Andrea
Ph.D. Tutor: K-12 Reading, Writing, Test Prep, Special Needs, Gifted
Having spent more than 30 years in various sectors of the Education Market, I am a passionate educator with the experience and skills that motivate students to improve their self-esteem and academic performance in all subjects, especially in Reading and Language Arts. Since I left public education and the corporate sector, I have focused my energy on tutoring children (K-12). Many of my students are Early or Struggling Readers, Special Needs, or Gifted Students. Since no two students are ...
dyslexia
COOP/HSPT
autism
I have worked with special needs children, their families, teachers, IEP teams, and psychologists for many decades. Ever since I was both a master’s and a doctoral student, I studied early childhood development, cognitive learning, and children with learning disabilities and disorders. My first introduction to Autism was from a doctoral student I mentored. She had set up the first preschool for children who were diagnosed with Autism in the San Diego area. Through her and my continued studies on the topic over the decades, I increased my knowledge significantly. Typically, these children are diagnosed by the age of three. The hallmark symptoms of Autism include poor social interactions, weak communication skills, self-stimulating behaviors, and restricted interests. When I worked in the corporate sector, I wrote and lectured throughout North America about Autism, as well as Dyslexia, ADHD, and Asperger’s. As a tutor, I have worked with students who have been diagnosed with Autism, as well as with their families and schools. Frequently, these students have other disabilities and, when I work with them, I attempt to address all their issues.
Aspergers
I have a PhD. in Educational Psychology, and an M.S. in Counseling. Throughout my educational and psychological career, I have worked with special needs children, their families, teachers, IEP teams, and psychologists. Those diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome are sometimes characterized as having high functioning autism. At this time, it is a diagnosis that is considered to be on the Autism Spectrum, although there is ongoing discussion about separating it completely from Autism. Discovered in Europe in 1944, it became an official diagnosis in the U.S. in 1994. Students with this diagnosis typically have less severe autistic symptoms, and above average intelligence. Some of their observable characteristics that cause academic difficulty include a lack of organizational skills, poor concentration skills, inflexibility, a lack of social skills, and poor conceptual and abstract thinking skills. I try to provide my students who have Asperger’s Syndrome with praise, organization, routine, and a predictable environment. Additionally, I emphasize the skills in which they are proficient.
ADD/ADHD
I have worked with special needs children, their families, teachers, IEP teams, and psychologists for many decades. Ever since I was both a master’s and doctoral student, I studied Early Childhood Development, Cognitive Learning, and Children with Learning Disabilities. As a school psychologist, children diagnosed with ADD/ADHD were in every classroom and every school in which I worked. These children typically exhibit the behavioral characteristics of inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity. When I worked in the corporate sector, I wrote and lectured about this disorder, as well as dyslexia, autism, and aspergers throughout North America. As a tutor, many of my students who have this diagnosis cannot sit still for an entire hour and concentrate on their work. Therefore, I allow them to stand to do some written work, walk around the room while answering questions, jump rope or cartwheel around the room while reciting their multiplication tables, or just take a break and do jumping jacks to release their energy! I also allow them to engage in conversation with me to build a trusting relationship in which they are willing to perform.
special needs
ADHD
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
study skills
phonics
elementary (k-6th)
elementary math
English
spelling
reading
grammar
vocabulary
writing
Common Core
Vera K. from Glen Rock, NJ
Andrea is a wonderful tutor. She is always one step ahead of the game. Preparing my son for the PARCC test is important and a good tool to help him with his writing skills. He has shown such a big improvement this marking period because of Andrea's instruction. She is simply the best.
Rita S. from Bogota, NJ
I highly recommend Dr. R. She has a very nice demeanor and is wonderful with my 10 year old godson. He is a few grade levels behind in his reading and gets very frustrated when trying to read. Dr. R. has a tremendous amount of patience and engages him to a point where he is laughing and enjoying the stories they read together. After each lesson, she reviews with me what they covered and encourages me to review the lessons with him daily. She recommends books for me to read with him. She is genuinely interested in seeing him succeed.
