The old classroom standard way of teaching reading does not work for every child.
Some children are “picture thinkers”, and struggle with seeing the words on a page in their minds eye. This can lead to a child not understanding content and pretending they do, suffering deep feelings of inadequacy, and withdrawing emotionally or acting out.
PictureFirst Learning is a company born out of necessity. The founders, Melanie West (an educational psychologist) and Suzanne Kisly-Coburn (a dyslexia expert), were both mothers who had young children who struggled with reading.
Over many years, the new system they developed has not only helped their own children, but many others as well, and is currently in use (and loved by!) many teachers in the California school system.
PictureFirst Learning methods have been tested, and the results show great improvement in reading and comprehension.