In the early 1980s, Erin found that her first child’s learning path wasn’t going to be typical: her daughter recognized letters at age nine months and began reading at age 15 months. So Erin decided to not wait and teach her first child to read—and to “find the best reading program out there.”

As an educator and researcher searching for a “best practices” reading program, Erin quickly recognized that most reading programs approached teaching in haphazard, circular, and incomplete ways. Most programs were also one-sided (over-emphasizing boring repetition, all visually based, all writing-based, or all workbooks)—not taking into account current research and cutting-edge teaching and learning methodology.

“You see,” Erin says, “because they’re incomplete, or they don’t present sounds, letters, and words in a logical order that’s decodable, many methods force readers to memorize words instead of decoding the sounds. And every single program that I pored over approached the teaching of reading with a sight-based orientation—when research clearly shows us that effective teaching of the English language comes from teaching within a phonological or sound-based approach.”

With programs’ missing content, illogical timelines, and mixed-up instructional approaches, it was clear: incorrect reading methods (not substantiated by research and “what we now know”) can—and most likely will—hinder fast, smooth, high-comprehension reading for many students.

As a child development expert, and working with infant development and education for children birth through elementary school, Erin went on a quest to become intimately acquainted with every major (and most minor) reading programs on the market.

Working in classrooms and with students through high school and college, Erin began cataloging the issues and affects of the incomplete reading programs on the market—citing specific issues repeatedly plaguing students and their frustrated parents.

While adopting children from around the world with different backgrounds, personalities, and learning challenges, Erin quickly noted that the available reading programs didn’t translate to her kids with learning differences well, either—challenges including dyslexia, memory struggles, hearing impairment, nonverbal preschool years, cerebral palsy with speech challenges, and more.

Erin says, “It was clear. For all kids—but especially for my children with learning differences—the way we were teaching our children to read was broken. I was compelled to do something about it—for my own kids—and for others.”

At that time, according to research, 42% of all third graders in the United States were below grade level in reading. And it wasn’t getting better.

Specific areas of expertise were moving forward in research and understanding—but each area of expertise was keeping information to itself—in its own silos (area of know-how). What experts understood and continued to discover about how children learn best was not shared between disciplines.

Particularly when it came to reading, reading curriculum wasn’t reflecting the most current best practices of experts and specialists.

Speech and Language Pathologists had fabulous breakthroughs in methodology, along with information on how speech and language concerns also affected reading. With Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRIs) and other breakthrough technology, neurologists were making significant advances in understanding how the brain works and how we best learn. In 1991, Mind Sport of Memory began, and along with other memory research, individuals were using techniques to remember information faster and more completely. Occupational therapists were developing hands-on ways to aid the mind in learning, remembering, and using what it knows in practical, immediate ways. Child development specialists, cognitive psychologists, and therapists in all disciplines were more clearly defining how we learn best. And wisdom from breakthrough experts such as Montessori, Suzuki, and Charlotte Mason was blossoming in preschools and programs all across the United States and world.

But again—few people were talking together or using each others’ best practices.

“Few were sharing and using that knowledge cross-functionally,” says Erin. “We had—and now have—so much knowledge. Why hadn’t we integrated, or brought together, all of the wonderful knowledge in each of the disciplines relating to children—to create the best way to learn to read?”

In 1999, cognitive psychologist Diane McGuinness’ book, Why Our Children Can’t Read and What We Can Do About It, clearly pulled together research and methods for the teaching of reading that work. Her unique and sometimes disputed views on dyslexia aside, Diane’s easy to read, accessible monograph was a potential breakthrough guidebook for parents, teachers, and curriculum developers.

But for all of Diane’s amazing work on teaching the relationships between sound and letters, curriculum developers still didn’t use her collated knowledge. Though some powerful truths of research-based reading instruction from McGuinness’ work were used in a few emerging how-to-read programs in the UK, even those following her methods weren’t integrating cross-discipline knowledge fully.

Beyond phonics and McGuinness’ work, Erin took the most current and critical elements of teaching and learning methods known to experts today and, through True North Reading: The Complete Mastery Reading & Spelling Program, integrated the research, cross-silo knowledge, and best practices from child development, human learning and memory, and teaching and learning methods together.

“Today, more than ever, humanity has the wisdom and how-to knowledge of how children learn best,” says Erin. “Information, ideas, and how-to practices brought to us by experts in the areas of child development, neurology, psychology, Speech and Language Pathology, Occupational Therapy, Memory Athletes, and more—all have given us insight on how the brain works and how we learn.”

“It was time to put it all together.”

In addition to research, medical, educational professionals, learning pioneers across the world have successfully helped children learn with joy and success. These experts’ tried-and-true methods of teaching, learning, and relating best to our children are integrated into True North Reading.

Some of the expert knowledge and methods of teaching and learning used in True North Reading come from…

• Jean Piaget, a pioneer on how children learn
• Maria Montessori, a pioneer on rich learning environments, repetition and movement, hands-on learning, and student choice
• Shinichi Suzuki, a pioneer who created the Suzuki Method of learning music using the concepts of early beginning for learning, parent involvement, repetition, encouragement, and learning through sound before sight
• Charlotte Mason, a pioneer in education using short lessons, narration for analytical thinking skills, listening, hands-on and “real life” learning, and creating an atmosphere of learning that makes learning “come alive”
• John Holt, a pioneer in interest-based learning and learning/schooling with a parent (learning within the family)
• Samuel T. Orton, a pioneer in multi-sensory learning, using physical anchors for reading, using learning that is sequential and cumulative, and flexible learning matching the learner’s needs
• Nanci and Patricia Lindamood, pioneers in sensory-cognitive processing, student-paced learning, and concept imagery in learning
• Jerome Bruner, expert in learning theory and child development and pioneer on constructivist learning, or children learning for themselves for higher memory and integration of the ideas taught
• Howard Gardner, a pioneer in the theory of multiple intelligences and creating teaching strategies to match students’ strengths and learning styles

In addition, expert knowledge from professionals in learning differences, learning theory, motivation, and intelligences are tapped—to create a deeply thought out and integrated way of learning that helps your child learn faster.