Jennifer S. from Englewood, NJ
Andrea was very knowledgable about the test my son was preparing for. She was helpful and encouraging and we feel my son came away with a better understanding and preparedness for the exam
Elizabeth J. from Ridgewood, NJ
Dr. R. is an expert in her literary field. She has been instrumental in helping my daughter prepare for admissions tests into the United Kingdom school system. The nuances between British English and US English for a 5th grader are daunting. Dr. R. has taken course books from Britain and has used them with my daughter to help her address areas of strength and weakness with the standardized test preparation for 11+ exams. Dr. R. has been able to bring her expertise and address what my daughter has not learned and has outlined very clearly what we can further do at home throughout the week. Addressing simple nuances to my daughter, Dr. R. has given her the extra confidence that is sooooo needed when taking a standardized test.
Jenny W. from Wyckoff, NJ
Dr. R. is a wonderful tutor for my eight year old son. She is extremely engaging and is a wonder at re-directing him when his focus starts to veer off. I tell a lot of people about her and my favorite thing to say is "She gets him and engages him." And as a mother that is all I really want. Someone who understands him and knows how to work him. My son doesn't love school and you would think he wouldn't love going to the tutor either; but he wants to go see Dr. R. I listen to their lessons on occasion and they sound like two peas in a pod. We are very happy.
Lucas C. from Mahwah, NJ
I highly recommend Dr Andrea R: not only is she exceedingly qualified as a reading specialist, but she also has great personal skills when dealing with young students, such as abundant patience and listening abilities. Above all, she is an exceptional self-confidence builder.
Meilssa M. from Fair Lawn, NJ
Dr. R is a warm, caring, and just a wonderful tutor for my 9 year old son. She understands his difficulties in writing and has taught him a variety of strategies. I have noticed an overall improvement with my son and feel he is gaining confidence in the language arts area. My son enjoys going to his weekly lessons and is always happy being there. I highly recommend Dr. R as a tutor.
Yejin P. from Fort Lee, NJ
She is so great that my son loves to go see her every week. She is very professional and patient with my son. I recommend Dr. R. to any person.
Laura B. from Ridgewood, NJ
Dr. Andrea has been working with our 7 year old son for over 6 months. With Dr. Andrea's support and incredible patience, Jack has been able to focus on reading fundamentals (he has inattentive ADHD and dyslexia). She has been following the Orton Gillingham lessons which seem to resonate with our son. He is learning to read and is much more confident reader thanks to Dr. Andrea. And she quickly figure out Jack and how to motivate him to work on diction and reading more difficult lessons. Dr. Andrea sends very detailed summaries from tutoring sessions so you know what they worked on, what went well/did not go well and how to support these sessions at home. As a working parent who does not attend the tutoring sessions, these are great to receive each week. Finally, Dr. Andrea is warm, very thoughtful and maternal which seems to work well with my son. I strong recommend Dr. Andrea to anyone looking for tutor for their child!
Lucas C. from Belle Mead, NJ
It is with great sadness that we prepare to say goodbye to Dr. Andrea! Both my boys have met with Dr. Andrea weekly for almost four years, sometimes twice a week and sometimes even in the summertime. Due to a job relocation we are preparing to move and we are more than a little heartbroken to leave Dr. Andrea behind! She is much more than an amazing, compassionate, knowledgeable and supportive tutor, she has become an integral part of our family and the upcoming separation is going to be very difficult for us. We began our long-standing relationship when my oldest child, then a kindergartner, couldn't decode reading and decided he would never succeed! After months of us parents struggling with this, Dr. Andrea promptly stepped in and solved the issue in a heartbeat... now a third grader, my son is not only a confident and accomplished reader, but most importantly LOVES to read. Reading is fun! Once the initial challenge was overcome, Dr. Andrea proved invaluable with so many other challenging aspects of school learning: math, geometry, grammar, spelling and so so much more. My son now loves school, does his homework on the double with never any argument and is currently a talented student in one of NJ's top achieving schools. Dr Andrea also helped with our second child's challenges, mostly behavioral and associated with poor concentration. If we could pack Dr. Andrea and take her away with us, we would! Excellent tutor (Review submitted 11/30/2012) I highly recommend Dr Andrea R: not only is she exceedingly qualified as a reading specialist, but she also has great personal skills when dealing with young students, such as abundant patience and listening abilities. Above all, she is an exceptional self-confidence builder.
Karen F. from Waldwick, NJ
My son just had his first tutoring session with Dr. Andrea R. this morning, and we are very happy. Dr. Andrea R. was great! We look forward to working with her in the future!!
Sheila B. from Parsippany, NJ
Dr. Andrea demonstrated to be a specialist in the area of phonetics. She made or daughter feel safe and welcomed in the session by using tools of patience and connecting with her at her level. We will recommend Dr. Andrea to other parents!