amazing knowing the challenges our granddaughter is facing learning a new process through Aspire while keeping pace with her school. They celebrate with her, support her, and make learning useful and exciting for her. She comes home happy and confident that she is smart and eager to learn. Thank you for putting the passion and joy back into learning for our granddaughter. Because of Aspire her future is bright for who she is and her career.
Jim Hanian
Jim Hanian
September 1, 2023
Has been an immense help to our son on his journey with dyslexia and he is always asking when the next tutoring session is.
Nikki Parks-Comer
Nikki Parks-Comer
February 24, 2023
Absolutely wonderful tutors. We have had two of our dyslexic kiddos come through here and I couldn't recommend them enough!
Dana Huss
Dana Huss
June 21, 2022
I spoke to Heidi for about 30 minutes yesterday. She was amazingly kind and helpful. Her love for struggling readers is obvious. I would definitely recommend Aspire Academy for your child.
Jill Motroni
Jill Motroni
December 10, 2021
Aspire has been tutoring one of my daughters in reading for the last 6 months. In that time, I've noticed a huge improvement in her ability and her desire to read. Reading used to be something that she didn't want to do (because she was going to be a rockstar) to something she proactively does on her own now. I highly recommend Aspire to anyone who has a child struggling with reading.
Carole Anne
Carole Anne
September 16, 2021
There is no reason that a child should struggle to read. Help is available. Heidi & her team provide the right kind of help. I am so glad to SEE my granddaughter making progress towards reading proficiently.
C R
C R
September 8, 2021
Aspire Academy has online and in-person options for tutoring Monday - Saturday. The building is beautiful and cozy and helps every student feel at home during their tutoring sessions.
Kathleen Melde
Kathleen Melde
April 11, 2017
My two teenage daughters have dyslexia and are being tutored at Aspire Academy. They love the warm atmosphere and wonderful tutors. They are making progress and having fun doing it! If you have any thought that your child might need some extra help please see Heidi!