I am delighted you found me!  My name is Catherine Tronrud and I am a structured literacy dyslexia specialist certified by the International Dyslexia Association's certification body, the Center for Effective Reading Instruction.  Additionally, I hold a my master's degree in counseling from the University of Colorado and am a member of the International Dyslexia Association and the Orton Gillingham Academy. 

I have worked with adolescents who struggle with anxiety, depression, self-esteem, and addiction issues.  In my personal life, I have witnessed the day to day life challenges and the lingering psychological scars associated with deficient reading and spelling skills.  Dyslexia not only made life difficult, it also bore deep wells of shame.  These intelligent, hard-working people lived in a time when dyslexia was not identified let alone treated.  This impacted me greatly and propelled me into caregiving professions.  

My unique personal background combined with mental health AND structured literacy therapies has illuminated not only the hurdles, but also the strengths of this learning difference.  I know that lives can be changed with evidence-based instruction.  My experience includes providing remediation to family members, including my own dyslexic daughter, as well as children on the Lexercise platform and in private practice.  My other experience with children includes working in youth mentorship, substitute teaching, homeschooling, and camp counseling.  

I am active in the science of reading online community and aim to stay current with research so my instruction bridges science to practice.  My instructional framework comes from LiteraSee and Literacy Nest, which are Orton Gillingham and Wilson-based phonics curricula.  Both the reading and spelling of individual words and sentences will be the main thrust of the phonics instruction.  Within that, however, we will delve into the meaning of the words to improve his/her vocabulary.  I ensure that each session has a portion devoted to enhancing phonological awareness skills and the ability to read and spell heart (sight) words.  Your child will have the opportunity to read decodable passages while simultaneously addressing fluency and comprehension.  For some students, I also incorporate REWARDS, which is an evidence-based multisyllabic word reading program.  I approach each student individually and tailor each therapy plan.  Everything starts with the enrollment form, which includes a comprehensive dyslexia screener followed by the initial assessment.  Along with continual progress monitoring and monthly reviews, I provide quarterly assessments, which drive my instruction.  Aside from the core instruction, I am able to incorporate conversations regarding psychological/behavioral coping skills, executive functioning skills, and games into therapy sessions.

I grew up among the prairies of North Dakota and now live with my husband and two children on a cattle ranch near the Crazy Mountains at Melville, Montana.  I have been described as compassionate, funny, and eternally hopeful.  When not working with students, I love to take meandering walks through the woods, knit, look for pretty rocks, and READ!