PINE STATE
LEARNING

The PSL Blog

Writing on reading, math, and writing intervention: how learning difficulties work, what the research says, and how to make decisions for your learner.

Understanding Learning Differences

When Reading Instruction is Not Working: Here's What's Happening.
When a child is bright, engaged, and clearly capable in other areas but struggling to read, the explanations parents most often hear are…
Lisa Murphy, M. Ed. · April 10, 2026
Top Reliable Signs Your Child Needs Professional Dyslexia Support
If you are seeing a pattern in your child’s reading and writing that just does not change no matter how much effort you add at home, you are not…
Robert Seoer, Staff Robot · April 8, 2026
What is Structured Literacy Instruction?
First and foremost, Structured Literacy Instruction is systematic and direct. Structured Literacy starts from the very beginning of reading skills…
Danielle Clark, M. Ed. · July 13, 2021
What is Phonemic Awareness?
Maybe you’ve heard the term used when it comes to your child’s reading ability. What is it? And why does it matter? Phonemic awareness (PA) is the…
Danielle Clark, M. Ed. · June 13, 2021
Dyslexia and Reading
Studies show that between 5-17% of children and adults have dyslexia. According to the Dyslexia Center of Utah, one in five students have a language…
Danielle Clark, M. Ed. · June 6, 2021

Choosing Programs and Tutors

Finding the Right Program or Curriculum for Your Learner
If you're reading this, there's a good chance you've already tried something. Maybe it was Orton-Gillingham. Maybe it was a…
Lisa Murphy, M. Ed. · April 9, 2026
Best Evidence-Based Reading Programs for Kids with Dyslexia (2026): What Actually Works
Best Evidence-Based Reading Programs for Kids with Dyslexia are the ones that teach the skills dyslexia blocks, in a clear sequence, with real…
Robert Seoer, Staff Robot · April 9, 2026
How to Choose the Right Dyslexia Tutor for Children: A Parent’s Guide for 2026
How to Choose the Right Dyslexia Tutor for Children is hard when you’re watching your child struggle, then watching the school system stall. In 2026,…
Robert Seoer, Staff Robot · April 8, 2026
Best Private Reading Tutors in Portland Maine 2026: Warm, Structured Support for Dyslexia and More
Best Private Reading Tutors in Portland Maine 2026 are not just about “good teachers” and extra practice, they are about matching the instruction to…
Robert Seoer, Staff Robot · April 8, 2026
Is Orton-Gillingham or Lindamood-Bell Better for my Struggling Reader?
At this point, you may have reviewed my thorough, wonky (and perhaps a bit boring) comparison of Lindamood-Bell and Orton-Gillingham. If not, please…
Lisa Murphy, M. Ed. · April 18, 2024
Lindamood-Bell vs. Orton-Gillingham: What's the Difference?
\As a former Lindamood-Bell employee trained in their programs and who has also studied and received in-depth training in pure Orton-Gillingham, I…
Lisa Murphy, M. Ed. · March 23, 2021

Intensive Intervention

What Intensive Intervention Actually Means
The word "intensive" gets used a lot in education. It appears on tutoring websites, in school meeting notes, and in recommendations from…
Lisa Murphy, M. Ed. · April 21, 2026
Considering Lindamood-Bell®-Style, Intensive Tutoring Program? Everything You Need to Know. (Online, in Maine, or in New England)
If you've been researching intensive reading programs for your child, there's a good chance Lindamood-Bell® has come up. It's well-known,…
Lisa Murphy, M. Ed. · March 31, 2026

How PSL Works

Why Your Child's School Switched Reading Curricula (and Why It May Not be Enough)
Over the past several years, schools across Maine have been making significant changes to how they teach reading. Districts have adopted new…
Lisa Murphy, M. Ed. · April 10, 2026
Getting Started: Assessment Before Your Child's First Lesson
Most families arrive at our door with a stack of paperwork. School evaluations, psychoeducational reports, IEP documents, progress notes from…
Lisa Murphy, M. Ed. · April 9, 2026

Tutoring Neurodivergent Learners

Why Does My Child Hate Tutoring? Understanding Tutoring with ADHD, ASD, ODD, and PDA
If your child shuts down, melts down, or flat-out refuses every time tutoring is mentioned, you are not alone, and your child is not broken. Tutoring…
Robert Seoer, Staff Robot · April 9, 2026
Tutoring Learners with ADHD, ASD, ODD, and PDA: How We Proactively Support Engagement in Online Sessions
Tutoring with ADHD, ASD, ODD, and PDA requires something that most tutoring services simply are not designed to provide: a session structure that…
Robert Seoer, Staff Robot · April 8, 2026

Student Voices: Neurodiverse Maine

Brains in Maine: Brooklyn Moran
Part of PSL's "Neurodiverse Maine" Series (Our intern, Jacquelyn, picks some interesting brains around Maine.) Interviewed and written…
PSL Student Contributor · September 23, 2022
Brains in Maine: Angela Luna, Part 2
(Our intern, Jacquelyn, picks some interesting brains around Maine.) Interviewed and Written by Jacquelyn Taylor (This blog is the second half of an…
Jacquelyn Taylor · September 3, 2022
Brains in Maine: Angela Luna
This interview is the first part of an ongoing series that spotlights neurodiverse individuals hiding in plain sight around Maine. People rarely…
Jacquelyn Taylor · August 4, 2022
Student Perspective: One Size Does Not Fit All
The following is a student blog created by Jacquelyn Taylor, at 10th grader in Maine. She was diagnosed with dyslexia at age 9 and dyscalculia at age…
Jacquelyn Taylor · November 23, 2021
My Identity Crisis
We are thrilled to feature another blog post by Jacquelyn Taylor, a 10th grader in Maine. She was diagnosed with dyslexia at age 9 and dyscalculia at…
Jacquelyn Taylor · November 3, 2021
My Barrier
The following is a student blog created by Jacquelyn Taylor, at 10th grader in Maine. She was diagnosed with dyslexia at age 9 and dyscalculia at age…
Jacquelyn Taylor · September 12, 2021

For Parents at Home

Four Ways to Foster Interest in Reading
What do I do when my kid just doesn’t like to read? This is a question that gets asked of educators often and, to be honest, a question that…
Lisa Murphy, M. Ed. · February 23, 2023
Managing Back to School Anxiety
Even in normal years, back to school anxiety is common. Chances are, your child’s school year last year was anything but normal and as we head into…
Danielle Clark, M. Ed. · August 22, 2021
How can I help my child read?
Many parents out there struggle when it comes to helping their children read. Did you know that most of the population will learn to read without…
Lisa Murphy, M. Ed. · March 23, 2021
Our Commitment to Equity

We are committed to working against the way that racial and socioeconomic privilege manifests itself in the identification and remediation of learning disabilities.

We do what we can by offering need based scholarships, doing pro-bono consultation for families with economic needs, providing services in some of Maine's lowest resource schools, and working with educational advocates on the toughest cases to help ALL students get what they need.