.Reading Development and Disability Services Home

TESTIMONIALS

"When our middle daughter was unable to access remedial support for language and reading, Diane did an excellent job catching her up. When she was returned to public school for grade 3 she was a happy and confident learner." -- Sue and Walter Barr, Richmond Hill

"In Grade 2, our daughter was assessed by a psychologist who said she didn't know all the letters of the alphabet or the sounds of all the letters. She said Alex tried to read by sounding out individual letters because she couldn't blend sounds into words. Also, her sight word vocabulary was extremely limited. Our daughter went through four schools. Then, last year, we called Aldridge-Duff. Diane has been excellent with our daughter. The improvement in her reading has been nothing short of amazing. Alex has gone from reading only a few words to reading story books to her little sister. She is now happy at school, and making good progress. We strongly recommend Aldridge-Duff." -- Craig and Tasha Wilson, Ottawa

"Diane assessed and has been working intensively in reading remediation with my son who has been diagnosed with a non-verbal learning disability and attention deficit disorder. She has been of invaluable assistance in helping him develop the reading skills he requires to succeed in school.” -- A. Miller, Ottawa

"When our daughter was in SK, she was so terribly shy that she was considered an elective mute. Rather than have her identified, we chose to have her assessed and tutored at Aldridge-Duff over the summer. Diane Duff's rapport with her was inspiring. Her patience and encouragement helped build our daughter's confidence. She began with six weeks of daily tutoring. Her abilities progressed from being able to identify only half the alphabet to recognizing sight words to reading simple books by the end of the summer! This allowed her to enter Grade 1 with much more confidence. We continued the tutoring in Grade 1 on a once-a-week basis and today, in Grade 2, she is a confident reader who is willing to take risks." -- Chris and Pat Bailey, Aurora

"Diane was my tutor when I was completing my undergraduate degree. Having been diagnosed with ADHD and Dyslexia in 2000, I was eager to “learn to learn.” Diane worked with me intensively for several months to improve my writing, spelling and reading comprehension so that I was able to finally complete my degree -- a goal that years earlier seemed elusive. In this role Diane struck the right balance required to assist an adult learner. Technically, her instruction was flawless, but it was her patience, support and encouragement that made the difference for me. She proved that she could transfer her skills in teaching children to teaching adults. “-- Guy Heritage, M. Ed., Toronto

"Jody was assessed with a language learning disability early on in her education and the frustration and constant struggle to keep up with her peers proved to be impossible. Aldridge-Duff solution of a modified and tailored program to accommodate her needs stimulated Jody’s desire to achieve a high school diploma and now after 3 years of hard work, she will graduate this summer. Diane’s wealth of knowledge, education techniques, firm understanding of, and compassionate eye to the struggles of teenagers enabled Jody to see her dream come true." -- Elizabeth McCabe, Thornhill

"Our son Sean was diagnosed with various learning disabilities and borderline attention deficit disorder. We can confidently say that we attribute Sean’s success entirely to Diane Duff. My husband and I are both certain that without Diane’s program Sean would not be succeeding in high school. Sean now certainly has a very bright future in front of him. We hear nothing further from the school about psychological assessments and Sean’s apparent “learning disabilities” are no longer a concern. We would not hesitate in highly recommending Diane to anyone who may have a child in a similar situation. We can truly say she likely “saved Sean’s life.” -- Janice and Vlado Sipus, Thornhill

"Our son Michael has a learning disability. With funding cutbacks, we were becoming increasingly frustrated and dissatisfied with the lack of support from Michael's regular school and sought external help. Aldridge-Duff provided that support and more, custom-tailoring a program to Michael's needs and helping him to achieve his full potential." -- Glen & Marcia McCuaig, Mississauga

"My 9-year-old daughter has struggled from day one with school with language arts, reading, and math. I was at my wits end when I found Diane Duff. Her patience, caring and compassion are what my daughter needed [and what I needed. too!] Now, I am seeing progress with my daughter’s reading and math abilities, and a definite lift to her self-esteem with regards to these areas. I couldn't be happier! Things will only continue to get better with Diane in our lives." -- Angie Blonde, Gatineau

"Our daughter had been having trouble in school for years. Over time, Alicia lost her confidence and her work just wasn't getting done. She was more than two years behind in reading and math. We heard about Aldridge-Duff programme for kids to improve their skills and then go back into the regular system. We enrolled her, and the difference is amazing. Now she is confident and organized and she can keep up with her schoolwork. We are impressed with Aldridge-Duff's home school support programme." -- Marie Calderone, Richmond Hill

"We found Diane to be compassionate, focused and able to engage our oppositional teenager in a way no other teacher had been able to do. Our daughter liked and trusted Diane from the start, and before long, went on to achieve A's in later classes." -- Jenny Jackson, Ottawa

"English is not my first language so when my daughter started school, it was very hard for me to help her. Her grades were slipping and she started having problems with reading comprehension. I started looking for help. After 3 or 4 tutoring schools and private teachers, I finally found Aldridge-Duff! What a relief! Her grades went up, and she was more confident and very happy. She is in university now, and doing well! Thank you. You gave my daughter a future!" -- Anna Kaykin, Toronto GTA

"I am a parent of a 15-year-old boy who is designated Gifted and Learning Disabled by the Ottawa Carleton District School Board. My son also has ADHD. Although my son is at grade level, he needs one-on-one support to keep up with curriculum requirements and to develop learning strategies that are tailored to his particular learning profile. After having spent money on tutors who have not taught the Ontario curriculum, it is a relief to have a tutor who is experienced with teaching the Ontario curriculum. Diane knew what key/essential concepts to emphasize, so that valuable tutoring time was well spent. I don’t think my son would have coped with completing assignments as well as he did without Diane’s help in organizing his ideas and prompting to elaborate more fully on his thoughts. My son responded well to Diane’s tutoring sessions and I noticed he became more careful in making suggested changes to draft copies of work. I have found Diane to be very well organized, well versed in the subjects she was tutoring, and readily able to fill in the blanks. My son responded well to Diane’s approach. In his own words, he told me, "Diane’s lively and really makes me think and stay focused". He definitely wants to continue tutoring with Diane again next year in Grade 10. As a parent, I am very pleased with the results of Diane’s tutoring and the ongoing support she provided my son." -- Bernice Wright, Ottawa

All testimonials on this website are real and may be verified through our office.