Why Edwards Orton-Gillingham?

Quality Professional Courses

Edwards Orton-Gillingham (EOG) is unique in that all team members are certified by The Academy of Orton-Gillingham Practitioners and Educators and International Dyslexia Association. This ensures that EOG trainings are of the highest quality and follow the strict code of ethics set forth by both organizations. Each training course leverages the years of experience our trainers have working with both students and educators in The Orton-Gillingham Approach.

For Educators, by Educators

Teachers are an integral part of the success of their students. At Edwards Orton-Gillingham, we make it our priority to support educators in structured literacy and the science of reading. As teachers ourselves, we take into account the obstacles that might affect successful reading instruction and provide an organized system that supports continued learning and collaboration.

Backed by Research

Edwards Orton-Gillingham training courses guide and support educators through the Orton-Gillingham Approach, a systematic and multisensory educational strategy that is backed by decades of research. This approach to reading, spelling, and writing is especially effective for individuals with dyslexia or other language-based learning differences.

All individuals benefit from learning literacy skills through The Orton-Gillingham Approach. However, individuals with dyslexia need it.

— Ann Edwards, ATF/AOGPE

Meet the Team

Ann Edwards, Supervising Trainer and Founder

Ann Edwards is an Accredited Training Fellow of the Academy of Orton-Gillingham Practitioners and Educators. She’s also an IDA Dyslexia Therapist, a Certified Master Trainer with OG International, and a Licensed Reading Specialist. Ms. Edwards founded Edwards Orton-Gillingham  in 2010 (formerly Literacy for Life) with the goal of providing quality training to teachers and dyslexia educators in New York City. The business is entirely women-owned and operated.

Helping people learn to read has always been important to Ms. Edwards. As a mother of six, she understands firsthand what it takes to help young individuals to reach their full potential in life.

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Sharon Sudman-O’Neill, Principal Trainer

Sharon O’Neill is a Fellow-in-Training (FIT/AOGPE), a Certified Dyslexia Therapist, and an Applied Behavior Analyst.Throughout her extensive career within the New York City Public School system, she’s taught in both ESL and Inclusion classrooms. She also served as Educational Director of Reach for the Stars Learning Center and Ezra Ha Tzvi Center, both of which serve individuals on the autism spectrum and those with developmental learning disabilities. Currently, Sharon is the Head Trainer at Edwards Orton-Gillingham where she provides training and support within the NYCDOE.

For the past 10 years, Sharon has been working with individuals from kindergarten to adulthood diagnosed with dyslexia and other language-based learning difficulties using the Orton-Gillingham Approach. She also provides support to both educators and students in the public schools associated with this approach.

Jillian Edwards, Program Director

Jillian Edwards is a Certified Dyslexia Interventionist, Certified Structured Literacy™ Teacher, and member of The Academy of Orton-Gillingham Practitioners and Educators and International Dyslexia Association.

Jillian takes an active role in almost all areas of Edwards Orton-Gillingham. She secures school contracts, supports teachers and administrators, creates teacher resources, and organizes the Edwards Orton-Gillingham online and in-person certification and practicum programs.

Jillian has her Master’s Degree in Education as well as an advanced degree in Teaching English as a Second Language (TESOL). She plans to use her understanding of multilingual communities along with her long-standing knowledge of Orton-Gillingham to develop more equitable instructional practices.

She’s also an active member of The TESOL International Association, The National Association for Special Education, The LGBTQ Center, The Human Rights Campaign, and No Kid Hungry.

Sharon Pacuk , Teacher Support Specialist

Sharon Pacuk is a licensed speech-language pathologist and Orton-Gillingham specialist with over 10 years of experience. Her methodology combines a deep knowledge of the structures of language with a gold-standard literacy approach to build skillful and passionate readers, writers, communicators, and thinkers.

Sharon is certified at the Associate Level by the Academy of Orton-Gillingham Practictioners and Educators as well as a Dyslexia Interventionist from The International Dyslexia Association. She has completed over 160 hours of training in the Orton-Gillingham approach. Sharon also has advanced training in the Hochman Method of teaching writing and the Social Thinking curriculum for teaching social problem solving and strengthening executive functioning.

Sharon has extensive experience treating school-aged children with language-based learning disabilities such as dyslexia, individuals with receptive (i.e., comprehension), expressive (i.e., verbal output), and pragmatic (i.e., social) language impairments, and children and young adults who stutter.

Each of our Edwards Orton Gillingham AOGPE and IDA-certified training professionals has extensive experience with the approach, dedicating their professional lives to offering the systematic and structured tools teachers need to ensure that their students learn how to read and spell.

With some of the most qualified trainers in the world, our goal is for all learners, especially individuals with dyslexia, to benefit from the scientifically-backed Orton-Gillingham Approach.

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